NāRI

In Arabic, Nār means ‘fire’, Nāri ‘my fire’.

Like organic sediments that have become combustible, Luna Nieto’s compositions bring together the worlds she has travelled through. Inspired by her journeys to the Middle East and rooted in contemporary jazz, she becomes the voice of a thousand stories told by the fireside.

Surrounded by four musicians who fuel and sustain her, the quintet’s flame is a reflection of them: it consumes and devours as much as it caresses.

Within this musical hearth, built upon contrapuntal and orchestrated compositions, numerous improvisations and sonic experiments crackle ceaselessly. Her warm music, rich with Eastern melismas, draws inspiration as much from the legacy of Oum Kalthoum as from the innovations of Naïssam Jalal and Avishai Cohen.

Luna Nieto’s smooth, adventurous voice blends with the lyricism and passion of Léonore Grollemund’s cello to bring to life original lyrics and classical Arabic poetry (Rumi, Al-Hallaj). The electric textures of Romain Baret (guitar), the refinement and compositional talents of Benoît Meyer (double bass) and the vitality of Grégoire Sanchez’s drumming fan the melodic embers, infusing them with riffs inspired by Pink Floyd and rhythms from the Atlas Mountains.

Weaving together tales and spellbinding melodies, NāRI is a force in the making, telling its story by the light of a blue flame.