W: Rosario Blue. I: Tina Korhonen
ALT BLK ERA, sisters Nyrobi (20) and Chaya (17) Beckett-Messam are alt pop-rock’s new sweethearts. After a string of successful singles, including “My Drummer’s Girlfriend”, drum ‘n’ bass rock anthem “I’m Normally Like This”, the hugely personal “Straight to Heart”, and latest single “Come on Outside”, the boundary-pushing duo’s highly anticipated debut album Rave Immortal debuted on 24 January 2025.
About their origins, “I think it would be fair to say that it kind of started with me,” says Nyrobi. “Since I was really young my love for music and drama has always been there. They were my two subjects that I excelled in.”
The Nottingham natives began singing together since primary school.
“Our one chore was to do the kitchen,” says Nyrobi. “We’d have a 30-minute job at the end of school. This is back in the day, so we had an iPod; we used to be playing tunes, singing, harmonising in the kitchen from like 4 to 7 pm. Our mum would always be like, ‘What are you doing in there?”
Chaya is “introverted”, and wasn’t as dead set on doing music, but Nyrobi had an eye for talent and knew her sister had copious amounts of it.
“Chay wasn’t crazy about doing music; that wasn’t her fire. I remember going to her one day: ‘You sound really good! We should do this; you should sing on this song!’ She was like, no I don’t want to. ‘No, you sound so good! Sing this part with me!’ You could say it’s a bit of sister bribery, just a bit of temptation.
“So, then it ended up being a Nyrobi and Chay thing instead of just a Nyrobi thing, and then here we are.”
Except they might not have been ALT BLK ERA if it wasn’t for their mother (and manager).
“2021, through COVID,” says Chaya, “we were doing covers on YouTube. Our mum just decided, ‘Why don’t you just make a song and then try and release it?’, since we were so interested in music. Then that’s where it started.”
“It was quite a serious thing”, says Nyrobi, “with everything that was happening in the world. She said,” ‘If you guys actually want to do this, I’ll support you. Learn as much as you can about the industry.”
They took their mum’s advice and began taking courses. But it wasn’t long before they put out their first song.
2022’s “Slowly Die: Solar” was a bold debut and a glance into the eclectic future of ALT BLK ERA. The combination of Chaya’s vocals and Nyrobi’s rapping against a heavy aggressive bassline created an intensity that kept you hooked from start to finish.
“I used to do most of the writing”, says Nyrobi. “In 2020 especially, I just wrote like crazy. I developed my own writing style.” After forming the band, they discussed what Chaya wanted to do. She wanted to sing.
“She doesn't wanna rap or scream. That's what I want to do. So, as I'm writing, I’m taking into consideration what does Chaya want out of the song? We've started writing more songs together anyway, so it's become Nyrobi Chaya writing.”
Their innovative, genre-bending sound is no mistake. From the lyrics to the arrangements, everything in their tracks is designed by the sisters, and brought to life by producer Natt Webb of RatCat Studios.
Nyrobi says, “Before we go into the studio, all the lyrics are written. We know how the bass is sounding, how the guitar’s sounding, how the synths are sounding. But we’re not producers. We have to say how we want the sound like,”Pboom! Pboom! Pboom!” Then [Natt] has to make that up.”
The duo has collaborated with Webb for over four years now.
“He’s so quick with the tune”, says Chaya.
“So quick!” agrees Nyrobi. “He’ll be like, ‘What kind of instrument is that?’ I’m like, ‘I’m not sure, but it sounds like this.’ We’d try a few things and then he’d get it. And I’d think, ‘That’s it! Nice one.’ We have a language that isn’t anything, but he gets us so well.”
ALT BLK ERA's decision to frequently draw from personal experiences gives them a distinct advantage. No one can tell a story better than the person who has lived it, and they do so remarkably well. Their rawness and authenticity are significant contributors to their success, allowing fans to feel a closer connection to them.
The dark and somber “Straight to Heart” is a poignant depiction of struggle and resilience. Nyrobi battles a chronic illness that has taken a significant toll on her life. Although she may appear fine on the outside, she has been fighting this debilitating condition for years.
Me and Chay wrote it together”, says Nyrobi. “This was another late-night writing session. I think I wrote the chorus first, and then I wanted to write about my experiences with my disability. Because I was with Chaya and Mum at home, I felt quite comfortable writing about it. I was excited, but I think I almost didn't process the gravity of what was going to happen until I'd uploaded it to the distribution, and it was coming up to release day.
According to charity and disability advocacy group, Scope, 1 in 5 people in the UK live with a disability, of that number 80% have invisible disabilities.
"I'd wake up in the morning, and I'd be like, ‘Oh my gosh, people are gonna know in like two weeks,’ because we made it a thing to not tell anyone. We were like, ‘People aren’t gonna book us for shows,’ ‘She can't do it. She's in pain all the time. She's not even gonna wake up for it.’ This was when I was sleeping like twenty hours a day. I was out!”
There remains a considerable stigma surrounding disabilities; Nyrobi worried that disclosing her disability might hinder the band or limit opportunities.
“Yeah, I think the gravity really hit”, says Nyrobi. “When I started telling people. But everyone has been so kind and supportive, which I was shocked by, to be honest. I wasn't expecting that reaction. It was really overwhelming, emotionally, even though it was positive. I can't even respond to some of the comments now, it’ll just make me cry. But I had so many messages from people that have got disabilities or people that know people with disabilities, [One commenter wrote] This song means so much, thank you.’
“I think that’s really important,” says Nyrobi. “That other people not only connect with the music on such a deep level, but can see themselves in me, through the music.”
On 2 October, the duo released "Come on Outside," another deeply personal song from Chaya and Nyrobi. It serves as a message of strength and encouragement, as well as a heartfelt letter of gratitude from Nyrobi to Chaya, who has been her rock during some of the toughest times in her life.
ALT BLK ERA’s future is promising, and they already have much to boast about. They’ve supported Tom Morello at Camden’s Electric Ballroom, played Glastonbury, and been nominated for Best UK Breakthrough Artist at the 2024 Heavy Music Awards, Best Alternative Music Act at the 2024 MOBO awards, a category they won this year. They’ve also headlined the BBC Introducing stage at 2023’s Reading and Leeds festival and more.
Their favorite and most memorable live show so far is, “I have to say Download festival”, says Chaya. “It’s in between Download and 2000 Trees because 2000 Trees we had our first crowd surfers, which was a very special moment for me. Download, the energy was just so high. We thought about that gig for so long, we did so much preparation. It just turned out really well.”
“Mine would be, show-wise, Glastonbury”, says Nyrobi. ‘Cause I think that was one of the first moments where I was actually like, ‘We can do this for real’. I fully believed in it after that show and then on a personal note, Reading and Leeds—we let them know I was disabled—I got a seven-man security team. While walking out, they were like, ‘Get back! Get back!’ and walked us out to the front to a buggy because I can't walk through a crowd at 9:00 PM and get battered.#
“I felt like the president of the United States. I felt bougie, I can’t lie. ‘OK, Reading and Leeds with your disability access needs, you did that!’ On a personal level, I felt really respected and looked after.”
On 5 November, they performed at Rebellion Manchester as part of MTV UK's Music Week. They concluded their series of gigs for 2024 on 11 November by headlining DJ Alyx Holcombe’s rock and metal night, Mantra, which was supported by Spider.
Upcoming, they’ve got, “some huge tour dates,” says Nyrobi. “Some collabs coming out 2025 – some icons, if you will. We’re just so excited. It doesn’t just stop after the album comes out. We’ve got incredible shows where we’re gonna be performing the album songs and some old ones as well. The opportunities just feel endless at this point.”
Legendary band Wheatus collaborated on the remix of "My Drummer’s Girlfriend," which was released on 13 November 2024. The announcement of their collaboration delighted fans, who considered the crossover a significant achievement.
In January 2025, the ladies hosted an album launch party at Saltbox, Nottingham, followed by acoustic performances and signings at Rough Trade in Bristol and Liverpool, Truck in Oxford.
Resident in Brighton, and Pryzm in Kingston. More UK tour dates have been announced, starting with their sold-out show at The Lodge, Manchester on 15 April.
“We're just doing the music that we love. We're writing about things that we want to write about, whether it’s personal or it’s fun. We’re still growing. Now ‘cause we’re doing music full-time and our experiences are a lot different from other people’s—Chay started at 13/14 but left school at 12—Our brains aren’t fully formed yet, so we’re still developing and finding our sound and finding our people.
Rave Immortal is available on all streaming platforms. Physical copies, vinyl, and digital downloads are available on their site. For tour dates, tickets, and merch, visit www.altblkera.com. Follow ALT BLK ERA on Instagram, X, and TikTok @altblkera; subscribe to their YouTube channel @ALTBLKERA.
