Music
Interview
Alt BLK Era: “We’re really big on community”
Get to know the Nottingham genre-defying alternative duo as they discuss their MOBO nominations, upcoming EP, and working with Wheatus
Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam were born to make music. The alternative rock sister duo from Nottingham have gone from making ethereal covers on YouTube to being three-time MOBO Award nominees (with a win for Best Alternative Act in 2025), collaborating with Wheatus, and playing at some of the UK’s biggest festivals such as Download, Reading & Leeds, and Glastonbury. Following the release of their debut album, Rave Immortal, in 2025, the pair have released their latest single ‘Tissues’ (2026), which equally builds upon and breaks away from their previous sounds. “We’ve never even considered genre when we’re in the studio,” Nyrobi tells me during our Zoom-call interview. “We just create really fluidly, whatever we want to do, whatever we feel is going to be best for the song.”
Stumbling upon their sound through experimentation during studio sessions, Alt BLK Era allow their music to be as boundless as their youthful imaginations. Having debuted when Nyrobi and Chaya were aged 17 and 14 respectively, their music has grown alongside them as people. “We started off in the industry so young…So we haven’t even really fully had time to form our musical identities, especially Chaya. You’re basically asking a 12-year-old what they grew up listening to and it’s like ‘uh….Ariana Grande?'” But the excitement of knowing that with each project, award nomination and tour date, Alt BLK Era redefines themselves on their own terms is palpable.
Ahead of this year’s MOBO Awards Ceremony, as well as their upcoming UK tour in May, we caught up with the duo to discuss influences, upcoming EP, Our World, and what fans should expect from an Alt BLK Era show.
How would you describe Alt BLK Era’s genre?
Nyrobi: I’d say really broadly, it’s alternative. I mean, it’s in the name, but we really go on a song by song basis. But we’ve never even considered genre when we’re in the studio. When we’re working on a song, we don’t say “okay, let’s add some trap drums” and then have a meeting and say “that’s going to make the song this and this and this!” Honestly, we just create really fluidly, whatever we want to do, whatever we feel is going to be best for the song. Labels are only something that we’ve needed because of things like Spotify and Apple Music because they asked “what genre would you label this as?” And we’re like, “um…?”
I think in our first few years, it was really tricky because we didn’t really have that much knowledge about the alternative space at all. We didn’t grow up listening to alternative music, didn’t really listen to alternative music at all. What we do now is a very, very new thing. We had to ask a lot of people – we were going to record shops and alternative stores and thrift stores, and asking “Can we play you our song? We just want to ask what genre you think it is.” And people would point us in different directions around our city, and Chaya would wheeling me around asking as many people as we could to see where we kind of fit in.
That’s interesting that you say that you didn’t grow up listening to alternative music. What kind of music did you grow up listening to?
Chaya: What our mum would play, like neo soul, R&B, reggae, and then, obviously, radio stuff like Little Mix.
What attracted you to making alternative music?
Nyrobi: We fell into it, honestly. It’s the most ridiculous little romance, love story between us and alternative music. We were just in the studio one day, and I was rapping in in the booth. But when came back to the main room, I thought, “my energy is 10/10, but the beat’s only giving 5/10”. And we were racking our brains, and then there was a guitar stand. And I was like, “why don’t we throw one of those in? What’s that gonna sound like?” And I’m thinking it was super edgy, by the way, because I was 16 at the time and Chaya was 13. I think from then, as soon as we heard it with the energy, and it was like, “Whoa, what is this?” That’s how we went on our journey to finding out what it was.
Your most recent single ‘Tissues’ is quite poppy but still very alternative leaning. What do you draw upon when you’re creating music and who are your major influences?
Chaya: I feel like musically, our influences are different. I feel like me and Nyrobi are visual people, and that doesn’t necessarily reflect the music. For example one of our main influences is Stromae, which is a Belgian [Dance/hip hop] artist. Us and Stromae don’t sound alike but just the merging of genres and taking different instruments from different countries – we love all that experimentation.
Nyrobi: The things that make me and Chaya want to write or want to get in the studio is other people’s artistic expression. If someone is really striking and completely owning their own kind of world, that’s the most important thing for me and Chaya as people who are creating our world (EP name drop!). It could be a picture or a live performance. There’s this 1997 Prodigy Rock am Ring performance that me and Chaya just love because it riles us up to where we think “let’s write something that makes us feel how this performance makes us feel”. A really neurodivergent way to approach music.
What do you want fans to take away from a live performance by Alt BLK Era?
Nyrobi: We’re really big on community. Our crowds are so varied, so there’ll be people that are just straight-up rap fans, or D&B fans or just metal heads of all age groups. So I think that one of the most important things about Alt BLK Era is having a community and having fun within that, and bringing people together who typically wouldn’t be in the same rooms. Me and Chaya will peer out at the crowd and see, a metal head with loads of piercings and tatts, and then a really young D&B fan, and then someone with a walking stick. And we think, “hell yeah, this is what it’s all about.” Allowing people to express themselves however they want to, and they feel comfortable coming to a show where we cover all spectrums, all musicalities, all emotions.
What’s it like working with your sister in a band?
Chaya: I think it’s the best way to do it, to be honest, because we have such a close-knit relationship. When we create together we don’t hold back negatively and positively. And create the best at early hours in the morning, like 2AM. We can just go in each other’s rooms and just force each other to listen to our music.
Nyrobi: There are things that you can say to your sibling that you couldn’t say to your friend because they’d get upset with you. And I’m so blessed that I don’t have to deal with that, because we can really have a meeting and say, “Why do you think this song should be on the next project?” And if one person doesn’t like it, the song doesn’t make the project.
You are nominated for a MOBO award for Best Alternative Act again this year, and you’re now three-time nominees. How are you feeling about that so early on in your careers?
Chaya: Really honoured!
Nyrobi: And a little bit overwhelmed, in the sense that we’re looking at the other artists in our category, and it’s like, “whoa!” I think the first few years, it was almost like a fever dream, because it was just “interview! red carpet! outfit!” It almost felt militant, and I think we were really stressed as well. We were nervous and stuttering on the red carpet. Now, we’re enjoying the process a little bit more, like with the styling and the makeup. I think we’re having loads of fun, and I think it’s an honour to be recognised this early on in our careers.
You worked with Wheatus on ‘My Drummer’s Girlfriend’. Tell me more about that process and how that came to be.
Nyrobi: We are the biggest Wheatus fans ever – like, you don’t even understand! Musically, professionally, personally; they are so genuine. If we have any questions about our setup or backdrops, or about the industry, they’re literally there whenever we’ve needed them.
When we first reached out, it was actually Download 2024 and he followed us on Twitter, and at first I thought it was a fan account, because why would he just follow us? It was just before we released ‘My Drummer’s Girlfriend’ and I thought, “You know what? Let’s get an opinion of one of the greats” because this is our first indie rock song. And he loved it. It was really late on our end, I just messaged him to see if he wanted to jump on and then Chaya and I threw my phone across the room. [Laughs] He didn’t respond for 12 hours. And then when we spoke to him a few months ago, he said he fell asleep with his phone in his hand. But we were stressing like, “oh my gosh! we’ve pushed it too far! He’s gonna block us!” And he was just snoozing.
Then they flew over from New York, spent two days with us in London, and they came with all the vocals, melodies and the harmonies printed out. It was an experience that I’m so blessed to have had because you hear so many horror stories about meeting your idols. But it was such an honour to meet such genuine and talented people especially early on in our career.
Chaya: And then even last year when they came to Rescue Rooms in Nottingham to do their show. They brought us out for ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ on stage. And that was such a great experience.
Do you have any idea of who you’d like to collaborate with next?
Nyrobi: A big one for us would be Stromae. We listen to a lot of international music, so it’s probably going to be quite broad.
Chaya: I’m going to say Movements. They’re my faves, and ‘Come On Outside actually inspired by Movements because I was like, “Please, Nyrobi, can we just release an emo song for me?” And I met Patrick [Miranda] at 2000trees, which has like been my wallpaper for like…a year now.
Nyrobi: And Miyavi. I would love to collab with Miyavi; he’s a big Japanese rock artist. Mainly a guitarist, but he also does vocals. He’s so incredible, and I’ve been a fan of his for a while.
What does the future hold for Alt BLK Era?
Nyrobi: The biggest thing that we’re preparing for now is the release of our second EP, Our World and then the Our World UK tour. I’m so excited to be back on the road again. We haven’t had a proper good sing, cry and scream with our fans in so long. So I’m excited to bring everyone into this new era.
People have been enjoying the new stuff, and it is different from Rave Immortal. And I think that’s not a bad thing. But if you’re listening young artists that have changed so much single to single, you never know what’s coming next. So I think that everyone’s…
Chaya: on their toes! I’m excited to be with our fans again and just sing together. I don’t even want to sing the song, I’ll just let the audience sing the whole song for us. I just love it. It’s the best thing.
Do you have a dream venue that you would like to play?
Chaya: I’d like to headline Coachella.
Nyrobi: I’d say Rock am Ring. But also there are a lot of things in our career already that have started to loop back and make us feel really lucky to connect with so many people that inspire us musically from all over the world. And, spoiler, that is something that we’re going to be doing a lot this year. It’s already coming.
Alt BLK Era are nominated for Best Alternative Act at this year’s MOBO Awards – find tickets here.
Get tickets to Alt BLK Era’s UK tour dates here
