Birmingham's T8PES announces album release date
Birmingham's own alt-electronic hip hop MC T8PES has revealed his debut album will be out this month.
The DJ and producer, real name Jimmy Davis, is a self-described "journeyman musician" whose fans include a certain Ed Sheeran and whose credits run into novella length.
On May 24 he releases his debut self-titled solo album and it follows his latest single Hope & Prey, which arrived via Soulfire Records in March. Brummie songstress Holly Fitzgerald provided the vocals on the track.
It was originally scheduled for an April release, with a show at the Castle & Falcon in his home city last month scheduled to be its big release night.
A spokesperson said: "T8PES are a new musical outfit that have captured the golden days of clubbing, raves and garage skanks, injecting it with a more modern, grime-influenced feel. A string of BBC 6 Music support means 2019 is looking like bright year for him."
The driving force behind the outfit is Davis, who has a rich musical CV that includes being a three-time performer at Glastonbury Festival, playing sets at Secret Garden Party, Barn on the Farm and iTunes festivals, as well as extensive tours across the UK, Ireland and Europe.
Ed Sheeran cites Jimmy as a major influence on him as a young artist and the pair have performed together on several occasions, most notably when Jimmy supported Ed at his sold-out Shepherds Bush Empire and Brixton Academy shows in 2012. The old friends last jammed backstage at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff during the UK leg of Ed’s world tour in August 2018.
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"There are certain people who have inspired and influenced me as an artist and Jimmy is one of them," Sheeran adds. "He's a great songwriter, lyricist and performer who writes deeply personal songs and confronts important issues through his music."
The spokesperson continued: "T8PES is not one person. T8PES is the kid whose parents divorced before he started school, the homeless person with nowhere to turn, the drug addict on a mission to self destruct. T8PES is the young, working class woman p****d off with the system and the politicians that run it.
"T8PES is you, T8PES is me, T8PES was there when you didn’t even realise you were."
Fore more on T8PES, and updates on the record and further projects, you can find him on Facebook @t8pes and Twitter @tapesmusic
