NTHNL: Cosmic Flute Rides Again (Independent / 10 March 2023)

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NTHNL: Cosmic Flute Rides Again
(Independent / 10 March 2023)

Brooklyn Musician and Producer NTHNL's album "Cosmic Flute Rides Again" blends the elements of smooth jazz and electropop, with the flute as a thread that unites the genres. The breathy flute melodies trip along on top of synth beats and sounds in a nice balance of organic and electronic. 

"I’m not quite sure why I made this album. It’s for some reason felt important to me to make a flute-fronted pop album to celebrate this instrument and to give it a wildly new context in which to sing. The flute is the oldest instrument we have evidence of, dating back at least 40000 years to both humans proper and Neanderthals. This instrument is almost as universal as music itself across human culture and serves as the gateway between the spiritual and the corporeal. 

The Cosmic Flute music is joyous and absurd. You are supposed to come away feeling free, like you have permission, like the world is huge and expansive and full of beauty and possible meaning. 

In my music I always spend a little bit of time in the shadows, but I like to return always. I think it’s super important to explore the dark, while always reaffirming the light," says Jacob “NTHNL” Rudi, a classically trained composer and pianist turned multi-flutist, producer and sound-healing practitioner.

Jacob “NTHNL” Rudi, Photo Credit: Rumi It
Jacob “NTHNL” Rudi, Photo Credit: Rumi Ito

There are certainly elements of Western classical music idioms in some of the tracks, notably Prelude. Neon Flow stakes out more of a smooth jazz mode, layering melodic patterns over repetitive beats, then changing directions to a more traditional jazzy bridge. La Salle d'Attente is another jazzy track, where the sax takes the flute's place, punctuated by French poetry. Tracks like Full Spectrum, Avec Tendresse, and Nico's Exocrism Dance unfold to a scratchy electronic dance beat. 

Alice is a standout track, one where classical and jazz techniques result in an entrancing and original sound. His playing is technically impressive, but more so in terms of musicality. As a composer, each track offers something a little different in terms of mood. 

It's jazz for laid back listening, music that explores the expressive power of the flute and other woodwinds.

Personnel: NTHNL: Flutes, saxophone, keyboards, beat programming, production, mixing; Derek Dupuis: keyboard solo on Neon Flow; Aliya Ultan: Cello solo on Digital Exposure

Tracklist: 

  1. Prelude (Cosmic Flute Rides Again)
  2. Neon Flow
  3. Our Secret
  4. La Salle D’attente
  5. Full Spectrum
  6. Nico’s Exorcism Dance
  7. Digital Exposure
  8. Sexual Selection
  9. Avec Tendresse
  10. Alice

Websites:

Our Secret is the first single from the album.

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