Rainbow Revisited Thandi Ntuli feat. Carlos Niño

• 1 Sunrise (in California) 05:29
• 2 Rainbow Revisited 07:13
• 3 Breath and Synth Experiment 03:39
• 4 Nomayoyo (Ingoma ka Mkhulu) 05:35
• 5 Piano EDIT (Original Mix) 04:22
• 6 Sunset (in California) 05:52
• 7 Voice and Tongo Experiment 02:18
• 8 The One (first part) 04:01
• 9 The One (second part) 04:18
• 10 Lihlanzekile 05:34
• Total Runtime 48:21

Info for Rainbow Revisited

South African pianist Thandi Ntuli traveled to Los Angeles in 2019, where she recorded this album of bare, explorative piano and voice pieces at a Venice Beach studio with International Anthem artist Carlos Niño in the producer chair. An absolutely stunning, intimate listen, with Ntuli’s prowess as a pianist and singularity as a vocalist on vivid display as much as her fearlessness, vulnerability and adventurousness during occasional experiments with synthesizers and percussion. Niño colors open minimalist soundscapes with overdubbed percussion, cymbals and plants.

Liner Notes by Thandi Ntuli: I travelled to Los Angeles and the USA for the first time in 2019. Although I had not met Carlos in person, we connected via Instagram where he saw a video of me playing a piano motif (titled ‘The One’ in this sequence) that he really liked and expressed a wish to record. This was around 2017. We tried a few times to get me over to Los Angeles, but the timing was always off. Through a performance organised by a creative collective called The Nonsemble at The Ford Theatre we finally got the opportunity to meet, play together and subsequently go into studio to record some improvisations as he guided the recording process.

Having been aware of some of his work – in particular his collaborative projects as Carlos Niño & Friends, as well as with his friend and long-time collaborator, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson – I knew that, with Carlos as producer, the artistic direction of the album would likely take me to a place I’d never considered going. A fact that had me both curious and terrified (as one tends to be when stepping into the unknown) Lol!

Initially keen to record the song that he had seen/heard me play on Instagram, our performance a few days before the session drew him to the song Rainbow off my sophomore album, Exiled (2018). On that zen-like California afternoon in Andy Kravitz’s cozy studio in Venice Beach, he encouraged me to play around with various iterations of Rainbow. “Try it this way”, “How about adding that?”, “Can you breathe into the mic?”, “What if you focus on the last section?”, and many other explorations that eventually went through a few cuts, edits, yays and nays to become this body of work. Rainbow Revisited was birthed through that session, another session a couple of days later, and a series of many small synchronicities that led up to that moment.

A particularly special moment for me was when he invited me to play something from home, which lent itself to me recording a song originally written by my grandfather that we often sing when at family gatherings. The song is called Nomayoyo.

So much has happened since that session in late 2019. Many changes in our personal and collective universes. Losses and gains, births and transitions into the next life, Mother Nature’s ever-constant cycles reminding me that through all the chaos there remains, just beneath, this perfect order in Her ebb and flow. And most importantly, reminding me to feel for Her and to listen.

Thandi Ntuli, piano, synthesizer, tongo, voice
Carlos Niño, cymbals, percussion, plants

Thandi Ntuli
was born in one of South Africa’s largest townships, Soshanguve in Pretoria. She comes from a lineage of rich musical heritage, being the niece of guitarist, pianist and lead vocalist of 70’s pop fusion band Harari (The Beaters), Selby Ntuli.

Since the release of her debut jazz album, “The Offering” which she released independently, Thandi has been fast making an imprint in the local jazz scene with her unique voice. “The Offering” has received critical acclaim as well as numerous awards and recognition since its release in 2014.

For her studio residency she will explore writing her new project, ‘Sketches of Mali’, referencing Mile Davis’ Sketches of Spain, the music of Mali, interwoven with her own compositional voice. A ‘heritage driven’ project, she intends to delve into that which is representative of what she perceives to be her experience in the world at present.

“My hope is to work with a Swiss arranger who, coupled with my ideas of composition and arrangements, will help bring the balance of both worlds,” she says.

This album contains no booklet.