Based in the Los Angeles area,
Carlos Niño is a producer, composer, arranger, and DJ with an extensive body of spiritually minded work that melds jazz, hip-hop, new age, soul, and numerous other styles. His music blends orchestral arrangements and acoustic instruments with cutting-edge avant-garde production techniques, and it always maintains a positive, hopeful state of mind. His notable group projects include jazz ensembles
Build an Ark and
Hu Vibrational as well as the experimental hip-hop duo
AmmonContact. Under his own name, he's released notable recordings with
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson (beginning with 2007's
Fill the Heart Shaped Cup) and an extensive series of albums billed to Carlos Niño & Friends, with releases such as 2016's Flutes, Echoes, It's All Happening! and 2021's More Energy Fields, Current featuring guests such as
Laraaji,
Iasos,
Madlib, and
Deantoni Parks.
Niño first became known as a radio DJ, hosting an eclectic program titled All at One Point on listener-supported FM station KPFK. After a brief hiatus, the program was relaunched in 1999 as Spaceways Radio, with more of a cosmic, reflective focus. Hundreds of notable musicians made guest appearances on the show, ranging from spiritual jazz pioneers like
Pharoah Sanders to hip-hop legends such as
A Tribe Called Quest, in addition to Los Angeles beat scene producers including
Flying Lotus and
Madlib.
Niño also became a regular contributor to online radio station Dublab.
In 2001,
Niño (along with vocalist
Dwight Trible and arranger/multi-instrumentalist
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson) founded
Build an Ark, an intergalactic jazz ensemble dedicated to spreading peace and positivity after the September 11, 2001 attacks. Encompassing dozens of members from several generations, the group included
Dexter Story, Tribe Records founder
Phil Ranelin,
Derf Reklaw (of the Pharaohs), and numerous others. The collective released four well-received albums on Kindred Spirits.
Niño and
Story also worked together as
the Life Force Trio, collaborating with
Trible on his album
Love Is the Answer (released by Ninja Tune in 2005) as well as
Living Room (Plug Research, 2006).
Niño was also a part of jazz trio
Hu Vibrational, along with percussionists
Adam Rudolph and
Hamid Drake. In hip-hop and electronic music circles,
Niño became best known for
AmmonContact, his duo with Fabian Ammon. The pair released four albums and several EPs of abstract, primarily instrumental hip-hop on labels like Plug Research, Ninja Tune, and Eastern Developments.
In 2007,
Carlos Niño and
Miguel Atwood-Ferguson collaborated on an intense, beautiful album titled
Fill the Heart Shaped Cup, which was released by Alpha Pup. The following year,
Niño and MC Lil Sci debuted their conscious hip-hop project What's the Science? with a full-length titled
Elevation on Shaman Work. 2009 saw the release of
La Voz Sabia de los Cosmos, the debut full-length by
Carlos y Gaby,
Niño's duo with
Build an Ark vocalist
Gaby Hernandez. Also in 2009, Plug Research and Kindred Spirits issued High with a Little Help From, the first album credited to Carlos Niño & Friends. Additionally,
Niño and
Atwood-Ferguson collaborated on Suite for Ma Dukes, a four-song EP of orchestral arrangements of compositions by the late hip-hop producer
J Dilla.
2010 saw the release of the self-titled debut album by
Turn on the Sunlight, an acoustic folk collaboration between
Niño, Hirotaka Makino, and
Jesse Peterson. The second Carlos Niño & Friends album, Aquariusssssss, appeared on Porter Records in 2012, including contributions from many previous collaborators as well as new age pioneer
Iasos and electronic artists
Daedelus and
Dntel.
Turn on the Sunlight's Remixes/Collaborations also appeared in 2012, followed by their second proper full-length, New Day, in 2013.
Niño & Friends' Aurorasmushroomtenderness appeared in 2014, followed by 2016's Flutes, Echoes, It's All Happening! on
Matthewdavid's Leaving Records.
In 2017,
Niño returned with another
Niño & Friends effort, Going Home, which included contributions from
Jamire Williams,
Deantoni Parks,
SK Kakraba,
Iasos, and others. Live at the World Stage was issued as a limited cassette in early 2018. Raindiance/You're Suspended, a limited double LP with
Sam Gendel, was hand-assembled and released during a performance in late 2018, then issued digitally the following February. Bliss on Dear Oneness, another collaboration-filled, improvisation-heavy release, appeared in 2019.
Niño & Friends' Actual Presence was released in 2020, and
International Anthem issued Chicago Waves, an improvised set with
Atwood-Ferguson recorded at Co-Prosperity Sphere in Chicago. More Energy Fields, Current, a "Spiritual, Improvisational, Space Collage" featuring
Sam Gendel,
Jamire Williams, and
Dntel among others, was issued in 2021. ~ Paul Simpson