While The Moon Naima Joris

• 1Hopeful Again05:12
• 2While The Moon04:34
• 3White Noise04:40
• 4Anyone (Lived in a Pretty How Town)05:22
• 5Inside Our03:58
• 6What If03:49
• 7Suddenly03:05
• 8Remember06:05
• 9This Life + Urlicht03:29
• Total Runtime40:14

Info for While The Moon

Some musicians can do that. Make time stand still. Often without intention. They sing songs straight from the heart. They pull on all your heartstrings. Naima Joris is such a singer. Pure.

Naima Joris has had an eventful life. She’s no novice - certainly not on a human level - but, strangely enough, she is as a musician/composer. She never had the ambition to stand on a stage and only learned the basics of guitar and piano at age 27. It was enough to comfort herself at home by playing and singing cover songs that appealed to her heart.

Her father, jazz musician Chris Joris, pulled her onto the stage starting in 2016 as a guest singer in his band. She discovered the depths of her voice and one day took a tip from an enthusiastic listener to cover a song by Cesaria Evora.

She tried this tip during the first lockdown, so she posted Sodade from Cesaria Evora. The success of that Facebook post led her into the spotlight.

While everyone’s career was on hold, Naima broke through when she was 39. This gave her the opportunity to pay tribute together with her brother, Yassinto, to their deceased sister in the form of her first EP. (“Naima Joris” 2021)

After the ode came a tribute album of songs by Daniel Johnston, in whose working method and world of feelings she finds common ground. (“Tribute to Daniel Johnston” 2022)

And now, her first album-length debut: “While the Moon”. A warm bath to comfort the soul of every listener to whom it speaks. ‘Hopeful again’ and ‘Suddenly’ are further post-mortem collaborations with her deceased sister, who left the lyrics behind.

Naima’s songs don’t look away from painful subjects that affect us all. She chooses to sing about it instead of mourning it precisely because she loves life. For example, the album concludes with an ode to life in ‘This Life + Urlicht.’ The closing track is a fusion of two compositions. This Life is composed and played in a childlike way by Naima on the Celtic harp. Urlicht, the second part, is a composition by Niels Van Heertum in which you hear him breathe through his euphonium. Naima: “That brings us to the essence; because breath begins and ends life.”

”Naima Joris has a mesmerizing voice that cuts deep through every (jazz) soul. Listen to her heartbreaking version of Thom Yorke’s ‘Bloom’ and you’ll be instantly hookedAnd pray to gOD: ‘Thank you lord for sending such a talented artist to planet Earth!’" (Kurt Overbergh, Ancienne Belgique)

Naima Joris

Naima Joris
only sang her first songs when she was 27. After several years of being a backing singer, she was encouraged by her father Chris Joris (a well-known Belgian jazz musician) to further discover her own voice as a lead singer.

She took ample time to give that voice its own repertoire and debuted in 2021 with a first untitled EP. A gripping and impressive journey through the most intimate depths of her heart. Five black-rimmed, intense songs that try to give a place to the pain and sadness of the loss of someone dear. Fragile and personal stories that touch a universal chord and from which we, as listeners, could draw comfort, understanding and strength.

In recent years, Naima herself took a lot of comfort, courage and inspiration from the songs of Daniel Johnston. In anticipation of her debut album, she decided to tackle a number of songs by the regretted singer-songwriter.

“I discovered Daniel Johnston through the documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston” sometime in 2009, when I rented a basement room in Brussels. I was singing back up with Isbells at the time when someone encouraged me to try writing my own songs. It was after seeing that famous documentary when I found the courage to do this. I saw how Daniel Johnston approached songwriting; in a very honest and pure way without embarrassment. The low-fi sound also suited my rather limited recording material. I didn’t write many songs, but as long as they were honest and sincere it was worth it. Like writing in a diary. I recorded the songs, put them in a folder and didn’t think I could really achieve anything with them. I mainly recorded covers, because I didn’t think my own songs were good enough. Why would I want to make songs myself when there are already so many amazing songs out there that perfectly express what I feel?”

This album contains no booklet.