ALT BLK ERA: The New Era Of Rave Immortal
A new era is on the horizon for 2025, and it belongs to UK duo, ALT BLK ERA, the genre-defying alternative band consisting of sisters Nyrobi and Chaya Becket-Messam. Since 2022, the two have delivered experimental and boundary-pushing music that has showcased their talent and skills throughout their songs. From their eclectic EP, Freak Show, to their fierce screaming in songs like Off With Their Heads and I’m Normally Like This, their unique style and presentation caught the eye and attention of many, collaborating with artists like DELILAH BON and WHEATUS, as well as landing them slots at festivals like Download.
With their debut album, Rave Immortal, on the horizon to kick off the year, we spoke to the duo about their evolution in style, what to expect on their upcoming tour, and their MOBO nomination for Best Alternative Music Act.
“We’re really excited about our nomination!” Chaya comments to begin the interview off. “Because before it was a female dream, kind of going to the media, I’m still too shocked to even take in.” Nyrobi adds, “when we go in February, we will definitely live in the moment and really appreciate being there. There’ll probably be a lot of moments of us looking over our shoulder and suddenly seeing a famous person, but yeah, we’re really excited. We’re already thinking about how our outfits, they have to be better than last year’s. Honesty, the scene’s too small for it to be a competition, do you know what I mean? We always think that there’s room for everyone. We never tried to gatekeep or ignore other people in the same industries because you know, you never know what will happen to them the next few years as well.”
ALT BLK ERA began life in 2022, uploading songs to Spotify with SOLAR and LUNAR variations to their songs. The duo also released their debut EP, Freak Show, in 2023. Looking at their musical journey and the evolution, Nyrobi reflects. “We’ve actually grown up. Not that it was a bad thing, but we released Off With Their Heads, we were like 15 and 18. Now, being 20 and 17, we’ve just grown with our music styles, tastes, favourite genres, and life experiences. Even in that whole year of music in 2022, we weren’t out much. All we’d seen of the world was our school and then Coronavirus. But we weren’t really heavily in the music scene in terms of going to shows. I’m not sure if we’d heard of THE PRODIGY then?”
She ponders for a moment. “Maybe we’d only just found out about them at that time,” she poses. “So I think our life experiences, as well as maturing as young women, has allowed our music to step up as well. It’ll be interesting to see, especially when Chaya’s not a teenager anymore, as we get older and if we stay in the same thing. Now, at this point in time, I feel like you could put it up to youth, with the experimentation of our music and being young, so who knows what we’re going to be doing in the next five to 10 years?”
“It feels like it’s coming up so soon,” Nyrobi beams excitedly about the release of their debut album, Rave Immortal. “I’m buzzing for it to be out. Some people online are asking for us to drop it sooner and I’m like, ‘it’s already coming out sooner!’. We’re just making sure we’ve got everything prepared. I think it was Chaya that pushed to have us on the cover. I don’t know why. I didn’t want me on the front cover. But Chaya was like, ‘no, we should do it’. I’m up for trying anything, so we tried it and it was really good. I was very happy there with my walking stick, and also, the pose was my idea. I remember I went macho, and Chaya tried getting down because she was in a really tight corset as well, so I said for her to lean backwards. Even though she was reluctant, it looked great. It came out great!”
“For me, my favourite songs on the record so far,” Chaya muses, “it’s gonna have to be My Drummer’s Girlfriend, because, especially live now, everybody knows the lyrics, and it’s not even just the chorus, like they know the whole song. So I always look forward to that song when we do it live, and especially when you consider the opportunities it brought us.”
She continues, “and as well, the version with WHEATUS, which has something like almost a million and a half streams! It’s given us so many opportunities, and it’s really formed our career.” Nyrobi nods in agreement. “I think for me, I would say Hunt You Down, just because I love listening to it myself. It’s my kind of song that you play when you’re putting your makeup on, when you’re getting ready, when you’re walking. I mean, I’m not walking anywhere far because of my disability, but those few steps that I do walk listening to it, I think it’s a really fun song, and as long as you don’t listen too closely to the words and get freaked out, it’s a brilliant time.”
So what’s the plan for ALT BLK ERA once the album is out? Firstly, a launch tour at the end of January, then more headline dates throughout April. Nyrobi explains their excitement and concerns. “On a personal level, I just hope my body holds out, with my disability. It’s the first time we’re doing a full headline UK tour, and I don’t want to be three days in and my body just stopped working, because it will if it wants to,”. She explains. “So I’m just trying to make sure that I’m keeping my health in check until then so I’m as strong as I need to be for tour. I think I’m excited to see people singing the words. That’s just always my favourite part of a show, being surrounded in a room full of people who know your songs. People who know you and it’s almost like a big group karaoke and the artist just happens to be there. When we meet fans, they’ll be talking to us for ages, things like that are really exciting! We’re finally meeting people we’ve only spoken to over the internet, it’s almost like meeting with a close friend.”
Rave Immortal is out now via Earache Records. View this interview, alongside dozens of other killer bands, in glorious print magazine fashion in DS117 here:
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