№ 138 - Nao Never

Honouring one of the world’s most creative cities with a day party at Point Éphémère, featuring a blend of rising local talents and legends like Geneva, Gilb’r, Alexis Le Tan, and Soyoon on the decks - plus a live set from Tolouse Low Trax.

Also on the all-day music schedule is Nao Never, the latest to join The EDWIN Music Channel roster with mix №138 - a diverse, partly trip-hopping set crafted in celebration of the NOODS event and suited to all of life’s moods.

It’s a mix with class, coming from a DJ, that isn’t just another Parisian DJ. Nao Never is a curator, sonic explorer, and boundary-blurring radio host. Whether spinning live or weaving stories through her radio shows, she champions intensity, eclecticism, and emotional resonance in electronic music. Affiliated with forward-thinking label collectives like Antinote and Teenage Menopause, she crafts deeply varied sets that blend cool indie emotions, melancholic dub spheres, American psychedelia, downtempo, and electro.

Whether performing at Parisian venues like Wanderlust, Le Klub, or Marseille’s Dock des Suds, her sets are always immersive, emotionally charged, and genre-defying. Beyond the club, she curates radio shows for platforms like DIA! Radio, NTS, Radio Sofa and Kiosk Radio, to name a few.

With a taste for both introspection and intensity, Nao Never bridges underground dance culture with experimental storytelling - emerging as one of the most exciting voices in the French electronic underground.

For The EDWIN Music Channel, Nao crafted a mix that explores passion-fuelled sounds through Ambient, Jazz, Trip-hop, and industrial textures. To dive deeper into her mind and vision, we spoke to her about her young career and her aspirations as a DJ.

Q. Hey Nao, how did you get your start in the Paris scene and what initially drew you to DJing?

A. My first gig was a few years ago at the DSXL squat in Romainville!  You know this kind of place where people bring you into a journey, an energy that you have never seen before. What a souvenir, I was the first to start and I played this track: Link A tune that perfectly tells What drew me: music is an intrinsic inside - outside a language to share.

Q. How do you think your sound or approach has evolved since you started? Are there phases in your DJ identity?

A. I have many colours of sound! Identity is the biggest question. Even when you deeply know who you are, as a living being, I am in perpetual movement and simultaneously anchored in values, culture, and philosophy. "My music" is composed and decomposed in the same way.

Q. When you’re behind the decks, do you see yourself as telling a story, releasing emotion, or something else entirely? What are you trying to transmit?

A. Well, I just go with the flow playing the music I like, trying to have fun myself as well as bringing the best fun I can to the dancefloor.

Q. Your DJ name has a poetic, almost melancholic ring to it — is there a story or meaning behind ‘Nao Never’?

A. I used to live in the Parisian district Bagnolet with my roommate Louise aka Spmdj. One day, we were tripping and brainstorming about DJ's names, and Nao Never popped up naturally to Louise. That’s the story.

Q. Paris has a distinct sonic and cultural energy - how has the city shaped your identity as Nao Never, both musically and personally?

A. Paris has a very rich, diverse culture and music offer. From eighteen years old on, I took the most advantage of it by going out a lot and meeting inspiring people.

Q. How do you keep your sets fresh and stay up to date with new music? Are there particular platforms, labels, or record stores you trust?

A. By spending hours and hours digging Bandcamp and Discogs mostly.

Q. You are also hosting radio shows for Lyl Radio or ROVR. What is the difference between doing a radio show and playing a DJ set for you?

A. You tell a story by yourself with radio shows, and you tell a story together with the crowd in a party context

Q. If you weren’t DJing, what do you think you'd be doing instead - realistically or in a dream world?

A. Djing is not my main job. I work as a stylist and costume designer.

Q. What’s one book, film, or piece of art that’s had a lasting impact on you personally or creatively?

A. That one book from Aimé Césaire, "Cahier d'un retour au pays natal" which is from Martinique where my mother comes from. It is a very poetic and super beautifully written text that tells a lot about my cultural roots. As a movie, I would pick "Beau Travail" by Claire Denis. It is not a war movie nor a love movie but a beautiful ballet of bodies! I also loved " Le perimeter de Denver" by Vimala Pons. A movie between filmed essay, performance, transformism portrait gallery and interwoven stories.

Q. You play at the EDWIN x Noods Fête de la Musique event. What do you anticipate, what do you like about the line-up, and what makes Fête de la Musique special?

A. La Fête de la Musique brings everyone together in the street to celebrate the beauty of music. The line-up is so cool and diverse, it's also nice to share the bill with some of my favourite artists.

Q. And how did you prepare your Edwin Music channel mix? Is it a spontaneous ride or is there a specific story arc behind it?

A. It is a mix full of all the classics of mine and some fresh new things. I wanted it fun and a bit dancy. I hope you dig it!!!

Tracklist:
Genesis P Orridge & Astrid Monroe - When I was young
Mauxuam - Wiggly things t(he glitch mix)
The Starseeds - Behind the sun (Hidden spaceship mix)
Doctor Echo - Living reality through dreams
Laika - Coming Down Glass
PIG - Cry Baby
Gaul Plus feat POison GiRL FRiEND - Mercury Fountain
Ram Dass & Kriece – Mantra
Houschyar - The Rorschach Garden- Is Hope An Energy
David Harrow ft. Little Annie - End of times( Ono Sendai sound version)
Zillas on Acid - A wonderful time in a terrible club (Fantastic Twins remix)
The Orb - Outlands
Llwybr Llaethog - Rhyfel (War In Baghdad Isn't My Bag Daddio)
Mc Sultan - Der Bauch
Lamusa II - Intro