Article Contributed by Gratefulweb
Published on 2026-04-02
Photo: Courtesy of Black Nile / MASS MoCA Records
Somewhere between Inglewood, improvisation, and the echo of a dragon’s roar, Black Nile have found a fresh portal into their sound. The Los Angeles brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw return with “Skyrim,” a striking new single inspired by the legendary video game universe, and it is anything but novelty. This is jazz with atmosphere, bite, and a cinematic sense of scale—music that feels as if it is wandering through ancient ruins with a horn section instead of a sword.
Arriving ahead of the duo’s forthcoming new album Indigo Garden, due April 10 via MASS MoCA Records, “Skyrim” captures the way Black Nile absorb culture from every direction and turn it into something alive, elastic, and fiercely their own. The track is an ode to video games, yes, but also to mood, memory, and the emotional architecture that makes great games linger in the imagination long after the screen goes dark.
Lawrence Shaw put it plainly while discussing the inspiration behind the piece:
“We love video games. Me and Aaron have different sides of what we like and tend to gravitate to. I'm more fantasy MMORPG, so you can guess ‘Skyrim’ is me for sure. I grew up on RuneScape and World of Warcraft, and those play a part in my jazz upbringing, if you will, because again, I'm such an auditory listener. I listen heavy and I have deep reverence for music in different spaces and how it supports those spaces. So video game music is huge. It's huge in the way that the game is shaped, in the way that it's felt. You know, you wouldn't have a smooth jazz track on Skyrim. It's just not the vibe. It's just not what it brings to the table. Just like you wouldn't have soft classical piano over a Forza video game track. It just doesn't ring. It's not what the game entails. So games were another input for us, and then the music in the games was another input for us. And that definitely expresses itself.”
That quote says a lot about what makes Black Nile so compelling. They do not treat jazz as a sealed-off museum piece. They treat it like a living language—one that can speak through hip-hop production, community memory, visual art, Black cultural lineage, and yes, even the immersive worlds of video games. “Skyrim” carries that philosophy beautifully, sounding expansive and adventurous without sacrificing groove or soul.
Brothers Aaron and Lawrence Shaw, performing together as Black Nile, come from Los Angeles’ Inglewood neighborhood and carry with them a deep sense of place. Their vision of LA cuts through the clichés, rejecting the Hollywood fantasy in favor of a city rooted in Black and Latino history, improvisation, innovation, and jazz. They came up in the city’s fertile modern scene, brushing shoulders with elders and peers alike, including figures connected to the broader LA jazz renaissance surrounding artists such as Kamasi Washington and Thundercat.
Both GRAMMY-nominated musicians, the brothers bring serious range to the project. Aaron Shaw’s saxophone work has connected him with artists including Tyler, The Creator, Herbie Hancock, Saul Williams, and Carlos Niño, and he also gave André 3000 flute lessons. Lawrence Shaw has played bass for John Legend, Booker T. and the M.G.’s, Aminé, Nubya Garcia, Raphael Saadiq, and currently tours with Andy Grammer. Yet for all that experience, Black Nile feels less like a side project than a central mission: bringing jazz into a new century without cutting it loose from its roots.
Indigo Garden promises to deepen that mission. The album was produced by Harlan Steinberger and recorded at Studio 9 in North Adams, Massachusetts, as well as Hen House Studios in Venice Beach, California. It also features cover art from renowned conceptual artist Charles Gaines. Invited to MASS MoCA as artists in residence in 2025, the brothers used that environment to keep stretching their sound, blending improvisation with modern production techniques borrowed from hip-hop and the wider sonic language of contemporary Black music.
What makes Black Nile especially exciting is that they do not merely fuse styles—they understand the cultural logic underneath them. Raised on their father’s jazz records, shaped by church, community, mentorship, and the long arc of Black American music, they see jazz as both form and force. In their hands, it becomes less a genre than an approach to life: rebellious, communal, fluid, and impossible to pin down.
“Skyrim” is a perfect example of that ethos in motion. It is playful without being lightweight, reverent without being stiff, and modern without feeling manufactured. It sounds like two musicians fully aware that inspiration can come from anywhere, as long as you know how to listen.
With Indigo Garden arriving April 10, Black Nile seem poised to deliver one of the more intriguing jazz releases of the spring—an album born from Los Angeles, sharpened by history, and unafraid to travel into unexpected realms.
Watch “Skyrim” by Black Nile:
Black Nile – Indigo Garden
April 10, 2026
MASS MoCA Records
