Nok Cultural Ensemble is a project from percussionist, and Tomorrow’s Warriors alumni, Edward Wakili-Hick (Sons of Kemet, Steam Down, Kokoroko). The four-piece drum circle journey through Afro-diasporic traditions of Jamaican nyabinghi, drill and Brazilian baião to thrilling effect.

Nok Cultural Ensemble is the new project from percussionist, and Tomorrow’s Warriors alum, Edward Wakili-Hick (Sons of Kemet, Steam Down, Kokoroko). The four-piece drum circle journey through Afro-diasporic traditions of Jamaican nyabinghi, drill and Brazilian baião to thrilling effect.

Nok Cultural Ensemble’s debut album, Njhyi, was released October 2022 and was quickly selected for Contemporary Album of the Year by The Guardian.

On Njhyi, Nok Cultural Ensemble centred on diverse Afro-diasporic percussive traditions. Glitching beats unfold on African timelines, expressing free jazz sensibilities which extend the futuristic pulse of dub technologies.

In their live shows Nok craft a visionary rhythmic continuum that tunes into living traditions stretching back to the ancient Nok civilisation and reaching towards a common liberated future. They bring the diversity of Black percussive music styles firmly to the fore – from agbaja and apala, soca to bélé, sega, broken beat and beyond.

In Wakili-Hick’s own words, they ‘celebrate percussion as a complete music’ and draw from their own collective heritage – from Nigeria and Mauritius to St Kitt and the UK

‘a relentlessly Afrofuturist percussive voyage.’ The Guardian

For over 30 years, Tomorrow’s Warriors, A Black-founded and Black-led organisation, has played a vital role within its community and the wider music industry and has been credited with literally changing the face of UK jazz

Free access to Tomorrow’s Warriors artistic programme has proved crucial in nurturing the nascent talent and early careers of so many of the most exciting UK artists currently tearing up the international jazz scene including Mercury Prize 2023 winners Ezra Collective, Moses Boyd, Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings and Sons of Kemet, ESKA, Jason Yarde, Denys Baptiste, Robert Mitchell, Soweto Kinch, Shirley Tetteh, Byron Wallen...the list goes on.