The British R&B mainstay transmits hope and healing from Jupiter in her lauded fourth album — here she takes Wonderland through it one track at a time. 

All too often artists pass through the music industry like comets. They bless it with their beauty in an ephemeral fashion before falling out of view as its fickle fortunes come into play. But then there are the likes of Nao — almost 10 years since her 2016 debut album For All We Know pioneered her self-ascribed wonky-funk and brought her celestial vocal tones to the masses, the London singer-songwriter has continued to function with an electromagnetic charge that’s impossible to ignore. 

We last heard from her in 2021 with buoyant third offering And Then Life Was Beautiful, the successor to the turbulent astral beauty of Grammy and Mercury Prize-nominated Saturn — a concept album reflecting on her Saturn return, an astrological event that occurs on the cusp of one’s 30th birthday. The galaxy is mined once again for album number four — Saturn’s spiritual successor Jupiter, released at the end of last month, marking her arrival at the planet of joy after a challenging few years.  

“Saturn is a planet of lessons, and when I was in that period of time, I got quite unwell,” she explains. Nao was diagnosed with Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME) also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome — a long-term neurological and immune system-related condition that primarily leads to extreme tiredness in those who live with it. “I spent a lot of time rebuilding myself, recovering, redefining who I am now and not who I was before.” 

As her healing process took shape, she discovered Jupiter and its astrological symbolism. “Jupiter is basically the planet of hope. And I was like, ‘Oh, wow. This is perfect because I’ve been through such a hard time in my life, and finally I’m coming out of the other end.’” Jupiter’s planetary symbol also resembles the number four, so you could say, pardon the pun, that the stars aligned — and Jupiter’s 11 tracks of mellifluous fluid-R&B are the end result. 

Ahead of Nao’s gig at London’s Brixton Academy on 12 March, she takes us through Jupiter’s sonic molecules, track by track…

“30 Something”

“30 Something” probably encapsulates the meaning of the album, the meaning of letting go of the old to be able to step into the new. I felt like when we wrote this song – myself, a songwriter called Caroline Pennell and producer Stint — that something special happened. This was the beginning of the album. I was like, ‘Okay, I felt like we’ve told this story quite well, of hanging on to the old version of myself and accepting the new.’ And so that’s how “30 Something” came to be.

I love how [audiences on tour] already love “30 Something”. I feel like “30 Something” will probably do what “Orbit” did from Saturn. It was never really officially a single, but it really had its moment, and it really found its way. People loved that song. And I feel like “30 Something” is feeling quite similar to that. 

“Happy People”

Stepping into this new version of myself, I think a lot of people can relate to this, was just about finding my tribe. I feel as we go through life, we have friends and family that come and go. And I think as we get older, we can accept that our community doesn’t have to be huge. We don’t have to be this really popular person. You can be if that’s natural to you and that’s what you want, but community can also be really small. It can be a couple of friends that really just vibe with you, and I think that’s what “Happy People” is about. It’s finding your tribe and the people that love you and going where the love is. If that’s not your family, it might be somewhere else, and that’s okay.

I made this again with producers Stint and Yakob and songwriters Lauren Keen and Kareem James. It was just a really great group of people and friends that I’ve made out in LA. We were talking about this idea of [finding a] community that just makes you happy. 

“Light Years”

When you start creating music, for me, it’s the chords that usually evoke the feeling. For me, personally, I can’t plan what I’m going to write about before the music exists. So when the chords for “Light Years” came to be, which I think [producer] LOXE improvised on piano or guitar, I was like, ‘Oh, this is giving. It’s giving euphoric. It’s giving love. It’s giving this elevation’ and so the song came to be.

“Wildflowers”

Honestly, the reason why I chose “Wildflowers” [as the first single] is because I was playing the demos of the songs on the album at home and my daughter, who’s four, actually hadn’t heard them before. I was just playing them whilst we were cleaning and playing and stuff, and once all the demos were over, she just started humming the “Wildflowers” chorus. So it obviously caught her ear, and it stuck with her, you know? And for me, it was that simple. I was like, ‘Oh, okay, you’ve heard all these songs for the first time, and that’s something that you suddenly pick up.’ It was easy for you. And I thought, ‘Great, let’s just go with that. That’s my answer.’ It was as deep as that.

It was the last song I wrote for the record. I had all the other tunes, and I knew what was missing. When I went into the studio with [songwriter] Coffee and [songwriter and producer] Detonate, I was like, ‘I’m missing something that’s really punchy, that’s really bold, that’s energetic.’ And I think I played “Lost” by Frank Ocean to them as a reference for what energy I was meaning. And obviously “Wildflowers” sounds nothing like “Lost” by Frank Ocean, which is the point, but it still evokes this upbeat, energetic vibe. And so that’s how “Wildflowers” came to be. 

“All of Me”

I love “All of Me”, actually. I’m really enjoying playing “All of Me” live as well. I have these fans that do this beautiful, ethereal dance to it and it’s just a really still, very sensual but also quite calming song. I really enjoy it. Definitely, it’s one of my low-key favourites. 

Photography – Lillie Eiger