Naima Bock
The roots of Naima Bock’s music are deep and far reaching. Born in Glastonbury to a Brazilian father and a Greek mother, Naima spent her early childhood in Brazil before eventually returning to England, bouncing around various homes in South-East London. This muddled heritage combines with more recent pursuits in Naima’s music; from the Brazilian standards (Baden Powell, Chico Buarque, Geraldo Vandre, Cartola, etc.) that the family used to listen to driving to the beach, to the European folk traditions she tapped into on her own, and the pursuits that interest her today – studies in archaeology, work as a gardener, and walking the world’s great trails – Naima’s music draws from family, the earth and the handing down of music through generations.
By the age of 15 Naima was embedded in the music scene of South-East London, going to gigs at The Windmill in Brixton, slotting into a group of like-minded friends writing and playing music. This led to the creation of Goat Girl, the band she toured the world with playing bass and singing alongside her school friends. After six years, with a desire to try something new, Naima decided to leave Goat Girl. In the intervening years she set up a gardening company and started a degree at UCL in archaeology because, as she jokes, “I liked being near the ground”. During this time, she was still writing music, playing guitar, and learning violin. In this time, she was introduced to producer and arranger Joel Burton through Josh Cohen and his label, Memorials of Distinction. It wasn’t until restrictions began to ease post-lockdown that they were able to focus on getting the songs finished and recorded. Fortunately, Dan Carey of Speedy Wunderground offered his spare studio space in Streatham, free of charge.
Within Naima, somewhere below the songs she’s created herself, sits an exhaustive bank of traditionals. The kinds of songs whose creator has been long lost and have evolved steadily in any number of directions. Be these Brazilian family favourites or those rooted in British folk tradition, Naima loves the collective voice of songs that belong to everyone. She often surprises even herself in the ease she’s able to call them to mind. She’s recently found a home for this passion in her role in the ever-shifting line-up of South-London folk collective Broadside Hacks, but it’s long been a way for her to explore her own artistry. She learned to play guitar and violin through these songs, but she also found her voice in them. “All the other representations that I’d had of singing felt so unattainable” she recalls, but in folk music she found that singing can take on so many forms without the need to exactly replicate something. Here qualities that make her voice unique were able to flourish: the impressive range, and ease with which she traverses scales and changes styles were able to roam more feely. This is present all through her music, as well as a feeling of community and the sharing of ideas. Though studio time restrictions meant things had to be planned down to the minute, once in the room all formality dissipated – none of the players on Giant Palm sound like they’ve been shipped in to play a role and this the key to the warm and welcoming nature of the music.
