Nai Palm

Nai Palm is a vocalist and guitarist, the lead singer of the band Hiatus Kaiyote, and a solo music artist.

Nai Palm
Birth nameNaomi Saalfield
Born (1989-05-15) May 15, 1989
Genres
Years active2011–present
LabelsFlying Buddha, Sony Masterworks
Associated acts
Website

Early life

She was born Naomi Grace Saalfield on May 15, 1989 in Melbourne, Australia. She and her five siblings were raised by their single mother, a choreographer and painter, until Nai was 11 years old, when her mother died of breast cancer.[1] She was orphaned at 13 when her father died in a house fire. Saalfield was first introduced to music by her mother, playing piano and listening to soul, flamenco, and Northwest African music. Later, her brother introduced her to classic rock staples Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin.[2]

After Saalfield’s mother died, she went through the foster care system, and went to live with her aunt in Mount Beauty. She also lived for a time with a family who ran a wildlife sanctuary for native animals where she developed a love and attachment to the natural world.[3] Her aunt had an acoustic guitar, and Nai learned to harmonize with it.[2] When Saalfield was 15 years old, she moved back to Melbourne and was homeless for a time. She started using "Nai Palm" as a professional name while working as a fire performer.[1]

Career with Hiatus Kaiyote

In Melbourne, Saalfield began to perform gigs with her guitar. She met bassist Paul Bender when he saw her do a solo show, and they started working together a year later. Drummer Perrin Moss and keyboardist Simon Mavin joined shortly afterwards, and the quartet became the band Hiatus Kaiyote.[4]

In February 2012, Hiatus Kaiyote opened for Taylor McFerrin in Melbourne. McFerrin was so impressed with them that he introduced their music to influential broadcaster and DJ Gilles Peterson.[5] Later, in 2014, Nai Palm was a featured artist on McFerrin's track, "The Antidote."[6]

The band released their debut album Tawk Tomahawk independently in April 2012. It was noticed by numerous musicians including Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors,[7] and received public endorsements from Erykah Badu, Questlove,and Prince, who urged their followers via Twitter to listen to the music.[8] In early 2013, Gilles Peterson named Hiatus Kaiyote the Breakthrough Artist of the Year at his Worldwide Music Awards in London[9] and shortly thereafter they were introduced to Salaam Remi who had just started working as an A&R executive at Sony Music. Sony gave him the opportunity to start up his own label, Flying Buddha, and his first signing was Hiatus Kaiyote. They licensed Tawk Tomahawk to the label, adding an updated version of the track "Nakamarra" featuring Q-Tip. Following this release, the band toured extensively internationally, and were nominated in 2014 for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance for that track.[10] They were the first ever Australian artist to be nominated for a Grammy in an R&B category.[11] They lost out to Snarky Puppy and Lalah Hathaway's recording "Something".

I want to be involved and be a part of the world. That’s really cliché, but I’m really lucky that I’ve managed to make a career out of being myself. And it’s reaching people on different levels. For example, on the day that Beyoncé thing dropped, a woman messaged me on Instagram from Madagascar. She was doing field work, and she named a bamboo lemur after me. Everyone was so excited about the Beyoncé thing—and yeah, that’s great—and amidst all of that, there’s a small creature in Madagascar named after me! To me, that’s an accolade. Little things like that.

– The Alchemy Behind Nai Palm’s Intuitive and Curious Techniques[2]

In 2014, the band began working on their second album, Choose Your Weapon, which was released on 1 May 2015. On 9 May 2015, Choose Your Weapon debuted at number 22 on the Australian albums chart.[12] Nai Palm described the album as an "extension" of their debut, and stated she and the band had no intention to make a one-genre body of work. Many of the songs on the album derived from Saalfield's original ideas that were later fleshed out by the band together. During the recording the band wanted to pay tribute to the format of a mixtape, so they incorporated interludes.[13] The album also became the band's first release to chart in the US, reaching #127 on the US Billboard 200,[14] and #11 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.[15]

The song "Breathing Underwater" from Choose Your Weapon was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards, but lost out to The Weeknd's recording of "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Gray)".[16]

Solo career

In 2017, Nai Palm released her debut solo album Needle Paw, and toured in support of it.[17] The album features only vocals and guitars, and includes original tracks as well as songs by David Bowie, Tamia, and Jimi Hendrix.[18] She also worked with Australian indigenous performer Jason Guwanbal Gurruwiwi on the album.[19] The recording process of this release was very different from Hiatus Kaiyote albums. During an interview with Julie Adenuga of Beats 1 Nai mentioned she thought "Needle Paw" was the name of a desert flower.[20] In an interview with Sound of Boston, Nai Palm explained that working on a solo album gave her greater flexibility to work on her guitar sounds and the challenge of releasing a more raw and personal record.[21] The cover art of the album, an abstract drawing of Saalfield, was done by Chilean artist Jowy Maasdamme, whom Saalfield discovered on Instagram.[21]

In June 2018, Nai Palm was featured on Scorpion by Drake, who has spoken highly of both her and Hiatus Kaiyote. She sang a cover of "More Than a Woman" by Aaliyah, which appears at the end of Drake's song "Is There More."[22][23]

Personal life

On October 18, 2018, Saalfield revealed via her social media that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.[24] She posted to Instagram, "I am riddled with anxiety while trying to practice courage and patience daily in the face of the scariest and most emotionally triggering shit I’ve ever had to endure."[25]

From her hospital bed recovering from a mastectomy, Nai performed a cover of Curtis Mayfield's “The Makings of You”, accompanied by Paul Bender on guitar.[26] She opted out of breast reconstruction in the hope to challenge beauty standards. As of an interview with KCRW Berlin in 2019, she is currently cancer-free.[27]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Details
Needle Paw
  • Release: 2017
  • Label: Flying Buddha
  • Format: Digital download, CD and vinyl

References
  1. Heins, Scott (2015). "Nai Palm Of Hiatus Kaiyote Shares Her Amazing Story Of Grief And Hope For 'What's Underneath'". Okayplayer. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  2. Pennick, Bailey (2 January 2019). "The Alchemy Behind Nai Palm's Intuitive and Curious Techniques". She Shreds. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. Adams, Biba (6 November 2017). "Nai Palm talks "journal"-like debut album 'Needle Paw' and being sampled by Drake". Revolt. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  4. Tan, Teresa (12 December 2016). "Nooks & Crannies: Hiatus Kaiyote". Sydney Opera House. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. "GILLES PETERSON'S WORLDWIDE AWARDS 2013". Crack Magazine. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  6. "Taylor McFerrin - The Antidote (feat. Nai Palm) - Official Music Video". Youtube. 26 September 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. "Interview: Hiatus Kaiyote – ACCLAIM". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  8. "Hiatus Kaiyote get a tweet of approval from Prince". Retrieved 15 September 2015.
  9. "GILLES PETERSON'S WORLDWIDE AWARDS 2013". Crack Magazine. 22 January 2013. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  10. Michael Dwyer. "Independent Melbourne band Hiatus Kaiyote gets Grammy nod". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
  11. Dwyer, Michael (9 December 2013). "Grammy nod". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  12. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  13. DanMichael (27 April 2015). "Interview: Nai Palm Discusses Choose Your Weapon". Revive-music.com. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  14. "Hiatus Kaiyote – Chart history". Billboard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  15. "Hiatus Kaiyote – Chart history". Billboard. 23 May 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  16. "2016 Grammy Awards: Complete list of winners and nominees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  17. Will Brewster (2015-02-11). "Nai Palm is out to crush your assumptions". Mixdownmag.com.au. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  18. Adams, Biba (6 November 2017). "Nai Palm talks "journal"-like debut album 'Needle Paw' and being sampled by Drake". Revolt. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  19. Kalia, Ammar (20 November 2017). "Different Viewpoints: Nai Palm On Solo Work, And Engaging With Australian Aboriginal Traditions". Clash Music. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  20. Adenuga, Julie. "An Interview With Nai Palm". Apple Music. Apple Music. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  21. Bedian, Knar. "Interview: Nai Palm (Of Hiatus Kaiyote)". Sound of Boston. Sound of Boston. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  22. "How Drake's Love of Australian Band Hiatus Kaiyote Turned Into a 'More Life' Sample". Billboard. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  23. "Nai Palm on Contributing to Drake's New Album 'Scorpion'". Complex. Retrieved 2018-07-13.
  24. Yoo, Noah (18 October 2018). "Hiatus Kaiyote's Nai Palm Diagnosed With Breast Cancer". Pitchfork. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  25. Brandle, Lars (19 October 2018). "Hiatus Kaiyote's Nai Palm Is Battling Breast Cancer". Billboard. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  26. "Watch Nai Palm Perform A Stunning Cover Of Curtis Mayfield's "The Makings Of You" From Her Hospital Bed". Okayplayer. 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  27. Cunningham, Sylvia (15 November 2019). "KCRW Berlin Presents: Australian musician Nai Palm on loss, survival and celebrating a year cancer-free". KCRW Berlin. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
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