Nao was a jobbing musician working with the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Kwabs before she decided to go solo and release her own songs, which combine the influence of neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu with the otherworldly feel of UK electronic producers such as Burial and SBTRKT. Her debut track, 2014’s Back Porch, was supported by Â鶹ԼÅÄ Introducing in London, then she casually released a follow-up, So Good – a collaboration with Jai Paul’s brother, A. K. Paul, who has also worked with Sam Smith, Jessie Ware and Outkast’s Big Boi. So Good went nuts – quickly shooting to the top spot on Hype Machine and attracting the devotion of Zane Lowe, 1Xtra and Swedish electronic soul band Little Dragon, who took Nao on tour. It currently has more than 1.5m plays on Soundcloud.
Back Porch and So Good were collected together on a debut EP and in May the East London singer, songwriter and producer released a second EP, February 15. Annie Mac made key track Zillionaire her Hottest Record and invited Nao into the studio for a chat. Her rise seems unstoppable, and here’s the best news, Glastonbury fans - her band performs without sequencers, making for an unbelievable live experience.
Nao was a jobbing musician working with the likes of Jarvis Cocker and Kwabs before she decided to go solo and release her own songs, which combine the influence of neo-soul artists like Erykah Badu with the otherworldly feel of UK electronic producers such as Burial and SBTRKT. Her debut track, 2014’s Back Porch, was supported by Â鶹ԼÅÄ Introducing in London, then she casually released a follow-up, So Good – a collaboration with Jai Paul’s brother, A. K. Paul, who has also worked with Sam Smith, Jessie Ware and Outkast’s Big Boi. So Good went nuts – quickly shooting to the top spot on Hype Machine and attracting the devotion of Zane Lowe, 1Xtra and Swedish electronic soul band Little Dragon, who took Nao on tour. It currently has more than 1.5m plays on Soundcloud.
Back Porch and So Good were collected together on a debut EP and in May the East London singer, songwriter and producer released a second EP, February 15. Annie Mac made key track Zillionaire her Hottest Record and invited Nao into the studio for a chat. Her rise seems unstoppable, and here’s the best news, Glastonbury fans - her band performs without sequencers, making for an unbelievable live experience.
