Doomed Confessionary: Hannah Louve Benedum (Nava Calma)
Photo by Oyemi Hessou
Berlin, Germany based ambient/post-rock/shoegaze quartet Nava Calma just dropped their debut album »The Full Weight Of Everything« on July 12th, 2024 via Stellar Frequencies.
Nava Calma was born out of a desire for symbiosis. For connection. From the very beginning as a solo project of a young musician looking for meaning, its intent was to connect the sonic dots of its creator’s identity to form something that’s more than the sum of its parts.
Now acting as a full band the four-piece from Berlin, Germany channel their innermost connection to the world around them through weeping melodies perched on top of shoegazey pads and soundscapes which are then delivered with an explosive and manic urgency and relentless drums. Their sound nests within the realms of post-rock, shoegaze, post-metal and the ever so ambiguous term “dreamo”, drawing from artists like Holy Fawn, Emma Ruth Rundle or »Koi No Yokan«-era Deftones.
Can you say a few words about your band?
Nava Calma is what happens when people of different backgrounds, different experiences, different joy and different pain come together to say the same thing.
What was the biggest challenge for the band?
We’ve already gone through the majority of mishaps and bad things that happen to a band throughout its existence. From airlines losing luggage with all our gear before a two week US tour to bigoted support acts calling us slurs. It’s all part of the journey I suppose. The biggest challenge for me continues to be the responsibility of making sure everyone is happy and working towards the same goal. Being in a band is like having a relationship. Only that instead of two people it’s four in our case. Everyone has different needs and I want to be able to accommodate them to the best of my abilities. There’s no point in one person calling the shots and everyone else just follows suit no questions asked. That’s not the band I want to be in. However when there’s passion involved it takes some work to not let it go to our heads and become stubborn about things.
What can you be most proud of so far?
Our new album »The Full Weight Of Everything«. The fact that we managed to pull this off with all the challenges we faced during the process of creating it. Personally I’ve never been more proud of anything in my life…so far at least.
What was your biggest regret?
Not starting sooner.
What was the best concert/tour so far and why?
Playing a show in New York was definitely not something I ever thought I’d be doing in my life. That whole US tour with Sailor Boyfriend was incredibly life affirming and fulfilling.
We also did a tour this year with Jaguwar. It was our longest one yet and, for many reasons, we all came back as different people. It was tough at times but I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.
What was the biggest surprise on the music scene for you?
That the kind of people you deal with stay the same. No matter if it’s a diy show or a 3k cap venue. It’s the same kind of lovely idiots (myself definitely included) and I find that very reassuring. It makes everything more tangible and reminds me that it’s possible to find success, whatever that may mean for someone.
What is currently in your heavy musical rotation?
Personally I’m listening to the new Julie Christmas album. I loved her work with Cult Of Luna and was so excited to get more. Very strong AOTY contender!
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given as a musician?
It takes time. A lot of time.
What are your guilty pleasures?
I try my best not to feel guilty about what I like because people should enjoy things that are good and make them feel things. There’s a couple remnants of my scene days for sure, though 😀
Can you say something more about the music scene in Berlin?
The Berlin scene is great! It’s definitely not perfect but there’s so many talented people absolutely killing it like our friends in soastasphrenas for example!
This is the first time I feel a sense of community in a scene. Sure there’s drama here and there but overall people are kind and supportive.
A lot of venues are slowly dying right now tho and it’s heartbreaking. Small diy spaces mean a lot to me because they gave me a safe space to exist and grow as a person in my teens. I owe a lot to this community and to see that these spaces are taken away from younger people who might be in need of them is terrifying. Support subculture! Go to local shows!
Where can we see you live this year (concerts/tours)?
We’ve got two more German shows coming up! Our record release show was on July 12th as part of My People Fest in Berlin and the week after on July 20th in Bremen.
There will be more tours coming as well but I don’t think I can tell you about that just yet 😉
What are your plans for the future as a band?
Write, play, grow, repeat.
How can people best support your band?
Coming to shows is obviously the best way, but it’s also incredibly affirming to engage with people. Our digital identity is so overbearing these days it’s easy to forget that there’s real people behind that screen. The reason I got into touring was the fact that you meet a lot of people. You get a glimpse into their world that they share with you for a night. I’m very grateful for that. If you want to support us, come say hi in any way 🙂
Do you have any message for your listeners?
You took the time to give a small band from somewhere else a listen and gave them the opportunity to resonate with you. We don’t take that for granted and we’re grateful. Thank you ❤️
Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp | Spotify | YouTube
Bojan Bidovc // music enthusiast, promoter, misanthrop and sometimes a journalist as well