Out to Sea

With his easy blend of singer/songwriter soul, rare groove, and '90s new jack swing, London's Tom Misch has garnered global attention and chart success. Following a series of buzzed-about EPs and viral tracks, Misch broke through with his 2018 debut, Geography, hitting the Top Ten in England and topping Billboard's Contemporary Jazz chart. He has continued to evolve, signing with Blue Note and collaborating with drummer Yussef Dayes on 2020's Ivor Novello-nominated What Kinda Music. His next project was 2023's Happy Music, a satisfying detour into electronic music under the name Supershy. He resumed using his own name with 2024's "Insecure."

The son of an artist and a psychiatrist, Misch grew up in a home that encouraged creativity, and he learned to play violin at a young age via the Suzuki method. While he was still a child, his family also discovered Misch could sing when he belted out Patrick Watson's "Man Like You" one day after school. After listening to rock music for most of his childhood and teens, he discovered hip-hop during his sixth form years thanks to one of his sister's boyfriends, and was particularly inspired by the work of J Dilla. Misch started making his own beats and took classes in music technology, and he began posting tracks online in 2012. Up-and-coming rappers sampled his beats in their own work, and Misch also collaborated with local singer/songwriter Carmody, ultimately releasing the Out to Sea EP with her in 2014. That year, he also issued Beat Tape 1, a collection of instrumental tracks that included "Dilla Love," an homage to his idol that earned approval from Dilla's mother, Maureen Yancey. "Memory," Misch's debut single on his own Beyond the Groove label, arrived that July.

The following year, Beat Tape 2 arrived, this time featuring collaborations with vocalists including Carmody, Loyle Carner, and Zak Abel. On his 2016 EP Reverie, Misch blended the different aspects of his music into laid-back, R&B-tinged pop, and took the lead vocal on several tracks. He returned in 2017 with the single "South of the River" and the 5-Day Mischon EP, a set of five songs recorded in five days that featured contributions from Carmody, Novelist, Will Heard, Kaidi Akinnibi, and Tobie Tripp. Misch also collaborated with Carner on his 2017 single "Damselfly." The following year, Misch delivered his debut full-length album, Geography, which reached number eight on the U.K. charts and was later certified gold. Two years later What Kinda Music, a collaboration with Yussef Dayes, hit number four in the U.K. and included the spotlight track "Kyiv." It was also nominated for an Ivor Novello Award. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Misch recorded a series of tracks at home which he released independently as Quarantine Sessions in September 2021. Interestingly, his next major release appeared under the alter ego Supershy. Electronic-based but still retaining his R&B and soul influences, his 2023 Supershy album, Happy Music, featured a guest appearance from Roberta Flack. Misch returned the next year with the funky low-key "Insecure," released under his own name. ~ Matt Collar & Heather Phares

Carmody were an Italian minimal wave group who formed in Torino in 1981. Typical of underground synthesizer-driven acts from that era, the group's music combined sparse, cold electronic rhythms with vocals expressing feelings of longing and isolation. Originally a duo consisting of Alberto Ramella and Andrea Lesmo (both former members of Teknospray), they expanded to a trio with the addition of guitarist Max Casacci. The band only recorded three demo tapes between 1981 and 1985 before disbanding; Lesmo later joined Celtic rock group LabGraal in the '90s, while Casacci formed electronic rock group Subsonica and established a label and recording studio called Casasonica. In 2009, German label Anna Logue Records released A Better Spider, a CD compilation of the group's material, and their first proper release. Numerous Carmody tracks subsequently appeared on '80s new wave/minimal synth compilations, and Mannequin released Sleep on Mirrors: The 1981-1985 Tapes, the group's first vinyl release, in 2015. ~ Paul Simpson