Namito is an Iranian artist currently living in berlin who took influence from his Persian roots when writing his 2019 hit “Stone Flower” that was released by Sol Selectas.
Stone Flower is still charted inside Beatport’s Top 10 sales chart for electronica / downtempo and Namito recently dropped his follow up on Sol Selectas titled “Wait Till The End”.
With much anticipation attached to “Wait Till The End” we decided to catch up with Namito to discover more about his release plus other projects, as he has also featured on labels such as Bedrock, Katermukke, Balance Music and Selador.
WWD: Hi Namito, firstly congrats on the new Sol Selectas release. Was this the first track you sent over to Sabo or was there a bit of backwards and forwards before you agreed on this track?
Sabo and I became very good friends even before “Stone Flower” was released. I went to see him playing at “House Of Yes” in NY and he instantly became one of my favourite DJ’s, so I started sending him my new music, not only for releasing on Sol Selectas, but also because I appreciate his advice and tips. I sent him a bunch of other tracks before sending him “Wait Till The End”, and was really happy when he agreed to sign that track.
WWD: We guess there must have been a lot of pressure when working on a follow up of your last Sol Selectas release as we understand “Stone Flower” was the biggest selling track of 2019 in the downtempo/electronica section of Beatport. Did you expect the track to be so successful?
I kind of knew it would be a big track. Sabo had dropped “Stone Flower” at Burning Man 2018 and someone recorded a small video that went super viral. In the nine months until the release every day, I got at least one message asking about when it was going to be released, and I am not exaggerating. To be very honest I still did not expect such a huge success… I mean, it is still in the Top 10 of downtempo/electronica almost a year after release! Who would expect that? But speaking of pressure, I must say that I have a bit of experience with having a hit: My track “City Of Gods” back in 2008 went right away to #2 of the main chart of Beatport, and was also a huge track of that year. The next track I released after was not a hit at all, but I loved it, and decided that I do not want to become a slave of chart positions. It did kind of okay, but nowhere near “City Of Gods”, and in the end I didn’t mind to much 🙂
WWD: “Wait Till The End” definitely has some of the same charms as Stone Flower, could you talk us through the new track?
You are totally right. Both tracks have a common background, as they are both based on two famous songs by the fabulous Iranian diva Hayedeh. What I really love doing right now is take the vocals of beautiful Persian ballads, use their melody, and put them on top of modern Berlin beats… This way I can combine the two hearts that beat inside my chest, and the two cultures that have shaped me as an artist. It took me a long time to master this combination, especially because “Stone Flower” took two and a half years of trying again and again until I was 100% happy to release the final version. “Wait Till The End” was much faster, as I now knew what I really want to achieve from these labours of love.
WWD: We also wanted to ask about Tannaz who sings vocals on “Wait Till The End”, is that a sampled lyric or was it sung specifically for this track, and translated what do the vocals mean?
Tannaz is an Iranian friend of mine who lives in London. I once heard her sing a song on SoundCloud and fell in love with her voice right away. For some weird reasons it took us years to start, but after “Stone Flower” I knew I have to contact Tannaz, and it was the perfect idea to have her sing. Her voice just cuts through my heart… I know it sounds cheesy, but I cannot describe it differently. I called her and asked if she had any song ideas, and she sent me the vocals that night. Believe it or not, I finished the demo in my bed that same night. Her voice was so inspiring that everything just came super naturally. Obviously, I also worked repeatedly at my studio in Kreuzberg. I spent some time replacing some VST sounds with analogue instruments until I was 100% happy with both the original and dub versions.
The lyrics Hayedeh sung are from the Persian song called “Soghati” which translates to “Gift”. They are all about love, and I’ve put the translation below, so you can take a read yourself…
“When you are coming, the sound of your footsteps comes from all roads
It is not like it’s coming from a distant city
But from all of the world
Until the door opened
When the moment of visiting comes
Every road on the earth reaches through my heart
You are one and all for me
Without you stop breathing
If I have you
I will achieve whatever I want
When you are not here,
To whom I should repeat my heart’s beat?
For whom should I awake the daisy flowers?
To whom should the wings of lovebirds give grains?
Can my body stay alive without you?”
WWD: Chaim also delivers quite an impressive remix on the release, was he your choice to rework the track or was he picked out by the label?
Sabo had the idea and right away I was super excited. I have always respected his craft and I was 100% sure the result will be something special! I love the fact that a German-Iranian artist’s collaboration with and English-Iranian singer, remixed by an Israeli artist is released on US-Iranian label! How fucking cool is that? Screw you, politics! We want to spread love!
WWD: What else do you have planned over the coming months, I know peoples gigs are up in the air right now, but do you have any other releases lined up?
My remix for Quivver just came out on Bedrock, and my good friend Behrouz just released some of my music on his label “Do Not Sit On The Furniture Records”. Do Not Sit On The Furniture Records was a collaboration with the crazy talented Naghib, so I’ve been super excited about that one. Besides the aforementioned, I have a ton of unreleased tracks sitting on my hard drive that will be released throughout the rest of this year, some on my own label Ubersee, and also on a few other labels too. There is also another track that Sabo signed, and I am excited about the fantastic Satori Remix of “Stone Flower” that’s in the pipeline for Sol Selectas. Unfortunately, all the gigs are cancelled for the foreseeable future… so for now I will stick to making more music, and hopefully those tracks will bring some joy to all my fans out there.
WWD: Touching on the current lock down situation during the COVID-19 crisis, do you have any tips or advice for people trying to stay musically active while stuck at home?
This is a big issue actually! I announced on my Facebook page that I will make an ambient track every night. They were not focused on perfection or great mixing but I did stick to the plan for three weeks continuously. It really helped me keep focused and not let all the news overwhelm my mind. You can still hear the vibe of the day, and some of the tracks are pretty dark. This method helped me a lot and gave some structure, so I was not just watching TV shows, movies, or news. For me, music production is like a muscle, I must keep working in order to be on top of my game. If I stop for a few weeks or months, then it takes a while until I am back where I was before. So, my advice is… forget about all the negativity and make a difference by giving the world another piece of art. Even if it only makes one person smile, then it was worth the effort!
Follow : Namito // SolSelectas