Marques Toliver Announces Debut Album 'Land Of Canaan' Released Monday 13th May 2013

One of the most uniquely talented artists to emerge in recent years, MARQUES TOLIVER today announces news of his long-awaited debut album Land Of CanAan which will be released Monday 13th May on Bella Union. Follow the link below to view a live recording of new track "Control" which he recently recorded with his band.

Marques Toliver is a renaissance man for the 21st century. The Florida born native is a virtuoso violinist, riveting vocalist, editor of Love Is The Law magazine, multi-instrumentalist, producer and model. Having been discovered busking on the streets of Brooklyn by Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio, Toliver went on to meet Chris Taylor and recorded the string parts for Grizzly Bear's 2009 album Veckatimest before moving to London the same year. Not long after he arrived, Adele took to her blog to state Marques was her "new favourite artist", which quickly led to a publishing deal with Universal and his television debut on Later With Jools Holland with a stunning solo performance of "White Sails".

The single, "Magic Look" arrived in the summer of 2012, and now it's time for the debut album. "Land Of CanAan is inspired by 'My Bondage My Freedom' the autobiography of black abolitionist Frederick Douglass, The Curse of Ham, and the music of now," Toliver says. "I read Frederick Douglass' book in school, and there was a line in there about the slaves singing, "oh Canaan, sweet Canaan, I am bound to the land of Canaan."

The refrain rises up in the album's opening title track, an example of Toliver's chamber-pop take on soul music: Beyoncé meets Bach meets Al Green. It's followed by two of the three tracks co-produced by pop mid-wife Eg White, whose many triumphs include Adele's "Chasing Pavements." Both "Stay" and "If Only" have choruses that will similarly sweep the listener away on a wave of euphoria. The lush instrumental "Repetition" lines up alongside folk-soul hybrid "Weather Man", the magic hook of "Magic Look" and the closing "Find Your Own Way Home", which reprises the, "sweet Canaan," refrain.