by Ryan Martin (@ryanwhowrites)
During my senior year at the University of Hartford, I had the absolute pleasure of helping to put together and pull off a one-day music festival with some of my best friends through WSAM Radio. One of the acts that generously came to our neck of the woods to perform was NNAMDÏ. This was in Fall 2019, before the release of this year’s outstanding BRAT. NNAMDÏ’s solo performance that day was one of the many aspects about him that really solidified my feeling that the art he was making was truly something special.
I had the amazing job of taking care of the artists and leading them to their respective green rooms, assuring they had everything they need, and taking them to our less-than-impressive common dining room to get some food. I thoroughly enjoyed my time talking with NNAMDÏ and learning more about his path as an artist. It’s an absolute honor to be able to speak with him once again via e-mail to conduct this interview following his third release this year, KRAZY KARL.
RM: How did the creative process for KRAZY KARL differ from BRAT?
NO: BRAT was thought out and refined over the course of a few years. KRAZY KARL was a concept I had a few years ago. The first three songs were relatively fleshed out before I decided to really do the whole album. Literally, everything else was completed in the week before I put it out. I went with every first instinct at every moment, hit record, and just went part by part. (There was) no time to second guess or dwell on any decision.
RM: How far back do the songs for KRAZY KARL go? Have you been working on it longer than BRAT?
NO: Drums were recorded for every track a few years ago, around the same time the first BRAT beat was coming into fruition. It was the first 3 track skeletons. Some voice memos of me singing potential ideas with no context lol so they turned out to not really be helpful in finishing the recordings.
RM: I read you were influenced by Looney Tunes composer Carl Stalling while making KRAZY KARL. Where did that inspiration come from? Was this project something you’ve been wanting to do for a while? Or did you have a eureka moment?
NO: When I thought of the idea there were a mixture of things influencing the idea. I was definitely into Carl Stalling at the time, but I've always been into freaky orchestral music like that. I was planning on making a modern “Peter and The Wolf,” something I still have plans to do. Also, Frank Zappa is one of my favorite musical voices. Anyone familiar with his catalog knows how much range it has. I feel like his ability to just do whatever the fuck he wants resonated with me strongly. That on top of his clear musical genius. I'm drawn to artist that are free to just create worlds. I recorded the drums as loosely as possible as an exercise to pick point the natural tendencies and habits that would reveal themselves if I tried to turn my brain off and let my body follow its instinct. It was a way to try and truly understand my rhythmic inclinations so I could unlearn them.
RM: What cartoons did you watch growing up? Are there any that you can’t watch anymore? Ones you continue to watch today?
NO: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was my obsession. I had so many action figures as well. It was pretty wild. I also loved Darkwing Duck, Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain, Arthur, Rugrats. Ah there are honestly so many. Ren and Stimpy, which I got in to a lil bit later. Pinky and The Brain still holds up.
RM: Can you tell me a little bit more about how working with Yomi, Mallory Linehan and Joe Starita helped influence the record? Could you see the record taking a different avenue had you not had their contributions?
NO: So, Joe and Mallory who played cello and violin on a few tracks respectively met up in my old apartment one day and I had already recorded and sung the parts I wanted them to play over the drums. So, they just played what I sang to them. With Yomi it was a little different. I just had her play the harp with no real instruction, and I chopped it up, pitch shifted things and just kinda mutilated what she did into an unrecognizable creature. Most of the harp on “Kitty Can't Decide,” I actually had to recreate on my own that week, because as I went to record other instruments, I noticed that the harp had bent out of tune by the time we were working on that song. That was a huge pain in the ass, but it turned out nice, I think.
RM: What was the most challenging part of recording KRAZY KARL? What’s your favorite part about the finished product?
NO: The most challenging part was definitely trying to recreate the same feel I had created by chopping up the harp sounds on “Kitty Can't Decide.” Also deciding when to move on to the next song. The restricted weeklong time frame I gave myself definitely helped with that.
RM: Was there a concept behind the album art before ZelooperZ did it? Did he listen to the album before (or while he was) making it?
NO: The album wasn't even finished until 30 minutes after I was supposed to post it, so he definitely couldn't hear it. I hadn't even listened to it all the way through yet. I sent him the first track that was like 90% done like 2 or 3 days before and was like, “can you get this done immediately?” lmao. He crushed it. So SO grateful.
RM: Can you tell me a little more about what the album title KRAZY KARL means to you?
NO: It's just an homage to Stalling. It's what I called the file of the first track, which was the first one I made.
RM: What’s your turnaround rate look like? From the early stages of conception of a project to a fully finished piece.
NO: Depends. These recent releases for Black Plight and KRAZY KARL have been rare exceptions where most if not everything was done in a week’s time. That’s not the case for my previous two releases DROOL and BRAT that were slowly build over the course of a couple years.
RM: What’s your ideal relaxed day look like?
NO: Lounge about a bit. Watch something funny. Go on a bike ride. Drink a Topo Chico and eat a poke bowl in the park.
RM: Do you have any favorite albums of the year so far?
NO: Barnacles by Sahbabii. Also, my homie Sen (Morimoto) just announced his self-titled record that is def going to be the best record of the year to me.
RM: Who is your dream collaboration with and why is it Phoebe Bridgers?
NO: Lol she's great. Definitely not my dream collab. I really don't think about that much, I'd like to get more involved in projects with my homies because they are all legends. I don't collab enough with the people I'm close to really start venturing out with strangers. But an André 3000 verse would be crazy. Also, ENYA holy fuck, that’d be the most legendary shit of all time.