Culture / Society

"Drinking Cava is my hobby": Swedish hyperpop icon Namasenda on life and art

By Doris Daga

Photo: Arvida Byström

Namasenda has been quickly establishing herself as queen of electro-hyper-pop in Los Angeles, London, and New York City. Here, she returns to her Scandi roots and discusses self-doubt, her love of Stockholm, and why she's a self-described 'cava princess '

The first thing Namasenda and I bond over is our love for Ramlösa, Sweden's most popular sparkling water brand. She holds up her one-litre bottle of Ramlösa Citrus, which she claims is her favourite drink in the whole world. I divulge that I am a devout Ramlösa Pomegranate drinker, which she agrees is a close runner-up to citrus.

Advertisement

Namasenda, born Naomi Namasenda, describes herself as an MTV Child. "Spice Girls. One of my earliest musical memories was the video for Cher's Believe, she says with a laugh, recounting her love for Cher's multi-coloured feather hair in the video, as well as their artistic choice to use too much autotune in the song.

"But my whole upbringing was just, like, so many different types of music, and my parents listened to techno and stuff like that. I thought it was really scary when I grew up, we listened to it in the car. I still think it's kind of scary," she says as she bursts into laughter, even though her own music often transcends into techno.

Photo: Arvida Byström

Namasenda makes hyper-pop, with pitched voices and maximalist production. She uses three words to describe it herself, settling on "personal, euphoric" and after a long pause, she adds, "mentally ill!" One thing is sure, and that is that Namesenda is brutally honest in the way only Generation Z can be. "I doubt myself a lot. I think the last time I thought 'maybe I shouldn't be doing this' was yesterday. I'm always in this whirlwind of self-doubt and self-confidence," she says.

"The only thing that I know is that music is what really matters to me. It is the only thing that can make me extremely happy. But it's also a thing that can make me sad beyond anything," she says, her passion seeping through. Namasenda has consistently been releasing music since her debut single Here in 2016. However, it was her mix-tape Unlimited Ammo in 2021 that caught my attention.

Namasenda has a big international following, with most of her streams on Spotify rolling in from overseas, especially London, Los Angeles, and New York City. I am curious as to why Scandinavia can often be late to embracing talent from our own shores and why artists often break internationally first. “It's cute for me because whenever I come home, I can just chill and just do my thing, but I don't know why it's like that, “ she says, before she adds: “Maybe Swedes don't have taste.” We both start to laugh, but I can tell that she’s, once again, only speaking her truth.

“I love living in Stockholm. I love this city,” she says when I ask if she’s always going to have her home base in Sweden, considering her following in bigger cities far and wide. “I think I love it so much because I'm always away from it. So whenever I come home, I'm like, this is the best place on earth. Everything is great. I love my apartment. Everything is just so good,” she says as she grabs her laptop and takes me through a little tour of her apartment, specifically showing me her new art pieces that she’s working on. “I am not making any music. I'm just painting. So I have this home painting studio right now, but I love it," she says. "I kind of ruined my mic," she admits, "so right now, I can't really record. "I’ve never painted in my life until three days ago,” she says as she holds up a 3D textured, metallic artwork.

I assumed that an artist who doesn't have the tools to record music has to turn to other hobbies to cultivate their creative energy. So, I quickly ask her if she has any other hobbies, especially since she will be touring most of this year: “No. I mean, my hobby is drinking Cava,” she responds. To say that Namasenda has star quality would be an understatement.

However, Namasenda is still working on music. Even though her mic is broken, she's been recording ideas directly into her computer. "It's very DIY right now," she says with a mischievous smile, keeping mum on any new projects in the pipeline. “I'm really excited about making more music. I feel very inspired and I also feel extremely happy, which I haven't been able to say for a while. I feel good," she says.

And with this sentiment still ringing through my laptop speakers, we say goodbye. Before we do, though, Namasenda tells me she will be on the cover of Vogue Scandinavia in 10 years. I can't help but believe her.

Listen to Namasenda on Spotify: