PREMIERE: Nali – B&W

Nali provides self-directed visuals to accompany her debut offering ‘B&W’.

Nali is a multidisciplinary artist, songwriter and singer who’s ranging interests and influences can be seen and heard on ‘B&W’. The Swiss born, but of Cape Verdean descent, songstress seeks to tackle questions of identity and community in her art. Her debut track ‘B&W’ is no exception to this with one of the key lyrics of the song being:

‘Will you ever get under my skin’

The narrative of getting beneath the surface is used as both as a discussion of understanding people at more than face value as well as beyond racial biases.

The visuals are kept relatively simple, opting for a black and white colour palette which mimics the song’s title. For ‘B&W’ Nali opted to self-direct and took inspiration from Barkley L. Hendricks, a pioneering painter and photographer who championed black portraiture and conceptualism. For the track, she brought his 1974 painting What’s Going On to life. This is all in order to present a stark contrast between the gentle intersection of bodies, perspective and scale and the raw vulnerability of the song itself.

‘B&W’ blends elements of Jazz, Soul, and even Post-Punk to create a soundscape that feels both familiar yet new at the same time. Nali shows off a few aspects of her vocal range amongst this as she shows her ability to provide both the muted just above whispered segments alongside her ability to boldly hold the bigger notes. This paired with the productions well layered instrumentation make it a track that deserves multiple listens just to appreciate how each element really adds to the song.

As a debut release we couldn’t ask for much more. It will be interesting to see what direction Nali decides to take things as her musical style is clearly one not set in stone yet.

You can listen to/purchase ‘B&W’ here.