London based drummer, producer and composer Tom Skinner (The Smile, Sons of Kemet) announces his new solo mini-album called Voices of Bishara which is out on November 4th via Brownswood, International Anthem and Nonesuch. According to the press release, The title of Tom Skinner’s first release under his own name is a reference to the late 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’.
As Tom Skinner describes in his own words “this record is an attempt to put something truthful into the world, through collaboration and community, at a time of rising dishonesty and disinformation – ‘Bishara’ is the bringer of good news, and by bringing the musicians on this album who are very dear to me together, we pay homage to that idea by collectively spreading light where there is increasing darkness.”
Check the new excerpt below.