TUSH; who they? You enquire, entirely within your remit. Well, if the groove is in you, they’re someone whose acquaintance you should make forthwith.
Coming from the dancefloors of Toronto with a love of disco, soul, electro, Nineties’ house and more, the twin pillars of Tush are the dulcet vocal talents of Kamilah Apong and Jamie Kidd.
They’ve just released their first single, “Chrysalis”, the video for which we’ve got right here for you; slick with jazzy melody, packed with soul and energy, its focus is the catharsis of movement, the showin’ out, the hope and the joy and the sheer release of the dancefloor. And there’s plenty more to follow, with their debut album landing just under eight weeks from today.
Kamilah says of the album, Fantast, the concept and the energies driving Tush: “[It’s] a lot like me, a site of impulses, stories, habits, contentions, pleasures, contradictions.
“It reminds me of what makes me, me: a myriad of intersecting lines, holding contentions and pleasures at once: being a relentlessly brave, hopeful dreamer, whilst struggling with PTSD, self-sabotage, depression, anxiety. Being an assertive, bold live performer, but also an introvert. Being Black, Chinese, and Canadian, and a queer child of Caribbean immigrants. Being a lover, a need for closeness and touch and play, whilst also living the complexities of being a survivor of rape and assault. These intersections and contradictions are me. These intersections and contradictions are the music.
“The definition of “fantast” [is] ‘impulsive dreamer’,” she continues, “which is an apt description of who I am as a person, and it seeps into the way Jamie and I create music together.
“Recognizing, analyzing, and working through all these different pieces all at once – and listening to the inner child, the one that wants to play, to dream, that wants to feel good, demands to feel good – commands me to find hope and claw into it for dear life.
“Because if we don’t have that, then what do we even have? What would be the point of anything, if we ignored our dreams? I don’t want to live in that world. I am a fantast.” Amen to that.
Tush’s Fantast will be released by Do Right! Music digitally and on strictly limited (300 only) vinyl on July 30th; you can get yours on order right now at Bandcamp.
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