Why Nobody's Holding NAO's Hand In The Studio

Rising Brit star NAO (aka Neo Joshua) has charmed fans of both throwback and avant-R&B with her "wonky funk". Joshua's debut, For All We Know, made key 'Best Albums Of 2016' lists. She's excitedly hitting Australia for the first time over (our) summer, heading to Laneway (and side shows) with her band. And, post-fest, Joshua plans to "hang out". "I hope to stay [for] around two weeks or something, just chilling in Australia and driving around," she enthuses.

The Hackney singer/songwriter/producer speaks softly, apologising for her "sleepy brain" this morning. Despite her early reserve with the media, Joshua is chatty. She was raised in East London by a single mother — music a constant. "I have a big family," Joshua says. "I'm the youngest of five. All my brothers and sisters loved music and they played music from night 'til day." She was exposed to everything from her mum's gospel music to classic soul, R&B/hip hop, jungle, garage and grime. Joshua also enjoyed singing.

Envisaging herself as a new Nina Simone, Joshua was accepted into the distinguished Guildhall School Of Music & Drama to study Jazz Voice. She joined The Boxettes — a modish all-girl ensemble fronted by champion beatboxer Bellatrix. They performed at London Jazz Festival, and visited India. "We were just college kids trying to make a bit of money," Joshua says. "We put together an a cappella group to do some gigs with and it took on a life of its own — it kinda got this weird cult following." The Boxettes amicably split in 2014. "It wasn't what anyone really wanted to do as a full-time career."

"The industry were very quick to talk about the producers on the album, where I had to keep saying, like, I produced a lot of it, and most of it."

Joshua also gigged as a backing vocalist, notably for Jarvis Cocker and his legendary Britpop band Pulp. Again, she downplays it. "I didn't extensively tour with him, actually," she corrects. "I think that was just one name that came up and then everyone ran with it!" Indeed, Joshua appeared at select "important" bookings — including Pulp's surprise Glastonbury show of 2011. Is Cocker aware of her solo success? "I'm not sure if he knows," Joshua laughs. "I'm sure he does... Actually, I have no idea! I have no idea if he's into the world that I'm in." Meanwhile, she secured a day job as a music teacher. Ironically, when Joshua initially composed her own pop songs, that training proved a hindrance. "I had to unlearn a lot of things when I came out of music college. At the very beginning of my writing process, I was making things too complicated."

Joshua generated serious buzz as NAO in 2014 after uploading the single So Good on SoundCloud — she'd cut it with AK Paul, brother of the mysterious R&B prodigy Jai. Joshua was invited to open Little Dragon's European tour dates on the back of her So Good EP. The next year, she performed at Glasto behind a second EP. Zillionaire was licensed for a Samsung ad. In yet another coup, Joshua featured on Disclosure's Caracal. The soulstress placed third in the BBC Music Sound Of 2016 poll (Jack Garratt was the winner).

Critics have compared Joshua to vintage Janet Jackson and Aaliyah, emphasising her roots in the R&B of the '80s and '90s. However, she holds that the NAO aesthetic is contemporary, hence her branding it "wonky funk". "My music isn't traditional R&B at all. It's not as smooth as R&B was in its heyday — which was the '90s or early 2000s... It was smoother and it was a lot more wear-your-heart-on-the-sleeve and the lyrics were a lot more direct." Nor does Joshua reference any one artist. "I just take influence from all the things that I absorbed as a little girl." As such, while For All We Know borrows its title from a '30s jazz standard, Joshua is content for her synthesis to be classed as "indie R&B". She is attuned to today's R&B/hip hop, too, her current rave Childish Gambino's Awaken, My Love!. Still, Joshua's output has uniquely more bounce — and boogie — than most glitchy R&B.

Joshua worked on For All We Know with predominantly underground producers — Brit DJ GRADES assisting on the singles Bad Blood and Girlfriend. But she also vibed with rare groove boffins Jungle (Get To Know Ya recalling Jam & Lewis) and reunited with the enigmatic Paul (the Prince-ly Trophy). The '90s urban music boom saw the producer elevated to superstar status and now industry-types routinely obsess over album credits. Joshua herself mentions the myriad names listed on a curated Rihanna or Drake record. Nonetheless, in presenting For All We Know, she was determined to assert her artistic agency. Coincidentally, female auteurs like Bjork are challenging perceptions that they play a passive role to male studio cohorts. "I think I took away how powerful I could be within my own music," Joshua ponders. "I noticed that actually when the album came out: the industry were very quick to talk about the producers on the album, where I had to keep saying, like, I produced a lot of it, and most of it. I wrote all the songs, I came up with a lot of the production ideas, and I'd go in with the producers after I've laid down the beats and the chords... I was instrumental to it. But they weren't really hearing that, which I thought was kind of weird... So I found the power in just telling people how much this album is a part of me, how much I put into it, in writing all the songs. There's only ever two people on a track: me and the producer. I found so many skills within that, which I'm really proud of. I'm not shy to talk about it, either."

For All We Know is deeply personal, even if it's not "direct". "I write from the soul, from the heart," Joshua shares. "They always say that I'm quite private when it comes to interviews and stuff, but it's all there in the music, really — all the stories, all the heartbreaks, all the confusion, all the good moments, all the shit moments..."

Between albums, Joshua is seeking opportunities for further creative exchange — out of curiosity. "I think one way that I would like to learn is by collaborating with more people and stepping outside of my own world into other people's worlds to learn from them and learn how they write — learn their thinking process when it comes to lyrics and how they make their music. So I will be doing a project called NAO X, which will be a collaboration EP, I imagine, which does that." In fact, Joshua already has had "one thought" about her follow-up album. Now a confident band leader, she wants the prep to be less solitary and less production-based. "I'd like to jam with my band and see what we come up with all together and try it that way, which is quite old school, I think: to get in the studio with your band and set up the drums and the bass and just seeing what happens. I've got to give that a go. If it works, then I'll probably use that idea running through the next album."