Naomi Neva

Naomi Neva’s latest single “This Is Over” turns heartbreak and frustration into raw, emotional power. In this interview, Naomi opens up about writing mid-flight, embracing vulnerability, creative collaboration, and rediscovering herself through music.

Naomi, “This Is Over” feels both deeply personal and universally relatable. Can you tell us more about the emotional space you were in when writing the song mid-flight?

That was such a terrible moment. I’d been in Berlin visiting my best friend Ernestine (who I wrote another song about!) and before I left I’d sent a really vulnerable message to someone I used to be close to. A week later they hadn’t responded at all, which is kind of normal for them, and I was so angry about that and frustrated, and then my flight got canceled and I got rebooked into a middle seat between two people who were traveling together, who never spoke to me, just passed snacks back and forth over me while I cried and wrote this song. The couple with the snacks don’t

This track marks your first collaboration with a producer. What was it like working with Kimberley Shires and an all-female team at Hear Me Roar Studio?

It was such a great experience! I had some reservations about working with a producer, because I have such a specific vision for what I want each song to sound like, and because I have trouble telling people when I don’t like what they’ve done, but Kimberley was amazing and it was so fun working with her. She understood what I was going for from the very beginning. I felt like we had a shared vision for the song all along, and she had great ideas for how bring out the emotions I wanted and tie it all together. I love how the song turned out, and the process of making it together, of having someone to bounce ideas off of and celebrate with when something sounded right, was so fun.

You mentioned that “This Is Over” is partly a lie since you’re still friends with the people who inspired it. How do those complicated emotions influence your songwriting process?

Yeah, the title of the song is “this is over” and at the end of the chorus I shout “this is over this is over this is over this is over” but actually neither of the relationships that inspired the song are really over, we still get together for awkward lunches from time to time and I don’t know why I do that. It’s never satisfying. It just makes me kind of sad that we don’t have the connection we used to have. I think it’s usually a bad sign if I want to repeat a line in a song more than once in a row. It probably means I’m trying to convince myself.

The song channels both heartbreak and empowerment through its gritty, distorted sound. How did you approach balancing vulnerability with strength in your performance?

I don’t really think of it as a balance, I think there is a particular kind of strength in vulnerability, in being honest with yourself about your emotions, and that’s what I was looking for in the song. Even though the narrator of the song is not being honest with themself (there is no such thing as a phone that can’t start a conversation! Stop making wild excuses for someone who just isn’t trying), writing that way forced me to be honest with myself about how I was excusing the behavior of people in my own life.

As someone whose music blends elements of indie rock and punk, who are some artists that have shaped your sound and storytelling style?

In high school I was briefly in a band that played Green Day and Ramones covers, and I still love those big fuzzy guitar tones. Ani DiFranco has always been a big influence. Actually, I think there’s a common thread between a lot of the different genres of music I like, in that a lot of it comes from the interplay between love and anger, and the feeling that things aren’t right but maybe we could fix them. This song is more focused on interpersonal relationships, but a lot of the songs I’ve been writing lately have been more about supporting each other in an imperfect world.

You began releasing music after becoming a mother — a powerful act of reclaiming identity. How has motherhood influenced your creative journey and your perspective as an artist?

I always wrote songs as a way of processing my own life, but I never felt the need to share them until I was on maternity leave after my daughter was born. I hadn’t talked to anyone in two days, and I felt so disconnected from who I was before she was born, and from anyone outside my immediate circle. But I picked up a guitar during nap time and played some songs, and I felt like myself again. Recording songs was a project I could work on flexibly around a baby’s unpredictable schedule, and making something of my own gave me a sense of purpose. I’m not sure I knew why I was releasing the songs in the beginning, but it has turned out to be such a wonderful way to connect with people. It’s really special to put out a song about something that was challenging in my own life and to hear from other people who have been through the same thing or are in the middle of it right now, and to realize that something that felt so isolating and uniquely terrible in the moment is really just part of the human experience.

https://www.naomineva.com/