Yael Naim "Older"
Written by: Shino Okamura
The first new album in five years that shows her growth as a true artist
Her parents are Jews who emigrated from Tunisia. After spending her childhood in Israel, she currently lives in Paris. Yael Naim, who has just turned 38, was born and raised in such cosmopolitan, ethnically diverse environments. Needless to say, though, such cross-over in France is not unusual, and new cultures are born and formed through such exposures to different ethnicities, which is precisely the way with this female artist Yael Naim.
Not only her background is an ethnic crossover but her style of music is also very flexible. While she learned classic piano as a child, she also grew up listening to jazz and pop music. In fact, in her works, there are modest displays of musical elements from many different regions such as Eastern Europe, Slavs, the Middle East, Asia, or Africa. Moreover, her personal and professional partner David Donatien who is also involved in this work is a Caribbean French, and even a member of The Meters joined the production of this new album. After all, it is essential for her music to be seamless cross-border pop.
Having lost her grandmother who had loved her so much, and being blessed with a baby between David on the other hand – those two events seem to be the theme of this album. Since she has been naturally open-minded to any area, genre, and ethnicity, she is capable of flexibly handling such extreme opposites as the theme – such as ‘life and death’. “Make A Child” is a lively pop number and the title track “Older” is a heavy-toned ballad singing about parting in a quiet manner. She weaves her music expressively and carefully with any number, ranging from boisterous tunes played with a band to songs sung solo to the piano. In those numbers are glimpses of her dignity and pride that she can create a pop number out of any types of feelings with any tone of tune. It might be fair to say that she has become a great artist as the 70s’ Jane Birkin in her most shining period of her life.
