'We just broke out laughing and kept laughing'

We seem to have forgotten that music can also make you laugh. It’s an emotion that is often overlooked in modern pop and R&B lyrics where love, loss or ‘he/she/they did me wrong’ have become overriding themes. With the world spinning from bleak to bleaker, hearing Naomi Vaughn‘s single ye, aha reminded me of the humorous side to life with her anti-party attitude! Released with a superb video we spoke to the Swedish songstress to discover more about her and the song.

Hi Naomi, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us. For many, this may be the first time they’ve heard of Naomi Vaughn. How would you summarise your background so far?

I love writing, and I have for as long as I can remember, so I always thought I would just write for others. It’s funny because my first release ‘PAPER‘ wasn’t even meant for anyone else to ever hear, but writing with that mindset made me fall back in love with it even more. So I just kept writing after session and work, and that’s how my EP came about.

Your new single has a rich mix of R&B, hip-hop and soul. Who are your musical influences?

I grew up on a ton of good hip-hop like Mos Def, The Roots and Ms. Lauryn Hill as well as D’Angelo and Mary J. Blige and that always stuck with me. I’ve always admired the lyricism in hip-hop, and I also love the sampling culture. We really tried to capture that feeling in “ye, aha”.

How would you describe the new single ‘ye, aha’?

It’s just light-hearted and fun.

We thought after covid people would be looking forward to going out! How did the new single come about?

Honestly, I thought about that a lot, but it’s just one of those things where expectation doesn’t always meet reality. It’s like you have those nights you live on, but they don’t come too often. The idea came when I was in a very one-sided conversation, and I could just hear myself repeatedly going, ‘yeah, aha, omg, wow’. In my head, I was like ‘This is a song’, so I stepped aside and recorded the actual chorus on my phone.

Attractive black woman — Let’s not get this party started. Photo by Julius Hafra

There’s a refreshing amount of humour in the song. Is that something you set out to do?

It wasn’t intentional, but I brought the idea to Rikard, the co-writer and producer of the song, because he’s really funny. When I played the idea for him, we just broke out laughing and kept laughing throughout the whole process.

The production by Rikard De Bruin is excellent. How did the collaboration happen?

He is a close friend of mine, and when the idea came to mind he was the first person I thought about because he’s funny and super talented.

The video felt like an essential part of telling this song’s story. You are a natural in front of the camera! Where were you, and was it fun to make?

Thank you, it’s my first music video, so I was a little nervous and uncomfortable, which worked in my favour. We were at my favourite bar Söders Hjärta with my closest friends. We had so much fun, and it made everything feel way more natural.

Naomi Vaughn - ye, aha (Official Music Video)