Nāri

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

Like organic sediments that have become combustible, Luna Nieto’s compositions bring together the worlds she has travelled through. Nourished by her travels in the Middle East and rooted in contemporary jazz, her art draws as much from a lullaby sung by candlelight as from a raging inferno.

Surrounded by four musicians who fuel and sustain her, the quintet’s flame is agile, brilliant and unpredictable.

Within this framework, built around contrapuntal and orchestrated compositions, numerous improvisations and sonic experiments crackle ceaselessly. Her warm music, rich in 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 and 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.

Like a blue flame, Nāri is cloaked in apparent gentleness and spellbinding melodies – true, contained powers that are unleashed by the band’s numerous energetic outbursts.