Venue
Venue
Venue
Nao's distinctive vocals and blended musical styles fall into the self-titled genre of "wonky funk"
East London singer-songwriter Nao coined the term “wonky funk” to describe her unique musical style which comprises elements of electronic, funk and R&B.
Born Neo Jessica Joshua, Nao’s first steps into the world of music were when she was a child learning to play piano. It wasn’t until her teenage years that she would also begin to sing. Her voice landed her in the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where she studied vocal jazz.
After that, while working as a singing teacher, Nao was also a member of the vocal group The Boxettes and performed at Glastonbury Festival with Shlomo’s Vocal Orchestra. Uploading solo music to SoundCloud drew attention from labels in 2014 but Nao wanted to create her own outlet, Little Tokyo, and released her EP So Good. The EP reached No.4 on the iTunes electronic chart.
Nao went on to work with Mura Masa for the first time on the song Firefly while also releasing her second EP, February 15. Nao’s vocals set her apart from artists like FKA Twigs who she was often compared to musically.
Nao continued to collaborate with other artists in 2015, working with the likes of Kwabs and Disclosure. By the end of the year, Nao was nominated for the Best Newcomer at the MOBO Awards.
In 2016, Nao returned to Glastonbury Festival before releasing her first full-length album, For All We Know. The record debuted at No.17 on the UK chart and also landed her a place on the BBC’s Sound Of… shortlist, and a nomination for the Best British Female Solo Artist award at the Brit Awards.
The following year, Nao released the single Nostalgia which kept fans happy while she continued work on her second studio album. She also co-wrote the track Nothing Else! from Mura Masa’s debut album during that time. By October 2018, Nao released her album Saturn and her work on the record received nominations for Album of the Year at the Mercury Prize in 2019, as well as for the Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 62nd Grammy Awards in 2020.
Nao released her third album And Then Life Was Beautiful in 2021.
Nao has no scheduled tour dates at this time.
The venue was great for the performance, felt very intimate and equal for all seats as it was in the round. Pretty cold but fine with a jacket on. Outdoor toilets not ideal but they were good quality and clean. Wish she had sung from the pulpit, make use of it being a church!
