Hailing from the UK, Nebula Sun is a genre-defying collective blending Progressive Rock, Jazz, Psychedelia, and Soul into a deeply original and spiritual sound. With their latest release gaining traction in the underground scene, the band continues to explore new musical territories while staying true to their message of unity and consciousness. We had the pleasure of speaking with them about their journey, influences, creative process, and much more.
First of all, thank you for taking the time to speak with us. Could you tell us how the band formed and how you developed your unique sound that combines Heavy Rock, Jazz, and Psychedelic influences?
“The band was formed in 2014 by brothers Tommy (vocals and guitar) and Azzy (drums) when they met Dave (sax) and started jamming together with their first bassist Alex. Paul joined later when Alex moved away. At this point the band was called King Kiwanda and was very afrobeat influenced but with a mix of jazz, folk and dub. The band as it is today was completed in late 2017 when they met Rob who had moved back to Norwich after having studied jazz in London. He added a second sax to create an unusual two-tenor horn section and brought more jazz influence to the band. We changed our name shortly afterwards because no one could spell King Kiwanda and became Nebula Sun. If anyone is interested they can hear how we sounded around then on our first EP, Through the Surface. We sort of stumbled into the psychedelic aspect – as Tommy started using pedals more we started adding a few psychedelic sections into some tracks, for example at the end of our single The Start of Time, and realised we really enjoyed that sound.“
Your upcoming album, Breathe Into Form, features seven very diverse tracks. How did you work on creating cohesion across the album, and what message do you want to convey through this collection?
“Although the tracks may be diverse they represent various aspects of a collective sound that we arrived at over many years, and so hopefully whatever genre we approach there is some kind of indefinable band sound that ties it to everything else.“
“Master Healer” opens the album with Psychedelic and Jazz sounds. How did you decide to blend these different genres into a single track?
“Having our two saxophonists coming from a jazz oriented background, there has always been that influence and is kind of inherent in the sound. However this song was more influenced by gnawa music from north southern and western morocco. Music from that region has a strong psychedelic aspect to it so it just felt completely natural bringing these genres together.“
In “Into Form,” you explore a more delicate and refined sound with soulful influences and rich saxophone textures. What were the inspirations behind this track?
“During the early years of the band we were strongly influenced by neo-soul and world-jazz bands like Nubiyan Twist and Ezra Collective. Although we eventually moved away from these styles and got a lot heavier, an occasional song emerges that carries aspects from that period. I think this was one of them.“
“Oceans” has a more Indie/Alternative Rock atmosphere with subtle Grunge hints. How did you approach this style, and what does this song represent for you?
“This song represents not forgetting where you came from. Oceans was one of the songs that followed lockdown. We were reunited and keen to expand on the sprinkles of the heavier sound which had begun pre covid. We have a love for heavier music from our own formative musical tastes and bands so it felt natural to play. We approached the writing in a fairly
typical way with saxes layering over the established groove. It’s a while ago now but I don’t recall us aiming for an alt rock or grunge feel. I remember the snare was turned off and quite loose initially which perhaps put us in that 90s slacker vibe and the big guitars were something we were becoming interested in using more. It felt right so we didn’t question it
any more than that. The grunge with sax tag is funny and came after we began playing it live and with the extra edge that you get from the live performance.“
“Reflections” showcases a more complex and Avant-Prog side of the band. Can you talk about the challenges involved in composing such intricate pieces?
“Over the years one of the most consistently challenging and interesting parts of the writing process has been finding ways to write structurally complex music which has a coherence and flow to it. That’s one reason we write very slowly – every song brings new challenges and we really have to listen to our instincts and find what works. Reflections is unusual in that most of it was written by Azzy apart from the final section, which we jammed out together and then Rob came up with the bebop-inspired fast horn line. “Sonar” seamlessly blends jazz and Psychedelic Rock with references to the ’70s era.“
How do you manage to bring vintage atmospheres into a modern context?
“This is probably down to the fact that music never really leaves you. If you’re a musician and you really love something, especially if it’s music that was played to you by your parents when you were growing up, it’s always going to be a part of you. Many times people have told us that we remind them of bands from this era and mostly I’d say that it’s not intentional. As a band we play what comes naturally to us from the styles we love (new and old). It’s taken a long time to develop our song writing process in a way that allows us to blend together everything we enjoy in music, but after countless jams, many disagreements and now lots of success in writing songs we love love, this happens much more spontaneously.“
In “Radio Child,” you incorporate Eastern elements and desert-like atmospheres. What are your sources of inspiration for this fusion of sounds?
“As with most of our tunes, this started with a groove that we were jamming. Paul, Azzy and Tommy came up with this dark groove and Rob came up with the horn lines, which he thinks was probably influenced by his work with the Croatian composer Mak Murtic and his band MImika. Check the track “She Sows Wheat” for example.”
The album concludes with “Traces,” an energetic and engaging track. How do you feel when creating such dynamic pieces, and what emotions do you want to transmit to your Listeners?
“This was written to be a fun set-closer, and it’s got a lot of Dave’s trademark folky melodies in. It’s important to us to write pieces which are fun to play live, because if we are having fun the audience is more likely to too. It’s also got one of our early psychedelic sections from the period where we were beginning to experiment with that style.“
What are your main musical influences that helped shape your style? Are there specific artists or genres that inspired you particularly?
“Broadly speaking we’ve all been inspired by a very wide range of music that has led us towards our current sound. Azzy’s big drum inspiration is Tony Allen with his distinctive afrobeat grooves. Saxophone wise Pharoah Sanders and Coltrane are big influences. Tommy is very much inspired by the delicate guitar styles of Ali Farka Toure and soulful vocals of Nick Drake. Paul Jokingly said we should mention Right said Fred! But he is a big rock/ indie kid and draws influence from bands like the Pixies. On this album we were looking to fuse the expansive desert blues sound of West African Psyche Rock artists like Modou Moctor with Bristol’s Waldo’s Gift, a wild mathy breakbeat jazz fusion. Gnawa fusion artist Electric Jalaba also informed the sound of this record a lot with respect to the dry and tight drum sound.“
How do you see Nebula Sun evolving in the coming years? Are there new projects or musical directions you’d like to explore?
“We are already well into writing our second album – we’re very excited about what we’ve written so far. It’s an evolution and continuation of our sound – we’re leaning into heavier rock more (you can find our live recording of “Wolves” on youtube to get an idea) but there will still be plenty for jazz and prog fans to enjoy. Beyond that, we simply want to continue writing the best music we can together, and that will continue to change and grow with us.“
Finally, what advice would you give to young musicians who want to experiment with blending genres like you do?
“For us the most important ingredients have been finding the right people, and time – the music you hear on this album is the result of 10 years of working together, and when we write we draw on our collective experience gained from the mistakes we have made over the dozens of songs we’ve written together. So if your first experiments don’t work, keep trying!“
Purchase “Breathe Into Form” on Bandcamp: https://nebulasun.bandcamp.com/album/breathe-into-form
Read our Review of “Breathe Into Form” album here: [Review] Nebula Sun – Breathe Into Form