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Carlos Niño

Carlos Niño is a producer, composer, arranger, and DJ with an extensive body of spiritually minded work that melds jazz, hip-hop, new age, soul, and numerous other styles. His music blends orchestral arrangements and acoustic instruments with cutting-edge avant-garde production techniques, and it always maintains a positive, hopeful state of mind. Niño's notable group projects include the jazz ensembles Build an Ark and Hu Vibrational as well as the experimental hip-hop duo AmmonContact. Under his own name, he has released notable recordings with Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (beginning with 2007's Fill the Heart Shaped Cup) and an extensive series of albums billed to Carlos Niño & Friends, with releases like 2016's Flutes, Echoes, It's All Happening! In 2023, (I'm Just) Chillin', On Fire featured guests such as Laraaji, Iasos, Madlib, and Deantoni Parks. In November, he and South African pianist, composer, and vocalist Thandi Ntuli released the duo outing Rainbow Revisited, an album he played on, produced, recorded, and mixed. Niño first became known as a radio DJ, hosting an eclectic program titled All at One Point on listener-supported FM station KPFK. After a brief hiatus, the program was relaunched in 1999 as Spaceways Radio, with more of a cosmic, reflective focus. Hundreds of notable musicians made guest appearances on the show, ranging from spiritual jazz pioneers like Pharoah Sanders to hip-hop legends such as A Tribe Called Quest in addition to Los Angeles beat scene producers including Flying Lotus and Madlib. Niño also became a regular contributor to online radio station Dublab. In 2001, Niño (along with vocalist Dwight Trible and arranger/multi-instrumentalist Miguel Atwood-Ferguson) founded Build an Ark, an intergalactic jazz ensemble dedicated to spreading peace and positivity after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Encompassing dozens of members from several generations, the group included Dexter Story, Tribe Records founder Phil Ranelin, Derf Reklaw (of the Pharaohs), and numerous others. The collective released four well-received albums on Kindred Spirits. Niño and Story also worked together as the Life Force Trio, collaborating with Trible on his album Love Is the Answer (released by Ninja Tune in 2005) as well as Living Room (Plug Research, 2006). Niño was also a part of jazz trio Hu Vibrational, along with percussionists Adam Rudolph and Hamid Drake. In hip-hop and electronic music circles, Niño became best known for AmmonContact, his duo with Fabian Ammon. The pair released four albums and several EPs of abstract, primarily instrumental hip-hop on labels like Plug Research, Ninja Tune, and Eastern Developments. In 2007, Carlos Niño and Miguel Atwood-Ferguson collaborated on an intense, beautiful album titled Fill the Heart Shaped Cup, which was released by Alpha Pup. The following year, Niño and MC Lil Sci debuted their conscious hip-hop project What's the Science? with a full-length titled Elevation on Shaman Work. 2009 saw the release of La Voz Sabia de los Cosmos, the debut full-length by Carlos y Gaby, Niño's duo with Build an Ark vocalist Gaby Hernandez. Also in 2009, Plug Research and Kindred Spirits issued High with a Little Help From, the first album credited to Carlos Niño & Friends. Additionally, Niño and Atwood-Ferguson collaborated on Suite for Ma Dukes, a four-song EP of orchestral arrangements of compositions by the late hip-hop producer J Dilla. 2010 saw the release of the self-titled debut album by Turn on the Sunlight, an acoustic folk collaboration between Niño, Hirotaka Makino, and Jesse Peterson. The second Carlos Niño & Friends album, Aquariusssssss, appeared on Porter Records in 2012, including contributions from many previous collaborators as well as new age pioneer Iasos and electronic artists Daedelus and Dntel. Turn on the Sunlight's Remixes/Collaborations also appeared in 2012, followed by their second proper full-length, New Day, in 2013. Niño & Friends' Aurorasmushroomtenderness appeared in 2014, followed by 2016's Flutes, Echoes, It's All Happening! on Matthewdavid's Leaving Records. In 2017, Niño returned with another Niño & Friends effort, Going Home, which included contributions from Jamire Williams, Deantoni Parks, SK Kakraba, Iasos, and others. Live at the World Stage was issued as a limited cassette in early 2018. Raindiance/You're Suspended, a limited double LP with Sam Gendel, was hand-assembled and released during a performance in late 2018, then issued digitally the following February. Bliss on Dear Oneness, another collaboration-filled, improvisation-heavy release, appeared in 2019. Niño & Friends' Actual Presence arrived in 2020, and International Anthem issued Chicago Waves, an improvised set with Atwood-Ferguson recorded at Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago. More Energy Fields, Current, a "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage" featuring Sam Gendel, Jamire Williams, and Dntel, among others, was released in 2021. Niño also collaborated with Photay on the ambient cassette An Offering. Niño & Friends released Live at Commend, NYC in 2022, and Niño collaborated with drummer Dexter Story on Feel Recordings, Vol. 1. Extra Presence, an expanded edition of the limited Actual Presence, was issued by International Anthem in 2022. The same label gave An Offering a wider release in October. (I'm Just) Chillin', On Fire appeared in 2023, with André 3000, Surya Botofasina, and Nate Mercereau among the friends featured. Niño also produced, recorded, mixed, and played on November's Rainbow Revisited with South African pianist, singer and songwriter Thandi Ntuli for International Anthem.
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