Popular sociology cliches notwithstanding, the middle years are a
curious bridge to survey one’s life from. Especially for artists. The
bank behind is a backlog of experience, for-better-or-worse perceptions
of how the world works, unequal measures of laurels and regrets, plus a
rolodex of dear ones (for the lucky) and lost ones (for all). The shore
in front contains a shorter winding road (still loaded with
possibilities if not quite as open-ended), informed by wisdom gained and
failures seared, shadowed by mortality, responsibility and
inevitability. Lots of water passes under this bridge of mid-life. For
creative types—adept at listening to the tides, recognizing their flow
as a circadian rhythm, reconciling the planet’s clock with their own—the
view from this bridge has been known to inspire great art.
Upon the release of Kaleidoscopic Visions, the second album that Tom
Skinner has made under his own name, the drummer-composer will be 45
years-old. Skinner is already in possession of an incredible career—two
decades as a key member of London’s jazz community, including
co-founding the mighty Sons of Kemet; in-demand collaborator to a
who’s-who of famed electronic producers and noted rhythmalists; purveyor
of his own left-of-center musical pursuits...
Tracklist: 1. There's Nothing To Be Scared Of 2. Auster 3. Margaret Anne 4. Kaleidoscopic Visions 5. MHA 6. Still (Quiet) 7. The Maxim (feat. Meshell Ndegeocello) 8. Extensions 12 9. Logue (feat. Contour) 10. See How They Run (feat. Yaffra)
