Bristol rap artist Taurri has just released his new album XIII, unpacking the deeply personal experiences and inspiration behind the record in the process. Perhaps best known within the underground UK Hip Hop scene for project such as Pupils of the Clock, his new album has revealed a new approach to music and life.
The album stems from the artist struggling with issues of mental health, and as Taurri describes it, he found that he was losing his grip on his life and the relationships around him. The revelatory moment came after throwing up blood during an excessive night, leading to a breakdown episode and one of the most difficult experiences of the young artist’s life in May 2018.
In his own words, “of course, moments like this come as a shock when you’re in a perpetual state of denial, but despite the fairly graphic nature of that weekend I now look back on the experience with a sense of gratitude. May 13th 2018, I was 72 hours into sleep deprivation, searching for a reason to wake up. May 13th 2020 I’m lucky enough to be putting out this album and closing the door on all that. I feel blessed”.
As he would go on to explain, his way out came from making music. He started a new project with a new approach, working with some extremely talented musicians and producers on a soulful, instrumental composition to accompany the lyrical account he had taken of his struggles.
The album sees Taurri working with 3-time ‘Composer of the Year’ Simon Dobson, Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Lewis Hopkin and Saxophonist Dan Hilman (Joss Stone, Tim Burgess, Martha Reeves).
Speaking about the record, Taurri says, “XIII is a representation of my journey through adolescence. I wrote the project throughout my most troubled years and each track is implicit of the inner dialogues that accompanied those experiences. The number XIII has many meanings, but in this context it’s the mark of Death & Rebirth. For those who take the time to listen and find out why, I’m eternally grateful”.
Listen to XIII below:
#Peace.Love.XIII
