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NAMESAKE creates a playlist that inspires her sound

NAMESAKE shares the playlist of inspiration behind her recent singles, with Kaytranada and Mura Masa bouncing in the list.

West Coastie producer/DJ, NAMESAKE recently dropped Waste No Time featuring Chiseko, as well as In Your Eyes with singer Princess Khanya. In these tracks, she intertwines elements of hip hop, R&B and electronic genres, while infusing deep emotions with euphoric highs.

NAMESAKE is killing it in the scene, as her music hits spots in Spotify Editorial playlists such as New Music FridaysThe HybridCrushFresh Finds AU & NZ, as well as support from SoundCloud Editorials and independent curators such as AUD dollars and ACCLAIM Heat of the Week.

Namesake
Credit: Press

The tracks draw influence from a collection of artists, and NAMESAKE strips groovy and smooth vibes with a strong focus on drum and bass and a love for SoundCloud production and places them within the bounds of her own music. Presenting us with her own playlist of influence, you get to know her style and passion for music in a more in-depth way as well as listen to the tracks that pushed her to create her own sound.

1. PinkPantheress & Sam Gellaitry – Picture in my mind

PinkPantheress has been one of my favourite artists over the past year or so as her music career has grown to where it is now. One thing I really appreciate about her music is the influence drawn from SoundCloud producers and SoundCloud remix culture, as this is where I draw a lot of inspiration from too. This song is a great example of that with her working with Soundcloud G.O.A.T. Sam Gellaitry and even her new song with Kaytranada which was a collab I’ve been looking forward to seeing for a while.

2. Ravyn Lenae – Xstasy

Kaytranada is one of my biggest influences for my production and in general as an artist. His sound is so unique and recognizable and, as a drummer myself, I have always been drawn to the bounce and groove that his drums have in every song. This team-up with Ravyn Lenae is perfect in my eyes because Ravyn’s vocals match so well with Kaytranada’s sound. I’ve collaborated a lot with my friend Jewel Owusu, and we often have used Ravyn Lenae’s music as key points of reference or inspiration.

3. Duckwrth – Pray

It’s been cool to see genres like UKG and DnB (Drum and Bass) make their way into the alternative R&B scene over the past few years. This song is a perfect example of that with the luscious sounds you’d find in a Duckwrth song over a DnB-like beat. I genuinely believe Duckwrth is one of the best artists of our time. His discography has so much range and his live performances look incredible. I love how his songs always have so much character, personality and sometimes even humor in them.

4. Grimm Lynn & Flwr Chyld – Do 2 Me

Flwr Chyld is a dope producer-artist whose SoundCloud remixes I play a lot in my sets. I love this song’s groove and Grimm Lynn never fails to provide very smooth vocals over his songs. As mentioned before, Soundcloud remix culture is a big influence of mine as a DJ and producer, and I really love it when producers from Soundcloud start releasing original music and incorporate the sounds of this culture into their original tracks.

5. Mura Masa & Erika De Casier – e-motions

Mura Masa is another producer-artist who I look up to as he has consistently put out quality music over the years that has a huge diversity of genres and vibes. His collaborations are always really interesting to me as it seems like he always tries to experiment with different sounds and put artists over tracks that they might not typically feature on. This song is similar in that way as it has Erika De Caiser’s really chill and pretty vocals over a UKG beat.

6. Ayra Starr – Fashion Killer

Ayra Starr is another artist I have loved watching grow in success over the past year or so. Her unique vocal tone over really groovy afrobeats makes all of her songs so enjoyable to listen to and dance to. I have been DJing at a lot of Hip Hop and afrobeat events lately so her music has come in clutch in setting the vibe. I think listening to her mixture of afrobeats, Afro Soul and R&B definitely influenced my latest single which also has a mix of these genres.

If these songs are hitting the right nerve for you and making you want to get up and boogie and groove, then listen to the full playlist here. Don’t forget to stream NAMESAKE’s new singles, and get amongst all that drum and bass. Check out Waste No Time via Spotify below.