Improvisation is an integral part of making music. It is a creative process that allows musicians to explore their creativity and express themselves uniquely and meaningfully. By improvising, musicians can create something new or build on existing ideas.
With that in mind, we bring you London-based drummer/producer, Chiminyo and NRG 1, the first album in a new series in which he and members of his musical community exchange (strictly improvised) NRG with audiences and capture the spontaneous beauty of their performances.
NRG 1 features Chiminyo on drums, Yelfris Valdés on trumpet, Amané Suganami on synth, and Luke Wynter on bass, with Temesgen Samuel and Clara Serra Lopez supplying the vocals.
Today, we’re sharing SLK, a smooth, sensual R&B affair that will make you want to slow dance all night. The groove is soft and inviting, with deep basslines, light synth notes, and drifting trumpet lines that tightly frame and focus Chminyo’s hypnotic percussion that will have you swaying in no time. It is impossible not to fall in love with the quartet’s chemistry.
You can watch the quartet make music in real time by checking out the video above. As we said before, improvisation is about trying new ideas and experimenting with sounds – going off script and exploring new possibilities never sounded so meticulous.
NRG 1 lands on April 28th via NRG Discs.
NRG is more than just an album, label or event. It’s a concept. ‘Born out of a conversation about the UK Jazz scene (is it really jazz?) Chiminyo concluded that this musical expression is less about ‘jazz’ and more about energy (NRG).’
