The Smile's Tom Skinner announces his album Voices of Bishara

Tom Skinner, The Smile's drummer, announced Voices of Bishara on 7 September and put out its opening track, “Bishara”, the same day. The album is due on 4 November from Brownswood, International Anthem and Nonesuch. It is the first under his own name; his two earlier records came out as Hello Skinny.

Bishara is Arabic for good news, or for the one who brings it, and it is the name of the group on the record. It also points to the cellist Abdul Wadud, whose 1978 solo album By Myself came out privately on his own label, Bisharra. Skinner listened to it during lockdown, and Wadud died on 17 August.

The record began at Brilliant Corners, a club in Dalston, east London, on one of the club's Played Twice nights, when a classic album is played in full through its audiophile sound system and a band then improvises a reply. Skinner's night was Life Time, the drummer Tony Williams' 1964 Blue Note album, and it led him to write a whole album of new music. He built the record from what was played at the sessions, cutting hard between instruments the way disco re-edits do, Theo Parrish's for one.

Kareem Dayes plays cello, Nubya Garcia tenor saxophone and flute, Tom Herbert of The Invisible acoustic bass, and Shabaka Hutchings tenor saxophone and bass clarinet. Hutchings led Sons of Kemet, Skinner's band for more than ten years until it broke up this summer. The six tracks run to about half an hour.

This record is an attempt to put something truthful into the world, through collaboration and community, at a time of rising dishonesty and disinformation.

Tom Skinner¹

Voices of Bishara