Lights flicker, and the giant LED screen at the back of the stage hisses into life as storm clouds and lightning illuminate the name ALT BLK ERA. Two silhouettes make their way onto the stage: MOBO Award-nominated alternative music sister duo, Nyrobi and Chaya, have arrived.
Stage lights at a busy Lost Horizon cast ethereal light onto the twosome as a thin veil of smoke encircles the duo, who in two years have exploded from seemingly nowhere to rip up people’s preconceived notions of what the alt scene should be.
The siblings are one of the hottest rising acts in the UK right now, and they were about to show Bristol why. Trust us when we say there is no one doing what Alt Blk Era is doing right now; it’s totally unique and utterly spellbinding.
Dressed in striking Victorian/steampunk-style clothing, the sisters twitch and contort into life like two clockwork ballerinas. The staging, vibe, and choreography are immaculate and feel very high-end. It speaks volumes that the duo has the vibe of an arena-level act playing a one-off special at a smaller venue.
The reaction to the start of the set is also telling; the crowd wants this band, no, the crowd needs this band. It’s obvious that Nyrobi and Chaya have connected to the new generation in a way most new bands will spend their entire career searching to do.
Alt Blk Era hoovers up influence from every kind of music you can possibly imagine, then fuses it together into a Frankenstein of electronic, trap, rap, and nu-metal. It’s jarring and spikey in all the right ways.
The set is split into two halves, both of which feature Alt Blk Era’s unique ability to switch instantly from low gear, soft and subtle to full rage mode where the entire foundations of the venue were shaking. This dynamic is often on show within the same track as we get Nyrobi’s shrieking aggression and Chaya’s radiant calmness ebbing and flowing like a cauldron simmering and occasionally threatening to boil over. Part one containing the likes of “Oggy” and “Rockstar” and “Obsession: Lunar” takes the crowd to the edge of the precipice. Part two containing “Misfits: Lunar”, “Freak Show” and “Obsession: Solar” pushes them into the abyss. The alternate, ying and yang versions of the aforementioned “Obsession” solar and lunar enough to show that the duo’s approach is beyond anything anyone else in the alt scene is doing at the moment.
The new disciples of the church of Alt Blk Era were then given a parting gift in the way of huge balloons that descended into the throng and were smashed back and forth between band and fans as Nyrobi and Chaya closed out the set with the track that will serve as the anthem of every outcast and ostracized alt kid for the next decade: “I’m Normally Like This.”
Individually, these are two insanely talented performers in their own right, with a charisma and performance level way beyond their years. Together they are an unstoppable force that will become the Pied Piper of the next generation of alt kids. A new era is about to dawn, and it’s proudly alternative and black.
@thebristolnomad / @bristolnomad_gigphotography
Role: Photographer / Reviewer / Interviewer
Chief, the one that bugs the team for team for their reviews and images. Creator and founder of The Bristol Gig Guide. Can usually be found swamped in admin or getting cramp kneeling at the front of a gig.
Available for: Gig Shoots, Gig Reviews, Photo Shoots, Album and Single cover shoots, Videography work, Interviews and Touring
First attended gig: Republica, circa 1996.
First gig shot: Hands Off Gretel, at The Louisiana!
Dream gig: Huge metalhead and my ultimate dream gig would be shooting my heroes Slipknot at a huge stadium gig, or as festival headliners. And to experience shooting a headline tour outside the UK
