Naram

Despite growing up in the sub-Antarctic climes of Wellington some 13000km from Jamaica, Naram is a musician/producer who has gained a reputation as being one of today’s most authentic creators of true school reggae and rub-a-dub. Eschewing the well-worn path of easy listening Kiwi BBQ dub Naram is instead inspired by the dark bass heavy sounds of Jamaican ghetto music from the 1970s and 80s. For more than a decade now he’s obsessively studied the science behind hardcore reggae and dub. His first release came in 2014 after being invited to join the renowned German label Jahtari. The resulting LP ‘March of the Gremlins’ won critical acclaim for its synth-heavy blend of nostalgia and futurism. This provided a launch pad to pursue music full time and collaborate with a roll call of veteran artists including Cutty Ranks Midnight Riders Ranking Ann King Kong Mr Williamz and Tippa Lee. He now has more than 20 vinyl releases to his name on the likes of Jahtari Scotch Bonnet (the Mungo’s HiFi imprint) and New Zealand’s very own Red Robin Records (which he co-founded). It was on the latter which his most recent project came out – ‘Midnight Riders meets the Naram Rhythm Section’ – an LP that’s been cited by some pundits as the best international reggae album of 2020. When performing live Naram takes an uncompromising approach following the classic dub formula of King Tubby. So rather than DJing he uses an analogue desk to mix his riddims into the ether with echo units spring reverbs and other such gadgetry. Expect a dark spooky set with heavyweight basslines dubbed out synths and an array of killer dubplates.