More Songs About Food and Revolutionary Art

Act 2

Instrmntl

Intrdctn.

God Connections

Think Not

FABRICLIVE 87: Groove Armada

Can Your Love Find Its Way (Mixed)

Moon B - Oof

My Young Misery

Now Is the Time for Love, Pt. 1

Cold Krush Cuts

Goodbye Cruel World

Stop It!

Flute, congas, bass, drums, guitar and clavinet; this unconventional arrangement of instruments intertwine to form the debut album by Badge Époque Ensemble - a group of creative improvisers assembled to perform new, largely instrumental compositions by Maximilian ‘Twig’ Turnbull (formerly Slim Twig).

Badge employs an eclectic cast of characters from the Toronto underground music scene, whose combined experience would take pages to spell out. It includes stints accompanying songwriters Andy Shauf and Marker Starling, outfitting heavies Blood Ceremony and Biblical, and respective careers spent gigging Django-jazz and the classical cannon. Badge’s distinctive sound arises from the diversity of these musical exploits, creating a palpable chemistry well captured on the live-tracked songs that form the group’s self-titled debut.

Part of this crucial chemistry can be attributed to the fact that four of the six players in the Ensemble have been at the core of the live, U.S. Girls band, a group that has scorched stages internationally over the past year and was hailed by Paste magazine as the best live band of 2018. Since 2015, when Turnbull released his final record as Slim Twig for DFA, he has largely concentrated his efforts as a producer and writer on the U.S. Girls project, together with making contributions to the theatrical rock outfit, Darlene Shrugg and the psychedelic jazz-funk collective, The Cosmic Range. Badge’s set of songs is yet another 180-degree turn for an increasingly collective-minded bandleader, who is singularly disdainful of any genre orthodoxy.

The record is a collection of densely packed grooves, arranged by committee. Dank set pieces culminate in album standout, ‘Undressed In Solitude’, which features the otherworldly r ’n b of guest vocalist, James Baley. Over 11 simmering minutes, the track defies the contemporary fixations of automated music to convincingly combine sensual and cerebral textures. While it may call to mind an improbable collision.

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Badge Époque Ensemble

Badge Époque Ensemble - Undressed In Solitude (ft James Baley)

3 ‘N the Mornin’ Mix, Pt. One & Red, Pt. Two

Intro (Screwed)

Trus'me - In The Red
Album Out December 7
[Fat City Recordings / Prime Numbers] 

"One of the most interesting and promising young producers in the country right now." -- Gilles Peterson

Trus'me has certainly raised the bar, attracting some key players to appear on In The Red - a work that takes on the sound system roots of reggae, soul, and disco, blending them with house and techno to create a hypnotically radical sound. The album is undoubtedly more accomplished, leading to an organic feel to the production and a more song-based approach with Mahogani Music's longtime collaborator Pirahnahead lending his vocal skills to the title track.

Since the release of his blistering seminal debut Working Nights in 2007, Trus'me has been DJ'ing the best clubs around the world and putting in plenty of late night studio sessions, alongside some heavyweight talent. The result has been a rapturous dancefloor response to his eclectic DJ sets, an impressive roll call of quality remixes (including LCD Soundsystem, Amp Fiddler & Dabrye), and the production of his long-awaited second album, In The Red.


Trus'me - Bail Me Out ft. Dam Funk - In The Red LP

Intro (Screwed)

DJ Screw