Naomi Sharon

Born and raised in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, music has always been in Naomi Sharon’s genes. “My first memories were in the living room, listening to music with my mom and dad. They were very into music,” she says. “My dad is a producer-slash-DJ and my mom used to sing. My uncle played a bunch of instruments too and my aunt was a singer, then I came along. We used to go to their house and have jam sessions at family dinners.” Of Dutch and Caribbean heritage, her musical diet growing up was diverse and constant – she jokes about being a kid coming home from school to the sounds of Sting, Sadé, Eva Cassidy or jazz musician Marcus Miller blaring in the house. It’s no surprise then that she always knew she was destined for the path she’s on now, signed to OVO Sound with her debut album set to release in September. “As a kid, I was daydreaming a lot and maybe that was a part of the manifestation, but I really believed that I would belong to this world… it wasn’t arrogance but maybe I already knew that I had something to deliver. A belief and an urgency as well, to tell a story. I’ve always been a very emotional being.”

Going through bouts of heartbreak, new relationships, self-discovery and a burgeoning career while travelling between continents, Sharon conjures an emotional intimacy throughout this project even in its peaks, with a haze of nostalgia and yearning for simpler times seeming to remedy the volatility of adult life. “For some reason, I always have that feeling of nostalgia. And my memories are very vivid, I can see them as well, which I think does a lot to you and for you.