When it comes to the past 15 years of leftfield music, the Alabama-born, Virginia-raised multidisciplinary artist and musician Chino Amobi has one of the more singular narratives in the game. There’s the Nigerian-American artist's output in the early 2010s under the Diamond Black Hearted Boy moniker. There’s his formation of the influential collective NON Worldwide, which represented for radical art and music made by members of the African diaspora and staged performances and actions at nightclubs, museums, and theaters. Amobi has been consistently setting conversations around underground music and how it connects and detaches from the world of contemporary art.
Now based in Houston, Amobi’s new record, Erotica II: Christian Nilism, is informed by the time he has spent in the city, both musically and conceptually. It’s a sprawling body of work that touches on both timeless Texas rap and religious music modalities. There are plenty of contemporary production ideas and no shortage of curveballs. Amobi seems to be comfortable with forward momentum; Erotica II: Christian Nilism is the sound of an artist continuing to push. We recently asked him about his long, legendary life in music. Read the piece and listen to the new record, which is out now on the great Drowned By Locals, below.
Can you remember the first time you discovered a piece of music on your own?
Chino Amobi: Seal “Kiss from a Rose” cassette that I found on the ground outside my elementary school. Played it at home. It blew my mind.
What was it about that Seal tape that was so mind-blowing to you?
It was probably the first black cassette tape I had encountered. For me, It was a prodigious introduction to Gothic Romance.
How did your visits to Nigeria as a child influence how you would make art and music later in your career?
The potency and unpredictability of Igbo masquerades is always present in my music. And the lighting. Southeast Nigeria has very specific grey skies and lighting. The chaos of Lagos played a profound impact as well.
When did you start making music yourself?
Around 8 or 9 my brother and I used to make radio shows on cassette tapes featuring our original songs and mixes using a casio we had. The first song I wrote was called “stop look and listen wherever you go.”
Can you remember what those early tape recorder songs sounded like? What style were they in? What were the radio shows about?
It was very much in the style of children's songs. Similar to the children’s Christian tapes my brother and I would listen to as kids. The radio shows were about jokes. We would record the DJ vocals in an Alvin and the Chipmunks pitched-up voice, and record rap, rock, and R&B songs off the radio.
How does your visual art practice inform how you produce music? Was going to art school helpful for you as a musician?
Art school introduced me to the history of formalized conceptual art. But it was really full circle because I had already been steeped in a rich tradition of conceptual visuals and music from growing on MTV and BET. Art school was helpful with the vocabulary and articulation of form, but the spirit was already there.
How did NON Worldwide start?
With two SoundCloud messages.
Do you have any highlights from your work with NON? Any performances stick out?
When we did the Great Disappointment, a theatrical performance in Berlin, that was peak. Also Non X Red Bull in New York was fun.
What kind of stuff was influencing you when you were working on your new record, Eroica II: Christian Nihilism?
Living and driving around Houston with air conditioning on in my car listening to the radio, church, DMs, girls, voids, play, god, prayer, postmodern architecture in Houston, cyber-folk, ubiquity, conviction, truth, beauty, integrity, nobility, maturity, pain, sacrifice, restraint, minimalism, yin, silence, eternity, discipline, temporality, love, space.
If you could collaborate with anyone on a project, who would it be?
A Texas-centered musician/artist compilation. Barrett Avner and I have already sowed the seeds for it with Trot.
What is it about Texas that you like?
I currently live in Houston. Texas is not for everybody, just like New York or California isn’t for everybody. What I like about it is that I can be left alone. But there's culture here in abundance, it’s everywhere and it’s not screaming in your face about it.
Are there any non-musical influences that are important to you right now?
Hymnals.
Well over a decade deep into your career, what excites you right now about making music and art?
I've enjoyed making music and art in Texas.
Photo Credit: Tim Saccenti
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