Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland) based AfroSoul artist Ch! Nonso released his debut EP ‘Kola Nuts & Chardonnay’ on Friday, 31 March 2023. The seven-track conceptual project seamlessly pulls together different sounds, music traditions and cultures, reflecting the symbolism of kola nuts and chardonnay as the meeting of diverse musical and cultural influences.

Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Ch! Nonso is an AfroSoul artist of Igbo descent residing in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand). In releasing his first project as Ch! Nonso, the artist invites us to witness his homecoming and reclamation of the philosophies and stories his name embodies.

Sonically, Ch! Nonso’s sound is influenced by traditional Igbo rhythms such as Amawbia and Mbaise sounds, Highlife, RnB, Afrobeat, Jazz, Soul and artists such as Femi Kuti, Destiny’s Child, Celestine Ukwu, Plantashun Boiz and Stevie Wonder.

His reflective lyricism provides commentary on straddling multiple cultural influences and making sense of the awkward space between the jarring union of traditional African and Indigenous cultures, colonial influences and Western culture.