Ntuit

Music Mix MastersNtuit
Ntuit combines pop, hip-hop and R&B to appeal to a range of music lovers
By Stacey Jay Cavaliere

Combine a modern blend of pop, a dollop of hip-hop, and a dash of R&B and you have Ntuit, the dazzling Phoenix duo of Monika Avalos and Almon Hardtmann.

With influences ranging across the musical spectrum, this pair has been hard at work promoting their first release, Getntuit.

After recently performing at the Rainbows Festival and AIDS Walk, these straight allies are no strangers to the LGBT community. Avalos works full time at FEZ Restaurant and Bar, a gay favorite in Phoenix, where she canoodles with guests who have become Ntuit fans.

Hardtmann often can be seen out and about among community members at the gym, hard at work on his near-perfect body, which his gay male fans have come to swoon over.

Ntuit’s sound, often compared to the likes of the Black Eyed Peas, and an impressive performance history make them marketable to many different types of music lovers.

“We openly embrace the gay community, but our music is for everyone,” Hardtmann said. “We create energetic, feel-good, head-nodding, booty-shaking music, that crosses all gender, race or other lines. Everyone can Getntuit.”

And that is just what people have begun doing. Their CD release party last year at FEZ was wall-to-wall with an audience from all walks of life.

Album sales on iTunes have been considerable, and the feedback from listeners has been strong, Avalos and Hardtmann said. The duo recently struck a deal with national retailer Best Buy, which will sell the album.

Since the release of Getntuit, Ntuit has performed at community fairs and festivals, Valley nightclubs and local fashion shows. They plan to record more music, with the hope of eventually performing across the country.

Ntuit recently released their first video to their infectious single “Dance Dance.” Shot in Phoenix’s warehouse district, the video features fantastic choreography by Avalos, who dons in a sultry blonde wig, and “shakes her uh uh,” a clever lyric from the song. Hardtmann raps his way over the skillful beats he created.

The pair attended last summer’s Lady Gaga concert at US Airways, and finagled their way backstage. Dressed all in black to mimic security guards, the daring duo took a copy of their CD with them, in hopes of reaching the almighty Gaga.

“There was a huge risk in doing this, but the experience was very exciting,” Avalos remembered. “My heart was racing. We ended up giving the CD to someone in her camp, in hopes that it would make it on her tour bus and she would hear it.

“It’s all about taking risks and it’s awesome,” Avalos said. “Luck and skill combined, it’s all an equation in the process. While we are really driven and work extremely hard, a little bit of luck can’t hurt!” - Echo Magazine : Bill Orovan

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