UK based producer Tourist is forever moving forward.
The electronic musician continually seeks to expand his horizons, to push back the boundaries again and again. New EP 'Wash' is a case in point.
A precise four track document, it finds room for collaborations – the divine Ardyn voiced 'We Stayed Up All Night' – and solo pieces alike, each pushing the producer forward.
Out now, it's indicative of a talent who is constantly in evolution. William Phillips aka Tourist:
“With this new music I wanted to make something that was more reflective of who I am now and how my life has changed over the past year. I moved out of my windowless studio and started writing from home again. I think subconsciously I've started writing more joyous, colourful music and I've loved being more collaborative once again. These tracks are my favourite music I've produced so far, Tourist will always change with each release and I've loved pushing the sound into a new place.”
Check out the EP below, then find a track by track guide penned by Tourist after the jump…
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'We Stayed Up All Night'
This was the first piece of music I wrote for the EP, I remember being very keen to step away from using the sounds that had helped make my album. I like the idea that with each new release I change the fundamental parameters of how I write music, and this was the first result of that approach.
I had been working with Ardyn for the past year and loved Katy’s voice, there’s an edge that reminded me of Stevie Nicks and I thought that would make for an interesting contrast.
'Apart'
I had been given an acapella to work on from Jones, and this is what it became. Again, I had been working with her and throwing ideas around for a while but this simply fell into place. The keys at the beginning were played in without any metronome and with no specific intention of aligning them to the bars.
I then made the track around the chords, I had wanted to do a song that featured someone but in a modern way, I like that it’s impossible to sing, but also impossible to produce without a singer – it sits in that strange place between those things.
'Sleepwalking'
The origins of this song are hard to pinpoint for me, but I remember that the original demo had me singing on it, which was certainly a mistake. I got my friends Tom and Esther to try things on top, and I had had the lyric 'Sleepwalking' in my head for a while.
Again, I was really pushing for new sounds and chord changes – there was this field recording I used of some birds singing, and I liked the relationship between the two birds, and the two artists on the song mirroring each other. Probably one of my favourite things I’ve written.
'Hush'
This was the second track I wrote for the EP. I wanted to make a piece of music that changed with every bar, and that felt like it had no end or beginning. It really helped set the visual tone for the EP me.
It's pretty much exclusively made of samples of things I recorded, things like found sounds and field recordings, (and a cello). For me it’s a celebration of the sounds of everyday. The video my friend Dillon produced for it really nailed what I was going for.
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'Wash' EP is out now. Catch Tourist at the following shows:
November
22 London Corsica Studios (SOLD OUT)
23 London Corsica Studios (SOLD OUT)
For tickets to the latest Tourist shows click HERE.
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