Dodo NKishi

singer-songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist.

Background

Best known for his ongoing collaborations with the band Mouse on Mars, Dodo NKishi started to his musical path at the age of 10, when Reggae and Soul formed the basis to his approach towards music. Growing up a multi-racial child (his father being from Kinshasa, Congo and his mother from Kleve, Germany), and nurturing on the cross-cultural, multi-lingual and contrasting atmosphere of his immediate environment, had a strong influence on his whole perception and interpretation of sounds and music. Dodo NKishi spontaneously and naturally started to fuse the powerful, raw and grungy qualities of Rock, and the experimental sound shapings of Electronica with the feel and grooves of Funk, Reggae and African music, with a keen analytical attention.

The result of this borderline defying blend of styles, coupled with an acute attention to micro-grooves and a healthy portion of a nonconformist approach, has evolved into his profound sensitivity to groove and dynamics and his unmistakable trademark beats - dense and complex poly-rhythms, which are at the same time fluid and celebratory; driving, furiously fast, super-tight and "in the pocket" are some of the adjectives ascribed to his drumming in the past.

But he also evidenced his vast musical talent on other instruments as, for example, on his noteworthy flute contributions on the Circadian Rhythms' album "Internal Clock" (released 1998, Language), or on his stunning vocal performances on the Trip hop album "T.O.T." with Loophole (released 1996, Amber Records), as well as on the songs "Free To Grow" and "If I Could", both recorded for The Dining Rooms' release "Ink" (2007, Schema Records) and on "If I Could" (2007, Etage Noir) respectively.

In 2008 he launches the new electro-acoustic soul-folk project, Sembro, together with Cesare Malfatti and Stefano Ghittoni of The Dining Rooms from Milan, and continues working on the launch of his Afro-Dub-Funk project NATiMATTi, starting recordings for the forthcoming Mouse on Mars studio album, as well as continuing to spread his message of one love.