With live venues and commercial recording studios closed, the music business continues to operate in a state of cautious transition. For many artists, it’s been an opportunity to get creative again; with less of the constraints of modern life keeping one busy, it’s been an opportunity for many to get back to basics and focus in on their craft and what really matters.
That’s exactly what Tarrus Riley, producer Shane Brown and his long-time collaborator (and “Dean of Jamaican Music”) Dean Fraser have been doing. Through socially distanced sessions at Brown’s home studio, Tarrus and team have been constructing Healing, a 12-song LP inspired by the uncertainty of our times dropping July 10th via Zojak Worldwide. Bassist Glen Browne occasionally joined the duo in the studio, while guitarist Mitchum ‘Khan’ Chin and drummer Kirk Bennett sent in parts from home. With the typically deep talent pool of Jamaican studio singers mostly unavailable due to social distancing, featured artists like Shenseea and even Riley’s children filled the void with backing vocals and harmonies.
For the first taste of the project, Tarrus today shares the lead single (which features some of those harmonies with Shenseea), also called “Healing,” asking the question: What will the new world be like without a simple hug?
“I’m not trying to be a prophet when I ask, ‘What will this new world be like?’” Tarrus says. “I’m asking a question everybody wants to know. We need healing right now — the healing of our health, financial healing. My father is a singer and my mother is a nurse. I am them together and I make healing music.”
Tune in below:
Listen to the track – which features backing harmonies from Shenseea – below: