My mixtape: Tony Njoku's 10 disruptors in music who inspire him

A composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist for whom the prefix ‘genre-defying’ doesn’t seem to go far enough to reflect his subtle blending of electronic, ambient, and classical music.

In February 2026, Njoku joined us to present his latest album, the sonically expansive and emotionally charged All Our Knives Are Always Sharp, in the company of special guests Gaika, Damsel Elysium and Isaiah Hull. Ahead of that, to give an insight into where this album came from, Njoku has put together this suitably ranging playlist for us highlighting ten musical disruptors who deeply inspire him. 

Listen to the playlist now, and as you do delve into Njoku’s personal explanations for each artist’s inclusion, below.

Klein

Nowadays it seems very hard for artists to find their own voice. There are so many pressures to conform and suppress your intuition in order to fit in or succeed. And so Klein is notable to me as someone who seems ok with just following their path. She embodies this artistic freedom that feels totally removed from fear, or at least unphased by it. Her work is both deeply reflective and playful, studied and impulsive. I always wonder what her process must be like, how much of the work is premeditated or improvised. It also feels impossible to replicate, her sound is one of one. In my view, Klein in particular, as an artist, personifies the trickster archetype; bending rules, playing with boundaries, and inspiring change through deconstruction and reimagining. At its core her music represents chaos with purpose. She disrupts not by shouting against the rules, but by dreaming past them and inviting others to imagine what music can become when nothing is off limits.

Nils Frahm

I remember the first time I saw him play. I speak about it often. It was the first time I’d seen anyone beat a piano with toilet brushes. That was the first time he toured the Spaces record. I was so enthralled by his use of the piano; his internal body clock is so on point his playing at times sounds quantised and mechanical. And even then you can feel the sheer physicality shine through his performances; very earthly and spiritual. Frahm is a disruptor because he expands the vocabulary of piano music, proving that tradition and experimentation are not opposites but complementary tools for emotional, sonic, and conceptual exploration.

Tricky

I mean, the man invented trip-hop, possibly the coolest sound to come out in the 1990s. I still see the influence his work (and that of the other trip hop pioneers) is having on the newer generations or artists, myself included. 

Fela Kuti

Another singular genius – he conjured a genre of music that almost single handedly changed the course of African music and African politics at the same time; refusing to separate art from insurgence and really embodying the role of a revolutionary. His music inspired me to have courage in speaking my mind. I’d say the track ‘Zombie’ could be considered one of the greatest protest songs of all time. The tension between the infectious and ecstatic groove to the direct condemnation and middle fingers to the military powers ruling the Nigerian government allowed the song to slip past defenses and land its critique in both the body and the mind. And it wasn’t just commentary, it sparked real political consequences. The government was so enraged that they launched a brutal attack on Kuti’s commune, beating him and killing his mother. Yet the song survived, circulating as a living document of resistance. ‘Zombie’ proves that protest music can be joyful, confrontational, communal, and dangerous all at once and that a groove, when wielded fearlessly, can shake a regime.

Arvo Pärt

Arvo Pärt upended the conventions of 20th century composition by stripping music down to its spiritual and sonic essence at a time when complexity, dissonance, and technical virtuosity dominated the classical world. While many composers were chasing serialism, avant-garde experimentation or dense harmonic structures, Pärt retreated into simplicity, silence, and meditation, developing his signature tintinnabuli style. A method that pairs stepwise melodies with triadic harmonies, creating music that is simultaneously minimal, timeless, and deeply profound.

Thelonious Monk

I have gotten so much spiritual and philosophical nutrition from Thelonius Monk’s work. I think of albums like Brilliant Corners which really emphasises this notion of dissonant beauty – that really taught me the value of living with tension rather than smoothing it away. Monk taught me that the clash between notes can be a doorway rather than an error. In Brilliant Corners the melodies lean into their own awkwardness, the harmonies wobble like they’re learning to walk, and the rhythms lurch forward with a mischievous confidence. Instead of resolving everything neatly Monk shows you how to sit inside the unresolved, how to find elegance in the off-balance and how to trust an idea before it makes sense. His music feels like a spiritual reminder that life’s rough edges are not mistakes to be edited out, but textures to be embraced. Listening to Monk is like receiving permission to be complex, to be strange, to be fully yourself even when the world hasn’t caught up to your logic yet.

Björk

Björk constantly reinvents the very idea of what music, performance, and artistry can be. She has this unique skill of evading genre; blending electronic, classical, pop and experimental sounds in ways that feel otherworldly. And all with an extremely technical and complex execution that still maintains a great deal of humanity and freedom. Also her voice is almost alien, such a unique sound. She expanded my understanding of what a pop musician could do. Her work always makes me hopeful about the future, hopeful about humanity, because it feels steeped in nature, source energy or whatever you call it. Her singular sound has really inspired me to find my own voice.

Nina Simone

I had the honour of singing at the Royal Festival Hall in 2025 to celebrate Nina Simone’s life and work. It was a real privilege that left me thinking about her work and how her essence has shown up in my music since then. When I was a teenager I wanted to sing like Simone, her and Anohni were my main vocal inspirations. Though my singing has evolved so much in the years since I certainly feel Simone’s presence in my voice. She sang with a voice that could shift from velvet to thunder in a single breath. She didn’t respect genre, she rearranged it; letting classical precision collide with gospel fire, folk storytelling and the raw edge of the blues.

Ryuichi Sakamoto

Another pioneer that really brought so much variety to his craft. From forays into pop music to classical, ambient, electronic; you name it he did it, for over 40 years. It’s nothing short of incredible. Alongside his being a phenomenal musician one thing that always inspires me about Sakamoto-san’s artistic journey is that he remained so curious and open to experimentation until the very end. Always embracing new technologies and the new artists at the cutting edge of music innovation. It always felt like for him the possibilities are endless. 

Mark Hollis, Talk Talk

The more I listen to Hollis’ work with Talk Talk the more I realise how all my favourite rock music has in some way, at some point, been influenced by their later albums, Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock. These albums really started a new style of rock music that birthed the post rock moment. Talk Talk’s work showed me that silence, restraint and emotional vulnerability could be more radical than volume or virtuosity.