Tom Skinner (Sons Of Kemet, The Smile) Announces Voices Of Bishara Solo Album
The producer/composer/drummer recruits an impressive cast of collaborators for his first solo album released under his own name
Last month, the highly revered London Jazz quartet, Sons Of Kemet, finished off their Black To The Future Tour by playing what was suggested to be their final show ever. In an announcement the 4-piece stated the following: “This year will be the last chance to see us in the form to which you’ve grown accustomed. After 10 years we have decided that from the end of our scheduled 2022 shows we will be closing this chapter of the band’s life for the foreseeable future. We’re excited to play our remaining gigs for you and to make this summer a fitting send off.” We were at their final show and it was a barn burner. Hypnotically backlit on an unorthodox wooden stage designed and constructed by the Portland State University architecture program, they shook the majestic landscape of the Pendarvis farm, as members of other bands like Built To Spill, Hooray For The Riff Raff, and David Nance Group compulsively danced along with the rest of the crowd like the holy ghost had consumed them. Taking the stage with them, at one point, was 5-time Grammy Award winner, Esperanza Spalding. It was a fitting send-off, but bittersweet. The members definitely still seemed to enjoy playing together, so the choice to dissolve the group seemed obvious; the members, most likely, just wanted to explore other opportunites and, with the success they’ve made for themselves, an endless supply are available to them, right now. Today, drummer Tom Skinner accounces one such project titled Voices Of Bishara.
With other successful ventures like The Comet Is Coming and Shabaka & The Ancestors, Sons Of Kemet saxophonist/bandleader, Shabaka Hutchins is easily the most prominent of the group, but Skinner‘s stock has risen considerably since teaming with Radiohead‘s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood to form the trio, The Smile, which released their debut to critical acclaim, earlier this year. What most people are likely less aware of is the extent of the DJ/producer/percussionist’s resume, which has seen him work with names as varied as Mulatu Astatke, Zero 7, Beth Orton. Floating Points, Grace Jones, and Jarvis Cocker. A longtime fixture of London’s burgeoning experimental jazz scene, Skinner has been a member of such projects as Owiny Sigona Band; Wildflower; Toshio Matsuura Group; and OHS Trio (aka Okumu/Herbert/Skinner) who once filmed themselves covering/interpreting Bjork‘s Vespertine album in full with the help of Shabaka Hutchins. Although Voices Of Bishara will mark the first of Tom Skinner‘s albums to be released under his own name, he has previously produced solo work under the moniker of Hello Skinny. Taking its name from a song by The Residents, one album even involved him working with frequent Arthur Russell collaborator, Peter Zummo.
The upcoming Brownsville Recordings/International Recordings/Nonesuch release, Voices Of Bishara sees Skinner bringing together collaborators Kareem Dayes (cello), Nubya Garcia (tenor saxophone and flute), Tom Herbert (acoustic bass) and Shabaka Hutchings (tenor saxophone and bass clarinet) to accomplish his vision. The following press release really breaks the whole project down in detail:
The title of Tom Skinner’s first release under his own name is a reference to cellist Abdul Wadud’s ultra-rare 1978 solo album ‘By Myself’, which Skinner listened to repeatedly during lockdown. Wadud’s album was privately pressed on his own label, Bisharra, and whilst Skinner’s title uses the more conventional spelling of this common Arabic name, they both have the same intention or meaning: it translates as ‘good news’, or ‘the bringer of good news’.
This is a classic-sounding record that connects backwards to Skinner’s 2017 Hello Skinny collaboration with American composer and Arthur Russell-collaborator Peter Zummo on ‘Watermelon Sun’. It links sideways to Makaya McCraven’s beat maker-inspired treatments of jazz sessions, and it offers a musical bridge to Sons of Kemet’s most meditative moments.
‘Voices of Bishara’ began life when Tom Skinner asked some musician friends to join him for a Played Twice session at London’s Brilliant Corners. The regular event had a simple format: play a classic album in full through their audiophile system and then have an elite ensemble improvise their response. The night in question focused on drummer Tony Williams’ 1964 Blue Note album ‘Life Time’ and the music he and his friends conjured up was so special that it inspired Skinner to write an albums-worth of phenomenal new music.
Skinner, a cellist, a bass player and two saxophonists recorded the results classic album-style, with everyone in the same room. He took the music home and it was put to the side, occasionally coming out for some attention in between Tom’s many other creative projects. This was a slow burn creation, and gradually, a new album began appearing as he embraced the studio recordings and accentuated their sublime idiosyncrasies.
“I took a very liberal approach with the scissors and started going really hard into the edits between instruments. It breathed new life into the music. I was taking my cue from the great disco re-edits, people like Theo Parrish chopping up tunes and looping sections. I’m not a purist. I don’t want to get hung up on the past. It was really empowering to fuck it up a bit, to mess around with the music and see what happened. It felt right”
The result is a tight, hypnotic and unique 31-minutes of music. ‘Voices of Bishara’ is sculpted around timeless and deeply emotional music that contains masses of movement and exceptional harmonic depth and texture. It sweeps and soars through soundworlds, rich in musicality and always anchored by the deep doubling of cello and bass. It also, of course, contains Skinner’s percussive magic – drumming skills that have brought artists from Grace Jones to Jonny Greenwood to request him on their records and tours.
“We’re individual voices, coming together collectively. The idea was that we could collectively bring something more positive to the table. It’s the start of something.”
Tom Skinner and ‘Voices of Bishara’: bringers of good news.
Voices Of Bishara is slated for November 4th digital release and is currently available to preorder on CD, vinyl, and limited edition vinyl formats through Nonesuch or the International Anthem Bandcamp.