The Mix 096: Namasenda

Since the release of early singles ‘Here’ and, notably, 2017’s ‘Donuts’, a colourful, pitched-up crack at hyperpop, Namasenda has been one of those rare artists whose unmistakable sound can be identified instantly when encountered. With buttery soft vocal coos and bubblegum basslines that’ll send a thrill right through you, the Swedish singer, songwriter and DJ has been shaping her own dance-pop niche for a decade. But as she gears up to release her very first full-length album, Namasenda says she’s evolving. 

On her debut album ‘Limbo’, due for release in May via YEAR0001 and marking her first solo outing in some three years, Namasenda hopes to show the progression of her sound across 11 new tracks. While collaboration offers often swarm around the PC Music affiliate, from working with horsegiirL, Oklou and US popstar LIZ in the past few years, this time, she’s turned all requests down as a way to give full insight into her own world. 

“It just sounds very me. It's really a deep dive into my brain,” she says. “I would say it's still a dance-pop record, because that's just who I am. I'm always gonna want things to be faster – we need to up the BPM by 10. It's always faster, faster, faster, but at the same time, it’s very personal.”

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In the lead-up to the release of her first full-length solo project, we sat down with Namasenda to discuss how a drunken message led her to release on A. G. Cook’s cult favourite imprint, reclaiming her musical roots at home in Sweden, and the earnest themes at the centre of her soon-to-land debut album. She also delivers a “roller coaster” mix traversing hyperpop, digicore, dream pop. Check it out below.

Talk to me about your background in music – how did you make your start in the industry?

I've always loved music, and always knew that I was going to be in music, but I started out being very delusional. I was like, ‘how do I become an artist? Let me go to LA’, and then when I went there, I knew that wasn’t it. So I went to London and realised that wasn’t it either, and realised that I had everything that I needed in Sweden.

What was the music scene like in Sweden when you moved back home?

I grew up in the south of Sweden in a very small town, and I moved back there after my year of wandering around the world. I was quite lost, I knew that I wanted to make music and that I wanted to be an artist, I just didn't know how to do it. I met this guy at a club, and he was a producer living in Stockholm. So then I moved to Stockholm, and I've been here for many years, but for a while I was everywhere just trying to find my place.

Why did Sweden feel like the right place to settle again and pursue music?

There's so many great artists and producers that are from here, and I don’t think it's because people are more talented here, I just think that we have the means to pursue music. As a young adult, you get a lot of help from the government, and even as a child, I had access to a studio that was paid for by the government. It’s almost like an after school program, it's free and you can just book the studio to record, and you can play all these instruments. I think that's the case for a lot of Swedish kids that grow up to become artists.

You broke out with your EP ‘hot_babe_93’ in 2017, I remember listening to that around the time and being so obsessed with ‘Donuts’. What was the reception like to that EP? Did you feel like it was the start of something bigger?

No! I didn't have Twitter, and I wasn't really tapped into all of that. I was just here in my little bubble, and I didn't know that people were resonating with the EP so much. It feels like I missed a part of that era, because when I finally got Twitter and started talking to people outside of Sweden, I was like, ‘people actually like my music!’. I had no idea.

Can you tell me how you first came to meet A. G. Cook and sign with PC Music?

I wrote to him! I just messaged him one night on Instagram when I was very drunk with my friend, a friend that I work with now, actually, and has been with me for this whole journey. I remember waking up the day after and had so much anxiety because I was like, ‘he's never gonna reply’, and then he did. I didn't even send a link or anything, I just suggested that we should work together.

How did he respond?

I think it was something like, ‘this sounds cool, here's my email’. Then we started talking, and I went over to London a few months later and we had our first sessions. The rest is history! It was kind of surreal. That was the part that felt like the start of something big and new for me. I also got to meet so many great people, it was definitely a very cool era of my life.

Your new single ‘Cola’ was the first solo release you’ve put out in about three years – why did you feel like now was the time to return? And do you feel like your sound has shifted during that time?

Yeah, it has. I'm always evolving, and I always want to evolve. I never want to be an artist that does the same thing over and over, because that's just not very interesting to me. Even the stuff that I'm working on now, the newer stuff that isn’t going to be on the album, is totally different from the way the album sounds.

And how does your new album sound? What can we expect?

I have such a hard time describing what it sounds like – it just sounds very me. It's really a deep dive into my brain. We worked on this album for a full year, rerecording and rewriting, and when I thought something was done, I was like, ‘no, we need to change this little thing’. It was so much work back and forth, and I'm so excited to work with the producers that I'm working with now. They allowed me to do anything, and I didn't have to feel bad or ashamed that I wanted to record something for like the 10th time!

Where did you record the album?

In Stockholm, which was really cool because I've never done a full project here. My first EP was recorded here, but after that, I haven't really worked in Sweden that much. It’s where I met these two producers, and it just felt right. Also, it's very luxurious for me to leave my house and then 15 minutes later, I'm at the studio. I could just be there every day.

This album is said to be your most personal work yet. What kind of themes are you exploring on the record?

I sing about my body image quite a lot, as well as love and my inner world. I don't think the thoughts that I have are any different from anyone else's, and I hope that people can relate to it. It's just my thoughts during that time, and I recently realised that I think I was depressed when I made this album, but I don't think it sounds like that. At least I hope not!

It's probably quite surreal listening back to it and having that experience, noticing what you were going through at the time. Do you have a different perspective on it than on past releases?

Yes, but I think it's just me allowing myself to feel, and being allowed by my collaborators to be very blunt and real with the way that I sing and the topics of the songs. Don't get me wrong, I would say it's still a dance-pop record, because that's just who I am. I'm always gonna want things to be faster – we need to up the BPM by 10. It's always faster, faster, faster, but at the same time, it’s very personal.

You’ve worked with artists like horsegiirL and Oklou in recent years – who’s next on the list for you?

I’m kind of working with a person that I've wanted to work with for a very long time, but I can’t tell you just yet. It’s a remix of the next single, and I’m really excited about it. There are no features on the album – I was very adamant about that because I wanted it to be my record.

What’s next for you?

I just want to do more. Make more music, play more shows. I want to look straight ahead. I've talked about this quite recently, but people are always asking questions about what has happened – it's always nostalgic, and I'm not really interested in that. I want to be here, and I want to be in the future.

Can you tell us about your Mixmag mix?

I've always approached DJing and mixes like a movie or a book with a beginning, a middle and an end. The way that I listen to music is that I play the same song about 20 times, but obviously that would be insane in a mix. I wanted it to be more like a roller coaster of songs, instead of how I would approach it if I was DJing at a club. It's like how you’d listen to music at home or in the car, and some songs are more euphoric than others. I also tried to keep it under 160 BPM – I think there are two songs that aren’t – but I wanted it to be quite chill. I don't know if I managed to do that, because I have BPM blindness!

Namasenda's debut album 'Limbo' is out on May 8 via YEAR0001. Pre-order it here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Associate Digital Editor, follow her on X

Tracklist:
CeCe Natalie – Muah
Two Shell – Everybody Worldwide
Shygirl, TDJ – SIREN is OUT OF REACH
ear – Nerves
Ninajirachi – Fuck My Computer
ta1ls – Fatigue
Jam City – LLTB (feat. Wet)
DJ_Dave – Hard Refresh
maniken05 – i Want U 2
Isla Den – KeepOn (feat. merely)
Mietze Conte – nanana
Namasenda – Miami Crest
Edward Maya – Stereo Love (Joel EB Remix)
dj g2g & Vrod Beatz – BOTA NA CARA
2006WR – with u
xo – avatar
EASYFUN – Laplander
El Nick DGO – SOUTHERN CLUB CLASSICS
bassvictim – Forever salty
Mura Masa – tonto (with Isabella Lovestory)
Safety Trance – El Alma Que Te Trajo (feat. Arca)
Oneohtrix Point Never – Betrayed in the Octagon