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Naomi Greene plays the electric harp, sings and composes. She plays electric harp, sings and writes songs. She can be heard alongside Laurent Voulzy as well as with La Femme, among others.
Naomi Greene is a bewitching artist who reveals a little bit of her background....
Photographs : Nastassia Brückin
Can you tell us a little about yourself and your training?
I'm French American, I love writing songs, and I play harp and sing. My approach to the harp is a bit different from what you'd usually expect with that instrument. I play modern, indie music, with electric sounds and effects. I’ve been living and working in Los Angeles for the past several years, but since I started touring with Laurent Voulzy last Fall, I’ve been mostly based in Paris. I enjoy living between these two cities because, for me, Los Angeles and Paris are opposites and feel very complementary.
Tell us a little about your musical influences.
One of my strongest childhood memories involving music is the feeling of Sunday mornings in the apartment I grew up in. My father would fill the house with loud salsa, Malian music or reggae albums while we'd eat bagels with lox. There was always a very wide range of music styles in our home, and I feel so thankful for the way my dad shared his passion for music with me. He's the one who introduced me to David Bowie, The Velvet Underground, the avant-garde music of Meredith Monk and Philip Glass, and then indirectly led me to the music of Kate Bush, PJ Harvey and Portishead, who are artists that inspire me today.
What are you doing currently?
I'm currently on tour with Laurent Voulzy, we play in cathedrals and churches in France, Belgium and Switzerland. We perform as a trio, and I also sing one of my own songs during the concert. The places we get to play in are spectacular. It's a very unique experience to sing in such energetically charged places. I often think of the countless people who have come through these places of worship, searching for hope, relief from their pain, or to express their gratitude. There is a lot of beauty in that. Personally, I'm not religious, but I'm very touched by the hopeful and introspective feeling that lives in these walls, between old stones that have witnessed centuries of emotion.
When and where was your best vacation?
I think it was India when I was 16, because it was so radically different from my own experience as a parisian teenager. I shaved my head after a break-up. It was a very freeing experience, having no points of reference in a totally unknown world. I stayed there for a few months, and wrote a lot while I was there.
What's your favorite song to dance to?
Fleetwood Mac “Dreams”
What's your favorite song to chill to?
"Lovin' You" by Minnie Ripperton.
What's one song that makes you cry?
"Hope There's Someone" by Anthony and the Johnsons.
Otherwise, Karen Dalton makes me shed a tear or two...
And as far as French music, I recently listened to "Et si en plus y'a personne" ("And if No One is There") by Alain Souchon, and it gave me goosebumps.
What's your relationship with fashion?
I'm kind of like a floating atom, because I don't always follow fashion very closely, but I love clothing and how we express ourselves through what we wear. I think it's important for expressing our individual identities and, on the collective level, it's a great mirror of the ideals of the society we live in, whether you go with or against current norms. Fashion, in a way, reflects our values, and everyone participates in their own way. Today, I find there's a real desire for creating in an ecologically responsible and fair way, and I think this is really important, especially since it's such a polluting industry. Things are also changing with respect to women's bodies which, for a long time, have been dominated by this notion of an unrealistic ideal body type, and in this respect, I think it can be said that fashion reflects consequent sociopolitical demands. I like this about Sessùn's collections. Their clothing is never too tight, and I find that it also highlights and gives a breath of fresh air to the female form.
How did you come to know Sessùn?
I was introduced to Sessùn through a friend who's into ecologically responsible clothing.
What's your favorite piece from the Summer 2019 collection?
I really like the lace tops from the new collection. I think they radiate a timeless and dreamlike freshness.
Where do you see yourself in ten years?
In ten years...!I love this question. I'd like to have released several great albums, to have toured the entire world, to have written a film score and to have sung with the biggest artists. Fingers crossed!
Thank you Naomi !
