Nattali Rize (aka Natalie Magdalena Chilcote or Natalie Pa'apa'a) is an Australian musician, record producer and political activist. She began her music career as a street percussionist in Byron Bay, as well as with a local band, Skin, before forming Blue King Brown in 2003.
Rize relocated to Melbourne in 2004 to concentrate on the urban roots collective, Blue King Brown, with Carlo Santone. Their debut single, "Water", was quickly added to high rotation on Triple J, as well as earning them an AIR Chart award in 2006. Known for their strong political songs and high octane live performances, Blue King Brown have opened for local and international acts as diverse as Carlos Santana, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Damian Marley, The John Butler Trio, The Cat Empire, Silverchair, and Powderfinger. In addition to their strong national profile they have established an international presence, touring Canada, the United States, France, England and Japan. Their latest LP was partially recorded in Kingston, Jamaica, with legendary reggae producers Sly and Robbie, who have previously worked with Bob Dylan, Grace Jones and The Rolling Stones.
Rize is a social activist and has spoken out on environmental and human rights issues including people trafficking, the NT intervention, the rebuilding of Haiti and ethical consumerism. In June 2011 she appeared as a panellist on ABC-TV's talk show, Q&A.
In mid-2014 Blue King Brown relocated to Jamaica where Natalie decided to change her performance name to Nattali Rize due in part to Bob Marley's lyrics for "Rise Up". She explained the name change was also "Partly because everyone finds my name so hard to say, partly because I feel that I'm evolving as an artist. Rize is such a strong word, and Nattali spelled the way I'm using it now comes from the word 'natta' which is a native American Indian word meaning speaker."
Rize worked on a solo project. She collaborated with Jamaican-based group, Notis, to issue a single, "Rebel Love", in March 2015, which was followed by a nine-track EP, New Era Frequency (7 August 2015).
Aside from performing, co-writing and co-producing material as mainstay members of Blue King Brown, Nattali and Santone are also domestic partners.
References ^ "'Better Spent' at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 2 October 2015. Note: User may have to click "Search again" and provide details at "Enter a title:" e.g. Better Spent; or at "Performer:" Blue King Brown ^ a b Innes, Matt (21 December 2015). "Together As One: Nattali Rize & Notis". Scenestr Magazine. Retrieved 30 May 2016. ^ Leigh, Shanna (7 March 2006). "Blue King Brown – Back to nature". The Dwarf. Retrieved 30 May 2016. ^ "Change makers". Deadly Vibe. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2016. ^ a b c "Panellist: Natalie Pa'apa'a". Q&A. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). Retrieved 31 May 2016. ^ a b c "Nattali's 'rizing' up with BKB at this year's Byron Bluesfest". Verandah Magazine. April 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2016. ^ "'Rebel Love' (feat. Zuggu Dan) - Single by Nattali Rize & Notis". iTunes Store. Retrieved 1 June 2016. ^ "New Era Frequency by Nattali Rize & Notis". iTunes Store. Retrieved 1 June 2016. Authority control MusicBrainz: 746a8c04-124a-48f5-837d-03d2cc1fef14