Exploring nostalgic Indian roots with DJ Naina
Words by Shayma Bakht
We caught up with London-raised Naina. She is a Presenter & DJ at radio stations Beats 1 and Reprezent, who also co-founded the emerging label, Hooversound. Moving back to her childhood home during lockdown unearthed a wave of nostalgia that inspired innovative sounds in electronic dance. She talks us through her Ugandan-Indian family history, the influence of her sister, her love of the inspiration that is MIA, and the launch of her label.
Tell us a bit more about your background...
My mum (photographed on her wedding in Croydon, 1982) was originally born in Uganda and then, at around seven years old, moved to India for three years. At 10 years old, she came to the UK with her family. They lived in Croydon. It was a big family to move over: seven sisters and a brother all living in one house in South London!
Dad’s from a smaller family. Born in Kenya then moved to Slough in the 1970s at 20 years old (pictured sitting on a car when he arrived in this country). Both my parents are African-born, Hindu Punjabi's living in the UK. [They] met via family connections, and eventually got married in the ‘80s. I grew up around the Maidenhead-Burnham-Windsor area, where they settled down. I [also] lived in Southampton at University before finally moving, ironically, back to the same area my mum grew up in: South London.
What inspired you to become a DJ?
I always had an obsession with music. Any genre, any type of sound. I wanted to hear it all. I knew I wanted it to be [my] career, I just wasn't sure exactly how.
I [studied] Music Journalism at university - I was always choosing the music at house parties. While studying, my mate Mitchell would sit on my bedroom floor and teach me how to ‘beat-match’. It literally started as a hobby and an outlet to share the music I loved. So, I started putting mixes out on Soundcloud, and eventually got bookings to play at clubs in Southampton. It all spiralled from there! Moving to London was [a choice] to continue in the industry.
We know your sister influenced your taste in music, can you tell us more about her?
My sister took me to my first gig and festival from a very young age, and my main influences were the compilation CDs she would make me. I'd steal all her cassettes to listen to. She decided to make me loads of [my own] CDs - she burned them for me using a computer. It was all genres, which made it so special. One CD would have pop, rock and R’n’B. There was probably more rock music [than other genres], but it all had a hand in making my music taste so broad.
Because of a massive age gap, we only lived together for 8 years. They were crucial [and] laid the groundwork for my curiosity into music.
What sparked the idea to experiment with mixing the two worlds together for this new mix?
During lockdown, I temporarily moved back to my parent’s home. I haven't lived here in ages and it feels quite nostalgic. It brought back floods of memories. I find myself digging through random things here, especially bits from when I was a teenager. I found all the CDs [that my sister made], my GCSE artwork, old festival wristbands...
Not being able to go gigging, I decided to look through some ‘90s hindi movie soundtracks that I remembered from my childhood. I fancied doing something different. It started off as a total experiment, but ended up working quite well. I thought it was a cool way to represent my roots [and] pay homage to all the [dance] music I heard growing up. I also think it shows how well the two sounds can complement each other.
How did making the mix make you feel?
It felt nostalgic, empowering and it was really fun. I'm primarily known in music for DJing electronic dance music. I've never done anything like this. I was thinking about this in lockdown a lot: I've wanted to see more ethnic people in dance music as there simply isn't enough. I grew up just like every other British Asian in this country with parents born in Africa. No one in my family works in the music industry. I didn't have any "connects" or ways in. I just went for it. And, if I can't use my platform to inspire people similar to me, then it's a waste. It is terrifying entering a field where no one looks like you. Starting ‘No ID with Ahad’ [was] creating a community with like minded people to give people the courage to do what they want.
You mentioned that MIA is a big inspiration to you, could you expand on this?
Honestly, she's such a badass. I remember seeing the music videos to ‘Bucky Done Gun’ and ‘Galang’, and being like, “Woah, another brown girl? [Who] does Dance music? And she's on my TV?!”I love her music because you can't box it into a specific genre or style. It's so exciting and you never know what to expect. I also love how she sends a message within [it]. She doesn't hold back when it comes to sharing her views on issues.
Also, she samples so much Indian music in her songs. I play them to my parents and they tell me what she's sampled - It's so cool that they can relate to M.I.A's music too! To me, there is no one like her. [Her samples] made me think I can do that in a mix, using songs from my childhood. So, she has directly influenced this [latest] mix.
How can we keep diversifying the music industry and encourage more young women from our communities to get involved?
The music industry needs to become more diverse. It needs to take a step back and look at who they've employed, and [figure out] how they can open the doors for more ethnic people.
Saying that, it's so difficult to chase a dream where you feel you don't belong. Imposter syndrome is real too. So, creating communities like AZEEMA, Gal-Dem, No ID are perfect. Sometimes you literally just need to speak to someone for advice. I entered this game blind and I felt kind of alone. Now that I've been in this game a while, it's important [to] help our sisters and encourage them. Look at everything that's going on in the world right now… My heart has felt heavy for weeks. But, at the same time, it is so inspiring to see our generation fighting for change. We have to keep going - together. In unity, there is power!
Tell us a bit more about Hooversound, what inspired you and Sherelle to launch this, and what do you hope to achieve?
I've known Sherelle for years. We met at Reprezent Radio. We got the amazing and surreal opportunity to open for The Prodigy at Brixton Academy in 2017. Doing that B2B together… Our music just slapped! We both were playing 140-160 club music. We've always bonded over [it], but this opened our eyes. We [then] found a lot of great music from unsigned artists, and we were looking to champion that scene. By coming together, we create[d] a platform and a label that highlights these artists. We were sitting on it for years! We’d talk about it all the time, and then finally we were like, “You know what, it's never gonna be the right time. We're always busy with radio and DJing... Lets just do it.”
We're so grateful for the love and support it's received. We want to keep working with our favourite artists and also showcase brand new talent in Dance music. [The label] has a specific focus on 140/160 music. We're aiming to build a huge back-catalogue of music and help these artists grow in every way.
We're only two releases in, so this is just the beginning! It's been a huge learning curve, and I couldn't ask to do it with anyone better.