Ears Wide Open: Nahneen Kula

1

nahneenkula

Long Beach-based Nahneen Kula make an intoxicating mélange of experimental pop, mixing electronic and organic instrumentation with samples and the bright, nimble vocals of its namesake singer, Charlene Gibbs. The 24-year-old Garden Grove native derived the band’s moniker from her junior high nickname, Nahneen, and her Malaysian mother’s maiden name. Bjork (or, locally, Liphemra) might be the aptest reference point for the music on Nahneen Kula’s forthcoming album, “Put It With Mine,” which was self-produced in conjunction with bassist/engineer Sammy Rothman and features strings by John Albert, Jaylene Chung and Miclen LaiPang and contributions from Jude Wright, Cameron Miller and Travis Drum. Live, the band plays as a quartet, with Gibbs, Rothman, Drum and Austin Page. The trio of songs Nahneen Kula has available for free download demonstrate the breadth of its influences, and its heady, youthful inscrutability.

||| Stream: “In a Laughing Mediterranean Way” and “Distance”

||| Live: Nahneen Kula play Wednesday at Lot 1 Cafe and Feb. 27 at Taix.