September 2, 2020 For Immediate Release

Badge Époque Ensemble Announce Self Help, ​ ​ New Album Out November 20th on Telephone Explosion Records

Watch the Visualizer for Lead Single "Sing A Silent Gospel” feat. Meg Remy & Dorothea Paas

(Photo Credit: Colin Medley & Meg Remy)

“Music that demands your full attention” - Pitchfork ​

“[Badge Époque Ensemble] sounds like a dusty dollar bin record with grooves scorching hot enough to melt unsuspecting minds” - Bandcamp ​

“Packed with psychedelically tinged textures and grooves that are enticing for your mind” - Exclaim ​

“Dusted funk moves drawing inspiration from library music records, electric Miles, and the spaced-out hip-hop productions of Madlib” - Aquarium Drunkard ​

Toronto’s Badge Époque Ensemble announce sophomore album Self Help out November ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 20th on Telephone Explosion Records. Recorded live in the months before lockdown, Self ​ ​ ​ ​ Help is an exploratory record that dances across time and genre, guided by fidgety miniatures ​ and jazz inflected collage. While constructed from the inspiration of soul, funk and film music, BÉE mediate those influences having first digested them through the productions of Madlib and the RZA. Throughout, the band pool together their instrumental chops, moving from fluid and serpentine R&B to meditative, minimalistic piano, evoking a contrast of virtuosity and self-surrender.

Led by Maximilian Turnbull (who previously released music as Slim Twig) on Rhodes, ​ ​ ​ ​ clavinet, and synthesizers, Badge Époque Ensemble is now a seven-piece, comprised of Toronto musicians, many known for their work with U.S. Girls and Andy Shauf. The newest ​ ​ ​ ​ member, saxophonist Karen Ng (Feist, Do Make Say Think), joins Chris Bezant (guitar), ​ ​ ​ ​ Giosuè Rosati (bass), Ed Squires (conga, percussion), Jay Anderson (drums), and Alia ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ O’Brien (flute). They recorded at Toronto’s Palace Sound Studio over three weekends, ​ ​ ​ building Self Help’s songs from Turnbull’s drafts. Contributing guest vocalists include Meg ​ ​ ​ Remy (U.S. Girls), Dorothea Paas, James Baley, and Jennifer Castle. ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​

The resulting Self Help fuses jazz-funk and spiritual contemplation, which musically manifests ​ ​ as arresting hooks in sideways song forms; echoes of Gainsbourg spooled through Azymuth-style Brazilian grooves punctuated by the whip and snap of Steely Dan. It’s lyrics search beyond cliché and intellect in a desire to invoke a borderless consciousness. On lead single “Sing a Silent Gospel,” Remy brings serenity to antic melodies as she conjures a ​ ​ conflicted mysticism cooing “nigh must be my lofted peak / or else a sacred landfill.” Lyricist ​ ​ Turnbull expands: “‘Sing A Silent Gospel’ expresses a paradox I have felt while making this ​ album. While the habitability of the world disintegrates, I sense the spiritual realm calmly persists. The world moves through a cycle of apocalypses and it is up to us each to find this movement either meaningful or banal.” ​

Self Help swerves left at phantom intersections. Rhythms cut loose and tie you in knots. But ​ wired into each song is a sense of gentle accumulation, making every featherlight flourish weigh a ton.

Watch the Visualizer for "Sing A Silent Gospel” feat. Meg Remy and Dorothea Paas

Pre-order Self Help ​

Self Help Tracklist ​ 1. Sing A Silent Gospel 2. Unity (It’s Up To You) 3. Cloud 4. The Sound Where My Head Was 5. Just Space For Light 6. Birds Fly Through Ancient Ruins 7. Extinct Commune

Download hi-res images of Badge Époque Ensemble

(Self Help Cover Artwork) ​ ​

For more information, contact: Jessica Linker | Pitch Perfect PR – [email protected], 773-942-6954 ​ ​ ​ Sam McAllister | Pitch Perfect PR - [email protected], 651-528-3577 ​ ​