For All We Know NAO

• 1Intro (Like Velvet)00:37
• 2Get to Know Ya02:56
• 3Inhale Exhale03:03
• 4Voice Memo 16100:23
• 5Happy02:52
• 6Voice Memo 16200:13
• 7Adore You03:31
• 8In the Morning04:06
• 9Trophy03:48
• 10Bad Blood03:59
• 11DYWM04:55
• 12We Don't Give A03:20
• 13Give Me a Little03:47
• 14Fool to Love03:25
• 15Voice Memo 4 (Say Yes)00:34
• 16Blue Wine03:38
• 17Girlfriend03:45
• 18Feels Like (Perfume)04:46
• Total Runtime53:38

Info for For All We Know

Her emergence as one of the most adored new singers of the year has been as fluid and elegant as one of her vocal phrases. Now she has delivered her highly anticipated debut For All We Know, a transcendent set of 18 songs. Woozy, spacey funk, shot through with her effortless breath-taking toplines, part neo-soul, part UK bass, part funk rock – all at a sensual, stepping R&B pace.

The record features fan favorites “Girlfriend,” “Inhale Exhale,” “Bad Blood” and “Fool To Love” as well as incredible unheard tracks like “Trophy” – where NAO collaborates with A.K. Paul again – and “Get To Know Ya” co-produced by XL Recordings’ Jungle. Other co-producers (NAO is credited as producer on 17 of the 18 tracks) include her good friends John Calvert (“In The Morning,” “Blue Wine,” “We Don’t Give A”), GRADES (“Bad Blood,” “Fool To Love,” “Inhale Exhale,” “Girlfriend”) and LOXE (“Adore You,” “Give Me A Little”). NAO grew up in South Woodford, East London, listening to gospel in her local Evangelical church, her brother’s jungle UK garage and her sister’s 90s and 00s R&B – going on to study at the prestigious Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She starting writing songs in her mid-twenties after a few years of teaching school kids to sing and doing backing vocal gigs for the likes of Pulp and Kwabs.

Inspired by Little Dragon, the ideas and words flowed, and she soon began working on her own songs, resulting in her 2014 debut EP, So Good. The EP’s title track, made with A.K. Paul, whizzed around the world accumulating millions of plays on Soundcloud. NAO’s 2015 follow-up EP, February 15, contained the single “Zillionaire” which was featured in a Samsung Galaxy commercial. By January 2016 she placed third in the high-profile BBC Sound Poll and her incredible year continues with a recent performance on Later…with Jools Holland, the cover of The Guardian and rave reviews from Fader, Essence, Pitchfork, Entertainment Weekly, and more.

“The Future Sound of RnB” (The Guardian)

“…a spacey, smoldering update on ’90s R&B, and a voice that’s high and fluttery and commanding…” (Pitchfork)

“…an arresting voice and an ear for weird flourishes…” (Fader)

“…different from other music out there – it’s cool and dark.” (Entertainment Weekly)

“NAO is one of those artists that is pushing forth an exciting new era of R&B and soul.” (Buzzfeed)

NAO
Airy heartfelt ballads and off-center pop-funk typified the early output of Nao, one of the more exciting alternative R&B artists to surface during the mid-2010s. Raised in East London, England, she began playing piano in early childhood and, as a young teenager, started taking singing seriously. Nao attended Guildhall School of Music and Drama to study vocal jazz. Upon graduation, she spent a few years teaching singing in South London, took on some background vocal work, and became interested in making music of her own. Early songs uploaded to a SoundCloud page in 2014 attracted label interest, but Nao opted to establish her own label, Little Tokyo, for the five-track So Good EP, released in October of that year. A second EP of similar length, February 15, followed on Little Tokyo in May 2015. Though the sleek, progressive, and occasionally dark material prompted easy comparisons to contemporary vocalists like FKA Twigs and Kelela, Nao's voice -- simultaneously youthful and wise-sounding -- often recalled that of a young Deniece Williams. Later that year, she was among the mix of established and upcoming vocalists who contributed to Disclosure's Caracal. (Andy Kellman, AMG)

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