Prologue: Sound as breathing, improvisation as space
Text: mmr｜Theme: Jazz is not about technique or genre expansion, but about the fundamental question of what sound can bring to humans.
When we first come into contact with Nala Sinephro’s music, we are forced to let go of the concept of a “song.” His debut album Space 1.8, released by Warp Records in 2021, was a work that melted the boundaries between jazz and ambient, modular synthesis and improvisation, as if it were breathing.
Harp, tenor saxophone, modular synthesizer, and space itself. Nala’s music depicts the moment when the sound itself becomes a “spiritual environment.” It is an experience that feels like ``the universe breathing in silence,’’ and turns the listener’s body into a resonating body.
Chapter 1: The birth of the London scene - Wind from the South
When people talk about the resurgence of jazz in London, what always comes to mind is the geographical energy of South London. Sons of Kemet, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, Moses Boyd, and others have established a new jazz vocabulary, but Nala Sinephro is the one who has rebuilt the sound from the ``silent side’’.
She has St. Lucian and Belgian roots and studied classical and electronic acoustics simultaneously. Through a session at London’s jazz club “Total Refreshment Centre”, He has formed a unique sonic language that freely moves between harp and modular synth.
“Sound is like particles in the air to me.” ― Nala Sinephro
As she says, the sound is made up of layers of “particles” and refracts time like light.
Chapter 2: Structure of “Space 1.8” and transformation of consciousness
The track structure of Space 1.8 is reminiscent of a yoga or meditation session. From Space 1 to Space 8 – all songs are arranged like “breathing phases”.
- Space 1: “Entrance” where subtle modular sounds open up the space
- Space 2: Harp and saxophone dialogue, inner vibration
- Space 5: A momentary jazz ensemble appears and disappears like a faint light.
- Space 8: 8 minutes of deep breathing, all sounds sinking into space reverberations
This is more of an ``acoustic spiritual ritual’’ than an album. Just as Miles Davis searched for the “space between sounds” in “In a Silent Way,” Nala is looking for “Sound Breathing”.
Chapter 3: The idea of ambient jazz
Ambient jazz - it’s more of a sonic attitude than a genre. This is a flow that connects the concept of “environmental music” proposed by Brian Eno to the context of spiritual jazz.
Nala Sinephro’s music is in the spirit of Harold Budd, Alice Coltrane, and Laraaji. It is ``contemplative modernism’’ that has been redefined in the post-club era of the 21st century.
Her harp and synths diffuse “jazz-like improvisation” into the space by adding layers of sound. The rhythm disappears, the melody drifts, and all that remains is the feel of time and space.
Ambient (1978)"] --> B["Harold Budd
Soft Focus"] B --> C["Alice Coltrane
Spiritual Jazz"] C --> D["Nala Sinephro
Space 1.8 (2021)"] D --> E["Modern Ambient Jazz
Floating Points / Sam Shepherd"]
As this diagram shows, ambient jazz is a movement that simultaneously carries out the inheritance of silence'' and therenewal of spirituality.’’
Chapter 4: Modular synths and the “listening body”
In live performances, Nala operates the Eurorack modular system at the same time as the harp. Here, patching itself is an improvisational performance that transforms the listener’s body and space.
Equipment configuration example:
- Make Noise Maths
- Mutable Instruments Clouds
- Intellijel Quad VCA
- Moog Mother-32
- Ableton Live (for loop processing)
This configuration is truly a “breathing device for humans and machines.” Waveforms wrap around the harp’s echoes, analog temperature neutralizing electronic transparency. It is also an act of sublimating music into a technology prayer.
Chapter 5: Politics of Silence - Ambient as Sound Care
After the pandemic, when the world was surrounded by noise and anxiety, Music like Nala appeared not as “healing” but as a form of resistance.
“Silence” is not just a rest. It is also the politics of self-care, in which one regains one’s own rhythm against the hustle and bustle of the world.
Listening to her music is an act of returning to one’s inner self. At the same time, it is also a declaration of slowness in response to the speed of society.
Supplementary Chapter: Nala Sinephro Chronology
| Year | Events |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Born as a Belgian of St. Lucian descent |
| 2015 | Moved to London and started working in the jazz scene |
| 2018 | Join Total Refreshment Center and start improvisational sessions |
| 2021 | “Space 1.8” released from Warp Records |
| 2022 | International recognition gained by Gilles Peterson and others |
| 2024 | Start of new production/modular live project |
Illustration: Genealogy of Ambient Jazz (Mermaid)
(Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders)"] B["Ambient Music
(Brian Eno, Harold Budd)"] C["Electronic Meditations
(Laraaji, Steve Roach)"] D["London New Jazz
(Shabaka Hutchings, Nubya Garcia)"] E["Nala Sinephro
Space 1.8 (2021)"] F["Post-ambient Jazz
Floating Points, Alfa Mist, Maria Chiara Argirò"] A --> E B --> E C --> E D --> E E --> F
Conclusion: The future of sound pulsates in silence
Nala Sinephro’s music reopens the question, “What is jazz?” This is not an extension of technique or genre, but rather a fundamental question of what sound can bring to humans.
At the heart of ambient jazz is the hope that listening to music'' can once again becomean act of connecting with the world.’’
Each note released by Nala’s harp is as quiet as the breathing of the universe, but it is certainly alive.
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