Duval Timothy / Carlos Nino: rain music

Carlos Niño plays percussion to build a billowing textural blanket rather than strict meter, using bells, metals, wood, wind, and plant-like textures. Any pulse feels organic, echoing natural rhythms such as cicada buzzing and toad calls, expanding and contracting at an intuitive pace that supports other performers. In London, Niño met pianist and composer Duval Timothy in a studio setting after years of mutual admiration. They improvised a soundtrack for drizzly weather, then Niño refined parts in his Topanga studio with archival recordings and overdubs from his broader musical universe. Timothy added keyboard and piano layers, resulting in rain music, a contemplative album that feels expansive while staying minimal.

"“I'm going to have a lot of bells,” he once told me, “a lot of metals, plants, wood, wind. I'm gonna open it up like it's a little forest.” If he does create a pulse, it's reminiscent of the way cicadas' buzzing can sound like an LFO filter sweep, or how toad calls can sync with firefly illuminations on a warm summer evening. His playing expands and contracts at an intuitive pace, helping guide other players further into the moment and listeners further into themselves."

"On a day off from tour in November 2025, Niño ambled down to pianist and composer Duval Timothy 's studio in the light London rain. The two had been fans of each other's work for years, and initially met by trading Bandcamp messages. Timothy has a buoyant, circular approach to the piano, piling clusters of chords together and letting them dissipate in the air before moving on; he'll often land on a simple, angular melodic figure and repeat it like a worry line. Tape-delay saturation and field recordings smudge the edges of his compositions, evoking both the comfort and the anxiety of nostalgia."

"Despite operating in similar musical worlds, Niño and Timothy had never worked together, so when the opportunity presented itself, they spent a serene gray day improvising a soundtrack for the drizzly weather. Back in his home studio in Topanga, California, Niño performed a few nips and tucks, wove in some archival recordings, and overdubbed new parts from himself and others in his & Friends universe. Timothy added a few layers of keyboards and additional piano here and there, and the resulting album, rain music, is a small, contemplative wonder that feels expansive within its minimal parameters."

Read at Pitchfork