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TB 003LP
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Touching Bass continue to pry open a distinct, exciting lane for themselves as a label home for forward-thinking, soulful music with the incredible debut project from London's Demae (aka Bubblerap and one-third of Hawk House) entitled Life Works Out... Usually. Life Works Out... Usually is a soothing antidote to these turbulent times; a soulful coming-of-age story celebrating black joy, self-empowerment and life learnings centered around an integral two year period of growth and featuring appearances from Fatima (Eglo Records), Joe Armon-Jones, Ego Ella May, and Nala Sinephro -- all part of a close-knit, London-based musical community. Sonically, it draws a unique line between the grit of inner-city London soul, interstellar Flying Lotus electronic rushes and new-age Dilla-isms mixed with flecks of London's exciting jazz-influenced sounds. Production comes from rising producers like Eun (Ego Ella May, Denzel Himself), Jake Milliner (Slum Village, Yazmin Lacey, Lord Apex), 104.ROG (Liv.e, THEESatisfaction), and Wu-Lu (Ego Ella May). For those not yet accustomed, Demae's work stretches beyond her solo project. She has been a fundamental part of Fatima's touring band as a backing vocalist since the release of her much-loved second album And Yet It's All Love (2018). Prior to that, she was one-third of hip-hop adventurists, Hawk House, whose introspective, eclectic style was reshuffling the rule book for UK-based rap, quickly making them one of the UK's most exciting emerging sounds and earning fans from Mac Miller and Ghostpoet to Wretch 32 and Jill Scott.
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TBWI 001LP
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South London's Touching Bass collaborates with Melbourne label, Wondercore Island, to present its first move into label territory -- the debut album from Hiatus Kaiyote drummer and self-taught, multi-instrumental producer, Clever Austin. Much like his Grammy-nominated work for HK, Pareidolia is a genre-bending sonic and emotive pilgrimage with virtuosic, percussive groove at its core. Conceived via countless nights in his home studio, it dreamily roams across 18 tracks which slowly unravel with the cinematic feel of a movie; all mixed and self-produced over a period of two years. Guest appearances are spontaneous, late-night drop-ins, cross town musical crossovers and moments of respect paid to established and emerging innovators. Touching Bass are the first UK label to introduce the mesmeric talents of Texas native, Jon Bap on first single "Blue Tongue". Elsewhere, fresh from her well-received 2018 release on Brainfeeder, Georgia Anne Muldrow blesses "You Are All You Need" with her mercurial voice. Closer to home, Cazeusx O.S.L.O.'s baritone spoken word grounds "Mothership Strip" and Brisbane-born multidisciplinary artist, Laneous (aka Lachlan Mitchell) croons on "Catapult". As with most organic collaborations, the label connection was a result of sheer serendipity. Touching Bass founder, Errol, has been following Clever Austin and the Wondercore Island mixtape series since 2013. But it took until 2018 -- during their debut Australia/Japan tour -- for him and Alex Rita to make their own way to Melbourne. One night, following on from a Touching Bass event, the pair got involved in a late-night jam session at Clever Austin's studio with Lori, Silent Jay, and Mandarin Dreams' Kuzich. "We were all bigging up and sharing music made by friends in our respective homelands but when Perrin started playing his own project, everyone was just in silence. He'd crafted something that was equal parts peculiar, innovative and so beautiful that it brought us to tears. That's when we knew it was special." Pareidolia further cements a trans-global cultural exchange between the soulful sounds emanating from Melbourne and London. "Channelling the spirit of Sun Ra, Digable Planets, and Dilla across 12 tracks of jazzy beats, spoken word and soul... expect the collection to further confirm Touching Bass as London's modern day Soulquarians."--The Vinyl Factory
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