Tyrone Jermaine "TJ" Carter, better known by the stage name Lil Silva, is an English record producer, singer, songwriter and DJ, based in Bedford.[1][2] He has produced and sung on his own singles and EPs (mostly released through the Good Years label) that have been described as funky house,[3]UK funky,[1] instrumental grime and "dubstep-inflected pop".[4] He also takes a more traditional producer role on other musicians' work[5]—was principal producer on Banks's album Goddess[1] and contributed production to Adele's album 25.[5] He has collaborated with SBTRKT[6] and on Damon Albarn's Africa Express project.
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Carter was born and raised in Bedford, England.[7] He produced a CD worth of original material at age nine,[1] began producing at age 10 or 11,[2] and at age 13 was DJing at "Bedford's all-ages club Cabana" whilst also part of local grime crew Macabre Unit.[1] The competition and camaraderie of the Macabre Unit pushed all of its producers to find and develop their own distinct sound. Influenced by what was happening in the music scene overseas in the US, where artists such as Pharrell were starting to create their own distinct 'sounds' in terms of their production styles, Lil Silva thought that there was no reason why the UK grime scene couldn't have its own Pharrell, TimbalandorJ Dilla.
As he moved away from grime, Lil Silva began to search for what would become his signature 'Silva Sound'. Some would say this first became actualised on 'Seasons', the upbeat, thumping single from his 2010 EP 'Night Skanker'. This preceded the release of several short bodies of work including five EPs released between 2010 and 2016. His first of what would become many collaborations with Sampha came in 2011 on his EP The Patience, while 2014's Distance features two songs with the British artist BANKS.
In 2015, Lil Silva was called upon by producer Mark Ronson to provide additional production to Adele's song 'Lay Me Down', a bonus track on her album 25. Ronson also called upon him for a session with Lady GaGa[8] around this same time period.
In 2019. Lil Silva joined forces with George Fitzgerald to create a house-leaning project called OTHERLiiNE, and the pair released an album (also called OTHERLiiNE) in 2020.
It was in 2019 when frequent collaborator Kano invited Lil Silva on stage at the Royal Albert Hall to perform with him[9] that he first started considering releasing his own debut album.[10] The lockdowns imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic expedited the quiet time he would need to create solo music for himself, and also offered a reprise from life as a touring DJ and in-demand producer.
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