ALT BLK ERA's music invites you into their intimate and interconnected world. Though the duo’s propulsive, high-octane songs recall The Prodigy mixed with Cassyette or Dead Pony, lyrically they traverse everything from parasocial relationships (Hunt You Down) to rave culture (My Drummer’s Girlfriend) and reckoning with living life with a disability (Straight To Heart).
The band’s debut album Rave Immortal ties all of this together with an emphasis on personal stories of liberation and renewal. The record, released in January, saw sisters Nyrobi and Chaya Beckett-Messam scale the UK’s independent charts, even hitting the summit in the Rock & Metal category. They have since appeared on Later… with Jools Holland, won a MOBO Award and completed their first-ever UK headline tour — the latter was supported by funding from PRS Foundation and POWER UP, an initiative which supports Black music creators while addressing racial disparities across the industry.
Behind the scenes, the pair have become masters at transforming harrowing personal memories and moments of self-doubt into shimmering spectacle. Nyrobi lives with chronic fatigue syndrome, a condition that means pushing herself to be physically or even mentally active can lead to a crash. While touring, she and her sister make adjustments — such as carving out time for Nyrobi to catch up on sleep, staying in 24/7 contact with their team and arriving at venues with ample time to spare — to ensure they can give their all on stage.
Rave Immortal is the result of intense introspection and healing; the record highlights how Nyrobi has spent a long time sitting with her pain and worked to feel peace with herself. The band have performed to rapt festival audiences at the likes of Download, Reading & Leeds and Glastonbury, as well as being selected to represent the UK for the British Music Embassy at SXSW in Austin, Texas.
With a stacked season of summer festivals on the horizon — and an illustrated book project in the pipeline — M caught up with Nyrobi and Chaya for the latest edition of our On The Road series to discuss, in their own words, what it takes to thrive as a live act in 2025.
Nyrobi: ‘At the start of our tour, it was a little overwhelming having a room full of fans singing our words back to us night after night. It's such an odd feeling, especially when you consider how much some of the songs mean to those people in the crowd. The music doesn’t just belong to me and Chaya any more. On the album, we speak about everything from my struggles with my hidden disability to changing friendships, and wanting to go crazy in a rave but not being able to. It just feels surreal seeing how these stories have resonated.
‘The one moment that really stuck out for me, however, was when I spoke with someone who was in a wheelchair, and they just broke down. I was trying not to cry while she was talking about what the album meant to her. Even though it was emotional, I felt really at peace knowing that our music was getting to those that need to hear it. Knowing that our album has potentially changed other people's lives — as well as ours — is amazing.
‘In a way, we learned that we actually need to carve out more time after shows to chat with fans. Connecting with the people who make up the ALT BLK ERA community has become such a big thing for us. Most people can do this while touring day after day, playing back-to-back shows, but there is no chance I would be able to tour if we didn't have days off in between.
‘The funding that we got from PRS Foundation allowed us to do two days of shows and then have a two-day break, so I could actually reset my body and get on with my therapies. It was a privilege to be able to tour knowing that this was an option.’
'I've felt really at peace knowing that our music is getting to those that need to hear it.' - Nyrobi Beckett-Messam
Chaya: ‘During this downtime, we had to make more [friendship] bracelets because the fans loved them! They sold out by our second show, so we spent hours [in our hotel rooms] making more of them. We even had our band members and their partners getting involved. Otherwise, we spent time on vocal rest and ensuring that Nyrobi got lots of sleep to help combat her chronic fatigue.’
Nyrobi: ‘We mean it when we say that PRS have supported us at every stage in our career, from our first EP [2023’s Freak Show] through to the album, SXSW and even our first ever book. Without the funding we get from PRS Foundation, there would be no tour. They have helped us lay the foundations for our big moments, all of which would probably look a bit shaky without them. If you were to go back in time and we didn't have PRS, ALT BLK ERA would not be the same band we are today.’
Chaya: ‘I remember being shocked when we had the call from PRS Foundation asking us if we wanted to go out to SXSW. That was really big for us, to be able to showcase ALT BLK ERA on an international stage — especially in America! It was amazing to see the fans that had travelled to see us, as well as enjoy shows from artists that we wouldn’t be able to catch otherwise.’
Nyrobi: ‘Crucially, we learned so much at SXSW beyond enjoying the music. We wanted to go there not just to perform, but to really engage in the community and culture of the festival. Part of that meant attending seminars, particularly as we got to Austin ahead of time in order for me to adjust with my chronic fatigue. We learned so much about marketing and different industries that we never thought we could be a part of but aligned perfectly with us.
‘On the conference days, we would split up and then regroup afterwards. We'd speak about what we learned, and how it could relate directly to us as a band. For example, I didn’t realise how much crossover there is between the music and gaming industries. There were music business courses and we spent time at networking brunches. We did every single thing that we could. It was the experience of a lifetime!’
Main photo credit: Chiara Ceccaioni
