Natural Self
Natural Self returns to Tru Thoughts with his heavy funk meets twisted hip hop production and new found vocal talents.
Natural Self is the ongoing project of Nathaniel Pearn, aka producer Keno-1. Pearn was originally inspired by the rhythmic force of The Bomb Squad’s productions for Public Enemy, and hip hop was the primary influence on his first forays into music. His hometown of Oxford was just near enough to London to pick up Tim Westwood’s then seminal Capital Rap Show floating across the airwaves. The beats he heard as a teenager led him forward, to the future hip hop of DJs Shadow and Krush, and back to its roots in the American funk of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. This sparked a keen appreciation of musical lineage as well as a sense of the possibilities of the future and would provide the foundation of everything that was to follow. Crate-digging culture introduced him to a whole world of music and broadened his horizons immeasurably.
2001 saw Natural Self’s production debut with the “Shakedown/The Soul step” single on Tru Thoughts recordings. With seven years of DJing experience already under his belt by this time, he knew exactly how to work a dancefloor, and both tracks had a strikingly direct and confident sound. The characteristic combination of raw drums, polyrhythmic percussion and strident horns would become a signature style of the several singles that followed, notably in the mighty “Heavy Heavy”, the renowned collaboration with his good friend Nostalgia 77 (recorded as Keno-1 & The Hermit). This style became increasingly sophisticated and subtle, as showcased on Natural Self’s 2006 debut album “Let Peace Be The Ruler” for Breakin’ Bread records. This album saw the introduction of live recording into the Natural Self sound as well as a first full-vocal production with Alice Russell on “I Don’t Need This Trouble”. The first Natural Self and Nostalgia 77 collaborative album “Gravity” – recorded as The Broken Keys for Tru Thoughts – was also released in 2006, and received acclaim from the BBC 6 Music Funk and Soul Show, among others. Combining the skills of the two producers, the album also featured Natural Self’s first steps into singing after the original vocalist was unable to take part in the project.
Throughout this time, the demand for Natural Self’s services as a remixer was steadily rising, and he re-worked tracks for such artists as Nicole Willis, Quantic, Elizabeth Shepherd and the Canadian MC Abdominal. Natural Self’s skills as a DJ also saw him travel increasingly across the UK and Europe, as his style came to incorporate Latin and African music alongside the funk and hip hop that had played such a consistent role since he first started out. This blend of new and old music from across the globe is mixed with a deftness honed during his formative years learning to cut and scratch hip hop beats. His Breakin’ Bread mix CD “The Ritual” is a perfect example of his style and approach as a DJ.
2008 sees Natural Self returning to Tru Thoughts, the home of his first releases, where he will shortly be releasing his highly anticipated second solo album, entitled “The Art Of Vibration.” The new long player sees a further development of the continually distinctive productions, featuring experiments in electronic sound as well as collaborations with Abdominal and eminent UK soul singer Andreya Triana. The album will be released on 30th June and is preceded by the 12” single, “The Rising,” featuring the vocals of Andreya Triana and Natural Self, released on 26th May.
The Natural Self sound continues to unfold constantly and album number two is the next step in its evolution. 2008 is where it really gets started.