Ngaio Music

Singer. Lyricist. DJ

Music

Sofar Sounds Livestream

Music

Sofar Sounds – Watch Here!!!

It’s been a really intense couple of weeks and I’ve been feeling spent – emotionally, physically, every day has felt harder than the one before. I hadn’t realised how much I missed singing; music helps me to work through my emotions, to find calm amongst the chaos.

It was such a blessing to sing through everything for the @sofarsounds livestream with my fave @abomic_tom in my living room. The first time we’d been able to play together since pre-lockdown and honestly, that was the best I’ve slept in months. Thank you to everyone who tuned into the livestream and who are continuing to watch now.

I tell you; feelings were felt 🧡

Tracklist:
Haily Mary – We Fly
Caramel – Ngaio
Objectify – We Fly
Sycamore (Say Their Names) – unreleased
Blackbird – We Fly

Buy the CD Bundle HERE (Ngaio & We Fly)

Beyond The Hashtag

Community, Music

Klareice, 8 years old 🖤

Everytime I’ve tried to post this in the past, the tears haven’t allowed me. This is who Blackbird was written for – this beautiful, talented, vibrant little girl whose smile melts my heart.

This is LR Groove’s daughter. I spoke with him at length while Blackbird was being developed and before I released it. I was nervous. He told me that I would start a riot with Blackbird but that I was the one who could say these things and that as a tall, black man, he wouldn’t be able to get people to listen in the same way. He was right – that is my privelege.

He had to be the one to remix Blackbird and to have put it out on Durkle Disco a couple of months back and have it be relevant so soon is devastating and unsurprising.

Protest comes in many different forms – all of which are completely valid. For everyone marching, I stand with you. I cannot attend for my own reasons but have been working with others to set up a space for virtual protest – Beyond The Hashtag / @_beyondthehashtag for anyone who cannot protest physically. Covid is a pandemic we are dealing with currently, racism is a pandemic we have been dealing with for hundreds of years. This is not the first time someone has been killed due to the colour of their skin.

Since #blackouttuesday there has rightly been questions of how many people are actually going to push the message that #blacklivesmatter after it stops being a trend? Because it will. More has to be done – by our allies.

My greatest hope is that this time the emotional labour of this conversation will be taken on by our allies – to put themselves alongside us and take the lead in demanding change. From their friends, from their family, from their colleagues. In the slides are some information about the campaign and tools to get you started. More resources can be found on the website.

For any who don’t have the words, pick a line from Blackbird to get you started and just speak from the heart. Commit yourself to moving forward with compassion, empathy and the energy we need you to have to keep this going. It cannot only be down to us any longer. Film yourself making a pledge to take this #beyondthehashtag and post it to your profile. #blacklivesmatter so  #useyourvoice for change.

Thank You to all who have supported so far – the resource, the song and the message and THANK YOU to Klareice who helped create a movement with her creativity 🖤

We Fly – The Remixes

Music

Out Now on Durkle Disco

As soon as I knew what We Fly was going to be, I knew which producers I wanted to work with. LR Groove I ‘met’ on a Uk Funky forum and was one of the first people to hear the vocals for Blackbird, KG played the percussion for the original Objectify, Hagan‘s tunes I  was introduced to by Durkle Disco head man Koast (the label behind the We Fly Remixes) and Boa Kusasa‘s tracks had been staples in my sets for a hot minute.

I remember sitting down with at the very first step to the beginning of We Fly and discussing with Laura from Saffron Records who I was or wanted to be as an artist. It had been a while since I’d released anything as a vocalist due to damaging my voice and in that time my DJing had taken off and people were getting to know me more as that but singing and writing was where I started; I felt torn and decided now was not the time to ‘choose’ now was simply the time to ‘do’.

The first writing day, surrounded by pieces of A3 paper, I’d identified who the record was for and what I wanted it to represent – my blackness, feminism, politics, sexuality – and the questions that had come up for me at different times in my life since childhood. The songs that came out of that developed with my band were more than I could have hoped for as a musician. I love to sing them, I love to play them and I loved sitting in Coach House Studios co-producing them. However, if We Fly was really going to represent me wholly it had to encapsulate my ‘other’ side – the raver, the DJ, the afrobeat obsessive which is where the We Fly Remixes began.

We Fly Remixes

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I’m going to do a post on each of them in the coming month because they are incredible and as I’m now trying to learn production I want to dig into how they started, how they do what they do and where their inspiration comes from. Every track has been so utterly elevated and I am honestly so looking forward to talking to them all about it so if there are any questions you have for them let me know – I’ll be recording each one as a podcast episode.

Til then, listen and let me know which ones are your faves and why! I honestly cannot say how proud it makes me to see these projects sitting together; a total representation of my multi-faceted musical personality. This record is everything I had hoped it would be and more, feeling very blessed to have something like this to celebrate during these strange times. I’ve been up since 5am with a smile on my face – I hope this puts one on yours too! 

View this post on Instagram

**SOUND ON** A 3 minute mini mix of all the We Fly Remixes, out April 17th on Durkle Disco featuring @karennyamekg – Objectify Remix / @hagan_uk – Green Eyed Queen Remix / @boakusasa – Hail Mary Remix / @lrgroove – Blackbird Remix I am so proud of these songs and to have them remixed by producers I take such inspiration from as an artist is honestly mindblowing. I wanted We Fly to embody me completely so it needed to have an electronic life to also reflect the DJing part of my musical personality that brings me so much joy. I absolutely cannot wait to hear these on a big rig but til then I'll be playing them in the mix from Thursday and pretty much in every mix after that cause I bloody love em! Artwork : @sophiebass_illustration

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Developing My Creative Practice

Journal, Music

I have been screaming for about an hour. Like a niggling memory I’ve been desperately not thinking about an application I wrote in November. After putting together a seemingly unattainable 6 months of self development laid out in a spreadsheet which looked too good to be true it was pushed to the back of my mind for the fear of wanting it too much.

Even so since this time last week I’ve been refreshing my emails, checking the date me and hundreds of other applicants would be told if we’d been picked. I’ve been mentally preparing myself for the ‘unfortunately’ beginning of the letter and putting together Plan B’s for all the mini dreams that had been brought to the forefront of my mind. But none of that’s necessary now….because I GOT THE FUNDING!!!!!

THANK YOU to the Arts Council for funding me to Develop My Creative Practice! There’s so much I want to share about it but until everything is utterly locked down and in place, I’ll keep shtum! Just know that this funding is going to utterly change my course as a musician, songwriter, DJ, and performer. It’s going to take me on adventures with music at the forefront and it’s going to provide me with space and time I’ve desperately craved to focus on my development as an artist – technically, creatively and spiritually.

I am so utterly overjoyed. Thank you so much to everyone who’s ever come to a show, listened to my songs and danced at my sets – I wouldn’t be here without all of you encouraging me to follow this dream. Together, We Fly!!!!

We Fly – Launch Party

Music

Wow. Just wow.  I am so utterly blown away by the amount of people who came and supported the release of We Fly.  150+ of you singing Blackbird back to me was what the dreams of 9 year old me were made of.

I am so happy to have the fantastic Vanessa Maria interviewing me about the EP (soon to be heard as a podcast – watch this space!) I knew she would bring thoughts to the table that I hadn’t even considered before about myself and my music and it was a truly wonderful way to start the evening.

The band… Oh wow. I am so so lucky to have such wonderful people on this journey with me. They were SO tight and it was a true honour to play with each of them. There’s so much to say and to be honest I’m still processing everything. It was the best night I can remember, such an emotional evening for so many reasons. I’ve been mentally preparing for getting up on stage and talk about this identity journey all year and it’s been really scary but hearing things like the below is why I do it – because we are all in this together.

Thank you for your words Samantha Lindo 🖤

To EVERY SINGLE PERSON who came to support and surrounded me with such love and acceptance – and all those who were there in spirit….Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. 🧡🧡🧡

Now, let’s get this chick heard! Share her everywhere 😜

http://smarturl.it/ngaiowefly
Listen/download here: http://smarturl.it/ngaiowefly

Meet the Band!

Music

It’s rare that you put a group of people together that have never met before and they gel as beautifully as this one has. Each member of the band is absolutely fantastic within their own right and I’ve met them all in totally different circumstances.
 
Tom Hackwell multi instrumentalist and mixing/mastering/sound engineering wonderman at Coach House Studio I met 8 years ago at an open mic night. Fellow Saggitarius, our birthdays are a day apart and he is the best partner in musical crime with an ability to hop on board my mentally optimistic train, stay calm and carry on. A huge part of the sound of We Fly has been developed with him through hours in the studio – total legend.
Laura Noir another multi layered musical vixen, I met her online as Tasty Lopez when listening to her being interviewed by our mutual buddy Murder He Wrote. Over the airwaves I fell in love, jumped on Twitter to fan girl and became online buddies. Skip forward a couple of months and she’s staying at my house whilst djing in Brizzle. The click was immediate. I find out she has the most beautiful voice AND plays the bass – incredible human.
 
 
 

Desmond Rogers I met way back when I was singing with Laid Blak and when I was sitting at The Old Market Assembly doing some sort of work I heard him sound checking. Up pricked my little ears and that was it – a few minor stalker-ish messages and he was on board! I love the way Des plays the drums, it is transformative they way he can slip between genres and yet still make everything sound coherent – vibes man for the win.  

Tony Samuels was a standard ‘Bristol friends of friends’ meeting as far as I can remember. He hopped on the percussion whilst I was djing at The Plough Inn and it was wicked! My music definitely has an afro/trip hop vibe to it and I was also really adamant that I wanted some latin flavour as well so – enter Bongosan!  

And last but not least, Karen Nyame-Gyamfi who can’t join us but will be there in spirit and has also laid down some percussive wonderment on We Fly. I also met Karen over the airwaves, another super fabulous DJ and a producer. She’s actually remixed one of the tracks from the EP which will be going out as a separate project on Durkle Disco in 2020. Watch out for her – true bad gyal.   

We Fly would still be an idea in my head if it wasn’t for these wonderful talented group helping me to bring it to life. I cannot thank you enough and I cannot WAIT until everyone can hear how fantastic you are tomorrow the EP Launch : We Fly 💜🧡🖤💙

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