Music / News
NGAIO on her new solo sound and reclaiming self-love
NGAIO feels right at home in the subterranean environs of Bristol Beacon’s Weston stage, the venue for the launch of her EP Four Quarters.
The low, arched ceilings and neon-illuminated brick walls spark memories of days gone by.
“It reminds me of when I first started going out raving… like the Croft, where I first heard dubstep,” reminisces the Bristol-bred vocalist, DJ and producer.
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Ngaio rehearses in the vaults at Bristol Beacon for her EP launch, taking place on June 6 – photo: Ursula Billington
“It was sticky floors and this bass going through my entire body.
“I’ve got such clear memories of dancing on top of the speakers at Timbuktu in a mouse costume on Halloween, and hitting the ceiling because I’m already tall. And Tube on Park Street – amazing MCs spitting fast grime over dubstep beats. It was insane.
“That feeling of going into a space that’s got history – that’s what I really like about this venue. But this is a lot cleaner!” she laughs.
All these influences and more have fed into Ngaio’s live show that she’s presenting at the launch of her EP, the first she’s self-produced.
“It’s all my cultural, spiritual backgrounds,” she says, “but with a DJ undertone because I love to dance, I love bass and drums, changing rhythms and percussion. It’s jazz, trip hop, tribal, synth, sometimes drum and bass, sometimes dancehall.
“It’s an amalgamation of my live music and my DJ sets in a way that is, for me, really exciting.”
The songs on Four Quarters are based on the four elements. Next single, Goddess, represents earth – photo: Charlie Willams Photography
The songs are a product of personal difficulty but ultimately serve to uplift, representing the optimism and silver lining mentality NGAIO embodies.
“It’s a real tricky time to feel positive about anything,” she says.
“I’ve been going through a lot of challenges – physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Making the music has really brought me back to myself. Four Quarters is about finding inner balance so we can feel joy.”
She hopes the audience will feel rejuvenated by the show on June 6.
“Everyone is being pushed in so many ways. I want these songs to help bring us back to our centres. We’ve all gone through such immense trauma, but also growth, as a society over the last few years.”
In terms of the music scene, NGAIO has been a significant part of that evolution, working with her DJ collective Booty Bass to increase visibility of marginalised artists, and to make audiences feel safe and included. Her own experiences sparked the idea.
“When I started DJing, I became aware really quickly that I was on all these different lineups and they were always run by guys. It felt weird to be constantly surrounded by men,” she says.
“I love men, obviously. I love everybody. But as soon as I’d get on the decks, all the women would come to the front of the stage. There was instant safety and camaraderie.”
She was aware of the inequality of audience experiences and would call out men being inappropriate with women from the stage.
“It is quite emotionally exhausting – I’ve got an afro. How many people are going to try and grab my hair, or talk down to me? How many people are going to try and grab my ass?” That’s why I got Booty Bass together,” she explains.
“There’s safety in numbers. And we also wanted to play music that culturally represents us, that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s about dancing and enjoying yourself, but also being aware.
“I hope our presence has opened the door for others to feel like they can do whatever they want to do.”
Now, she believes, things have improved on the scene.
“There are more women. When I was growing up, there were no female DJs or producers. I just didn’t know this was an option for me. We just thought, that’s what the boys do. Now it’s really changing.”
She cites the Jaguar Foundation’s inclusion rider, that allows artists to request others from diverse backgrounds be added to events they’re playing; and the Yorkshire Sound Women Network, a company she works with that supports women and minority-gender people in music tech.
Empowerment is the theme of the EP. Who We Are encourages listeners to speak their truth. Baggage serves to reclaim the word ‘selfish’ and regain some personal fire.
And Hold You Down and Goddess are unabashed odes to self-love.
“As women, we are consistently being told what we should look like, how we should act, who should control our bodies,” NGAIO says.
“But it’s our uniqueness that makes us special. You are absolutely perfect the way you are. We can and should be our biggest cheerleaders,”
She’s even produced quotation cards that audience members will be given when they arrive. Featuring artwork and lyrics from the EP, they’re to be used as a tool to “think about things in a new way,” she says.
“I want people to leave with something that’s going to keep them up when they’re feeling abit meh. It’s really important for us to know that we are not alone.
“I want this show to be a spiritual experience for people.”
NGAIO’s EP launch takes place at Bristol Beacon on June 6. Buy tickets at bristolbeacon.org/whats-on/ngaio-live-four-quarters-ep-launch/
Main photo: Charlie Williams Photography
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