Nala Sinephro

Last updated

Nala Sinephro
Born1996 (age 2728)
Brussels, Belgium
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
Years active2020–present
Labels Warp
Website nalasinephro.com

Nala Sinephro (born 1996) is a Caribbean-Belgian experimental jazz musician, currently based in London. She is best known for her ambient jazz compositions, where she predominantly plays the pedal harp, modular synthesiser, keyboards and piano. [1]

Contents

In 2021, she released her debut studio album, Space 1.8 , on Warp Records to widespread critical acclaim. The album placed highly on several music publications' end-of-year lists. [2] [3] Her second studio album, Endlessness, was released in September 2024 to further acclaim, likewise ending up on certain year-end lists of the best albums of 2024. [4] [5]

Early life

Nala Sinephro spent her childhood in Belgium, growing up on the outskirts of Brussels, near a forest. Her Belgian mother was a classical piano teacher and her Martiniquan/Guadeloupean father was a jazz saxophonist. [6] [7]

During her teenage years, Sinephro developed a tumor in her jaw. The tumor's successful removal influenced a period of hedonistic living, with Sinephro frequenting Brussels-based clubs to seek out hardcore dance music. [6]

Initially interested in becoming a biochemist, Sinephro eventually transferred to an arts-based high school which featured a jazz department. There, she discovered the harp, which she quickly connected with. [6] Sinephro attended Berklee College of Music in Boston for one year, dropping out after finding her job as a sound engineer provided a more practical education. [6] She moved to London and enrolled in a second jazz college, though she quickly dropped out as a result of the racial disparity there. [6]

Career

Early career

In London, Sinephro became a contemporary of saxophonists Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia, and the jazz improvisation collective Steam Down, where she developed a sense of individuality in her style. [6] Sinephro began performing with Steam Down regularly, working alongside the London Contemporary Orchestra's artistic director Robert Ames. [8]

Beginning in June 2020, Sinephro hosted her own NTS Radio show. [9]

2018–2021: Space 1.8

Sinephro began writing the songs that would appear on Space 1.8 in 2018 and 2019. [8] Writing on piano, she would record her pedal harp and modular synthesiser parts at her home before entering Pink Bird recording studio to record with the album's collaborators, with included saxophonists Nubya Garcia and James Mollison, drummer Jake Long, and bassists Twm Dylan and Wonky Logic. [6] [10] Sinephro emphasized minimalism and intentionality when composing the album. [6]

2024–present: Endlessness

Sinephro's second studio album, Endlessness, was released on September 6, 2024. The album featured contributions from saxophonists Nubya Garcia and James Mollison; synth player Lyle Barton; drummers Natcyet Wakili and Morgan Simpson (of Black Midi); flugelhornist Sheila Maurice-Grey; and multi-instrumentalist Wonky Logic.

Personal life

Sinephro currently lives in Tottenham, North London. [6] She has family based in the Caribbean island Martinique. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinephro spent several months living on Martinique, where she developed an interest in field recordings. [6]

Discography

Studio albums

Guest appearances

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autechre</span> English electronic music duo

Autechre are an English electronic music duo consisting of Rob Brown and Sean Booth, both from Rochdale, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1987, they are among the best known acts signed to UK electronic label Warp Records, through which all of Autechre's full-length albums have been released beginning with their 1993 debut Incunabula. They gained initial recognition when they were featured on Warp's 1992 compilation Artificial Intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boards of Canada</span> Scottish electronic music duo

Boards of Canada are a Scottish electronic music duo consisting of the brothers Michael Sandison and Marcus Eoin, formed initially as a trio in 1986 before becoming a duo in the 1990s. Signing first to Skam followed by Warp Records in the 1990s, the duo received recognition following the release of their debut album Music Has the Right to Children on Warp in 1998. They followed with the critically acclaimed albums Geogaddi (2002), The Campfire Headphase (2005) and Tomorrow's Harvest (2013).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warp Records</span> British record label

Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by record store employees Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell and record producer Robert Gordon. It is currently based in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Four Tet</span> English electronic musician and DJ (born 1977)

Kieran Miles David Hebden, known as Four Tet, is an English electronic musician. He came to prominence as a member of the post-rock band Fridge before establishing himself as a solo artist with charting and critically acclaimed albums such as Rounds (2003), Everything Ecstatic (2005) and There Is Love in You (2010). In addition to his twelve studio albums as Four Tet, Hebden's work includes a number of improvisational works with jazz drummer Steve Reid and collaborations with Burial and Thom Yorke.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alice Coltrane</span> American jazz musician (1937–2007)

Alice Lucille Coltrane, also known as Swamini Turiyasangitananda or simply Turiya, was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and Hindu spiritual leader.

Zara McFarlane is a British music artist, singer, songwriter, composer, vocal coach and playwright based in East London, England. The critically acclaimed singer has released five albums under her own name. Jazzwise Magazine wrote that McFarlane, "is one of the UK’s pre-eminent jazz vocalists and composers". She is a multi - award winner, including a MOBO Awards., two Jazz FM awards and an Urban Music award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tomorrow's Warriors</span> British music education organisation (founded 1991)

Tomorrow's Warriors (TW) is a jazz music education and artist development organisation that was co-founded in 1991 by Janine Irons and Gary Crosby, committed to championing diversity, inclusion and equality across the arts through jazz, with a special focus on "Black musicians, female musicians and those whose financial or other circumstances might lock them out of opportunities to pursue a career in the music industry". Crosby drew inspiration from having been a member of the Jazz Warriors, a London-based group of musicians that in the 1980s showcased many young Black British musicians who went on to achieve international success.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Midi</span> English rock band

Black Midi are an English rock band from London, formed in 2017. Their most recent line-up consisted of lead vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Geordie Greep and Cameron Picton, along with drummer Morgan Simpson. Between 2017 and 2020, the band also included guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin. Following his departure, the trio were frequently joined by multi-instrumentalist Seth Evans and saxophonist Kaidi Akinnibi, both as session musicians and during live performances. Their name is derived from the Japanese electronic music genre black MIDI, though their own music has no relation to it, instead incorporating styles such as math rock, progressive rock, post-punk, and avant-jazz.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Skinner (drummer)</span> English drummer (born 1980)

Tom Skinner is an English drummer, percussionist and record producer. He co-founded the jazz band Sons of Kemet and the rock band the Smile. He has released two albums under the name Hello Skinny. His first album under his own name, Voices of Bishara, was released in November 2022.

Edward Wakili-Hick is an English drummer, percussionist, record producer and composer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nubya Garcia</span> British jazz musician (born 1991)

Nubya Nyasha Garcia is a British jazz musician, saxophonist, composer and bandleader.

<i>Source</i> (album) 2020 album by Nubya Garcia

Source is the second studio album by British jazz tenor saxophonist Nubya Garcia. It was released on 21 August 2020, by Concord Jazz. Described by Garcia as "a definite ode to musical history", the record expands on her jazz roots while incorporating dubstep, reggae, Colombian cumbia, calypso, hip-hop, soul, and African-diasporic sounds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ezra Collective</span> British jazz quintet

Ezra Collective are a British jazz quintet composed of drummer and bandleader Femi Koleoso, bassist TJ Koleoso, keyboardist Joe Armon-Jones, trumpeter Ife Ogunjobi, and tenor saxophonist James Mollison. The group fuses elements of afrobeat, calypso, reggae, hip-hop, soul and jazz, and frequently collaborates with fellow London-based jazz musicians such as Nubya Garcia and Moses Boyd. They are the recipients of the 2023 Mercury Music Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Armon-Jones</span> British musician, keyboardist, composer, producer and bandleader (born 1993)

Joseph Armon-Jones is a British musician, keyboardist, composer, producer and bandleader.

This is a timeline documenting events of jazz in the year 2020.

<i>Space 1.8</i> 2021 studio album by Nala Sinephro

Space 1.8 is the debut album by Belgian-Caribbean musician Nala Sinephro. It was released on 3 September 2021, through Warp Records. It received widespread critical acclaim and was placed highly on several music publications' end-of-year lists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spiritual jazz</span> Sub-genre of jazz

Spiritual jazz is a sub-genre of jazz that originated in the United States during the 1960s. The genre is hard to characterize musically but draws from free, avant-garde and modal jazz and thematically focuses on transcendence and spirituality. John Coltrane's 1965 album A Love Supreme is considered landmark in the genre.

<i>Voices of Bishara</i> 2022 studio album by Tom Skinner

Voices of Bishara is a studio album by the English drummer Tom Skinner, released on 4 November 2022 by via Nonesuch Records, International Anthem Recording Company, and Brownswood Recordings. It was ranked among the best jazz albums of 2022 by multiple critics.

Blue Lab Beats are an English, London-based music duo composed of NK-OK and Mr DM.

<i>London Brew</i> 2023 studio album by London Brew

London Brew is the debut album by London Brew, a band consisting of a dozen British jazz musicians including Nubya Garcia, BBC Radio 1 presenter Benji B, and multiple members of Sons of Kemet and the Invisible. The album was released on 31 March 2023.

References

  1. Kalia, Ammar (17 November 2021). "'I reach a trance state. I'm almost sleepwalking': the mystical jazz of Nala Sinephro". The Guardian . Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  2. Empire, Kitty (25 December 2021). "Kitty Empire's best pop and rock of 2021". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  3. "The 50 Best Albums of 2021". Pitchfork . 7 December 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
  4. Bleep. "Top 10 Albums of the Year 2024". Bleep. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
  5. Pearis, Bill (8 November 2024). "List Season comes early with Uncut's Top 80 Albums of 2024". brooklynvegan.com. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Monroe, Jazz (24 January 2022). "Nala Sinephro Is Subverting Jazz Tradition One Immaculate Note at a Time". Pitchfork . Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  7. "Space 1.8 Caribbean-Belgian musician fuses meditative sounds, jazz sensibilities, folk and field recordings Space 1.8 - Nala Sinephro". Music Mania. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  8. 1 2 Simpson, Paul. "Nala Sinephro - Artist Biography". AllMusic . Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  9. "Nala Sinephro - NTS Radio". NTS Radio . Retrieved 27 January 2022.
  10. "Nala Sinephro". AllAboutJazz. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.