Tom Skinner - Voices of Bishara Live at “mu” // DELUXE limited edition double LP out May 10th
*announcing* IARC0076
Tom Skinner
Voices of Bishara Live at "mu"
2LP / CD / DD album out May 10th 2024
Today, London born/based drummer, composer, and bandleader Tom Skinner (known for his work with The Smile and Sons of Kemet) announces a new, limited edition deluxe double LP on IARC and releases a twenty minute lead single from the album on digital music platforms (his live interpretation of the Abdul Wadud composition “Oasis”)
Voices of Bishara Live at “mu” was recorded at the intimate London venue “mu” and features the regular working version of Skinner’s Voices of Bishara ensemble (with Robert Stillman and Chelsea Carmichael on woodwinds, Kareem Dayes on cello and Tom Herbert on bass) that evolved after his eponymous debut Voices of Bishara was released in 2022 via Brownswood, International Anthem & Nonesuch Records.
Stream lead single “Oasis” here.
Preorder Voices of Bishara Live at “mu” here.
((( photo by Monika S. Jakubowska )))
In January 2023, Skinner and his ensemble performed material from his recently released Voices of Bishara album at “mu”— a venue on Kingsland Road in North London founded by the curators behind the neighboring Brilliant Corners and named after the seminal Don Cherry live album. Skinner augmented the band’s performance of his original compositions with a rendition of a Tony Williams tune and three pieces by Abdul Wadud (whose 1977 self-released solo cello album, By Myself, was one of Skinner’s main inspirations for Voices of Bishara in the first place). The woodwinds featured on Skinner's original Voices of Bishara album — Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia — had already been replaced in Skinner's live ensemble with the saxophonists Stillman and Carmichael, and the band (still rounded out by the double bassist Herbert and cellist Dayes, with Skinner on drums) had tightened across several late 2022 performances.
Captured in full on that legendary January 2023 night, Voices of Bishara Live at "mu" kicks off with an extended version of Skinner’s composition “Bishara,” as the band explores the same relationship to rhythmic/tonal freedom found in the Abdul Wadud cello work that inspired the band, album, and song title. That aesthetic and spiritual connection is even more explicit in the band’s stunning interpretation of Wadud’s “Oasis,” which culminates with a scorching sax solo by Carmichael.
Limited Edition Deluxe
2LP Vinyl & CD packages
Voices of Bishara Live at “mu” is available in a deluxe package designed by Paul Camo of Studio Camo.
The limited edition of 1200 vinyl 2xLPs come in screen-printed, hand-numbered jackets (pressed by Pallas in Germany, with lacquers cut by Daniel K at SST, and production management by Minus Kungl of FOUR).
A limited edition of 700 deluxe CDs are also available, packaged in a hand-numbed bespoke tip-on CD jacket with a 3-layer spot print, including a gloss UV relief.
London based drummer, composer and producer Tom Skinner has been a vital and central figure in the burgeoning underground music scene in London throughout the last 20 years.
Tom is presently a member of The Smile with Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood. Their debut album A light for attracting attention was released to critical acclaim in June 2022 and they are currently touring Europe with Worldwide dates to follow.
In 2012, Tom released his debut self-titled solo record under the alias Hello Skinny to critical acclaim, MOJO Magazine describing it as “…existing in that fertile zone where jazz, dub, techno and avant-pop deliquesce into an exhilarating free-for-all.” The second Hello Skinny album Watermelon Sun, released on Gilles Peterson’s Brownswood label in 2017, featured a collaboration with acclaimed veteran New York composer and trombonist Peter Zummo.
Tom is also an original member of award winning band Sons Of Kemet alongside band-leader and frequent collaborator Shabaka Hutchings. Their third album Your Queen Is A Reptile [Impulse! 2018] garnered worldwide critical acclaim including a Mercury Prize 2018 nomination. Their last album Black To The Future [Impulse! 2021] has been met with rave reviews, NME giving it 5 stars, claiming the album to be the band at their “most dynamic and urgent”.
In 2022, Tom released his eponymous debut Voices of Bishara via the three label collaboration of Brownswood, International Anthem & Nonesuch Records. It was inspired by and named in reference to cellist Abdul Wadud’s 1978 solo album By Myself, which was privately pressed on Wadud’s label, Bisharra. Featuring Kareem Dayes on cello, Tom Herbert on bass, Shabaka Hutchings and Nubya Garcia on woodwinds, the album was called “a terrific affirmation of what makes Skinner so interesting as both a drummer and now a composer” by Treble. Following the album’s release, Tom reformatted his Voices of Bishara ensemble for live performances, with woodwind players Chelsea Carmichael and Robert Stillman in place of Hutchings and Garcia.
Throughout his career, Tom has performed and recorded with many notable musicians such as Jonny Greenwood, Graham Coxon, Grace Jones, Kano, Zero 7, Floating Points, The Invisible, and many more.
Aside from his busy live schedule with The Smile, Skinner has several leader dates in the diary, starting this weekend in Rotterdam. As artist-in-residence for MOMO Festival, Skinner will play April 18th with Hyelim Kim, April 19th with OHS Trio, and April 20th with his Voices of Bishara ensemble.
18 April - MOMO Festival, Rotterdam (with Hyelim Kim)
19 April - MOMO Festival, Rotterdam (with OHS Trio)
20 April - MOMO Festival, Rotterdam (with Voices of Bishara)
6 May - “mu”, London (with Voices of Bishara)
6 July - Energimølla, Kongsberg, Norway (with Voices of Bishara)
7 July - Hotel Cecil, Copenhagen (with Voices of Bishara)
15 October - Fasching, Stockholm (with Voices of Bishara)
ALBUM RELEASE SHOW AT "MU" LONDON MAY 6th
On May 6th in London, Skinner and VOB will return to the scene of the crime for a Voices of Bishara Live at “mu” album release celebration and performance at the North London venue “mu.” A certain amount of copies of the deluxe double LP are on hold to be purchased in person at this show.
Tickets for the limited capacity event are available here.
