River Nelson delivers a dose of Mindfulness with his new AltoBeats-produced single and animated video — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The word mindfulness, as defined by Merriam-Webster, means “the practice of maintaining a nonjudgmental state of heightened or complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis.”
Fittingly, on top of AltoBeats’ lush production, Nelson raps about working toward that goal and wanting to achieve it consistently — especially amid today’s societal ills, like racial and political dissension, increased violence, and people suffering from poverty and homelessness.
“I’ve been reading a lot about achieving mindfulness lately, which gave me the idea for the song,” says River. “Then once Alto crafted the beat, I instantly wrote the hook and got underway with the verses. Mindfulness is one of those songs that truly poured out of me, and it came together very quickly — probably because the topic has been at the forefront of my mind for a while. I also think people can use the song to help them worry less and achieve mindfulness in their own lives. At least that’s what I’m hoping.”
Mindfulness is the first single from the duo’s forthcoming album We Should Escape, which is a followup to their 2021 release, Like The Sun Didn’t Sink. We Should Escape arrives Oct. 6.
Nelson began his recording career when he was signed to Arista Records by label executive Joy Bailey while Clive Davis was still at the helm. He also hooked up with New York rappers The Boogiemonsters and was featured on the group’s debut Riders Of The Storm: The Underwater Album. Afterward, River worked with legendary U.K. producer Lewis Parker and the two created the critically praised album, The Rise & Fall of River Nelson in 2010 and their followup The Shape Of The Sky, in 2013.
In 2016 River released his third studio album How To Dream, followed by the EP Navigation in 2017, and the LP Power, Resilience & Joy in 2019. Then in 2021, the album Like The Sun Didn’t Sink was released to stellar reviews. River — who was born in New York City and spent his childhood in Norwalk, Connecticut — has carved out a nice following for himself in the U.S., Europe and other parts of the globe.
AltoBeats is a Mexican-American beatmaker and music producer from Pacoima, California. He’s classically trained in music theory, playing piano since childhood and accordion since his teenage years. His influences are J Dilla, Madlib, 9th Wonder, Freddie Joachim, RZA, Apollo Brown, The Alchemist, Quincy Jones, Johan Johansson, Stro Elliot and many others.
Watch the video for Mindfulness above, find the song HERE, check out more from River Nelson below, and follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
