In the depths of night, while most musicians are winding down from performances or, if they’re lucky, already asleep, Nyrobi of ALT BLK ERA is often just hitting her creative stride. “I do most of my work at night,” she reveals, speaking to Dork at 1:35 am, a time when the world grows quiet, but her artistic spirit flourishes. It’s a necessary adaptation, one of many that shapes the remarkable story behind one of alternative music’s most compelling new voices.
The sister duo of Nyrobi and Chaya, collectively known as ALT BLK ERA, have spent the past year rewriting the rules of what’s possible in alternative music. Their debut album ‘Rave Immortal’ is a tale of presence, persistence, and the power of turning personal struggles to your advantage.
“2024 was an incredible year for us,” the duo reflect “We really are living our dreams, from being nominated and attending our first MOBO Awards on the back of our debut EP to having our first ever crowd surfers at 2000trees festival.” Their trajectory has been nothing short of meteoric, though ‘meteoric’ feels too passive a word for what’s clearly been an active seizure of opportunity.
Their rise hasn’t been without its challenges. Nyrobi lives with chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that requires careful management and considerable planning. “My disability means that if I have a band practice, interview or photoshoot etc. I need to take strong pain medication, which gives me a window of time to be pain-free,” she explains. “If I know the activity I’m about to do is going to be taxing on my body then I’ll start taking pain meds from hours or days before to build it up in my system.”
This reality has forged an even stronger bond between the sisters, with Chaya adjusting her schedule to match Nyrobi’s nocturnal patterns. “My little sister tends to stay up later with me so we can spend time together,” Nyrobi shares.
“We want it to inspire people who are facing their own battles”
‘Rave Immortal’ emerged from this crucible of challenge and support. “The album is all about the challenges faced from becoming chronically ill,” they explain. “It starts with the physical pain and the emotional pain that I felt. Loneliness and abandonment from being forgotten by friends was really tough at the time, so it felt like healing to write about it. But the album is also about rebellion and defiance. We’re not ones to sit in the pain for too long. We want to cause some havoc in the world!”
Their music tackles subjects that many might shy away from, wrapped in infectious melodies that make the medicine go down easier. “People underestimate what young people want to talk about, and they can dismiss us as having not too much to say,” they assert. “We believe that music should reflect the full spectrum of human experience, including its challenges… If you go back and listen to our songs, we sing about domestic and sexual abuse. And when we collaborated with Delilah Bon, we sang about misogyny. We don’t hold back on any of those kinds of subjects. We just wrap it up in a catchy tune.”
The path to completing ‘Rave Immortal’ wasn’t without its obstacles. “There have been so many challenges, but the main one was learning how to work with new people,” they reveal. “We’re young, we’re female, and we’re new to the rock/alt genres. We had to make sure that our voices were heard and that our desires were taken on board. We had a few battles.”
Their collaboration with Wheatus on ‘My Drummer’s Girlfriend’ stands as a testament to their growing reach. “The Wheatus collaboration will always hold a huge and special place in our hearts,” they share. “We had the opportunity to spend two full days in the studio with them, and we learnt so much. To have such an iconic indie-rock band on our first ever indie-rock song is still surreal to us.”
Looking ahead, ALT BLK ERA’s ambitions stretch far. “We hope ‘Rave Immortal’ reaches listeners worldwide. We want it to inspire people who are facing their own battles,” they explain. The duo’s growing community of supporters is at the forefront of their minds. “We want to express our gratitude to our fans for their support. Their encouragement fuels our passion and drives us to keep pushing boundaries.”
It’s this combination of authentic vulnerability and unstoppable determination that makes ALT BLK ERA not just a band to watch but a movement to believe in.
ALT BLK ERA’s debut album ‘Rave Immortal’ is out now.
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