BADBADNOTGOOD – Mid Spiral [Album Stream]
Toronto, Ontario natives BADBADNOTGOOD come through with a new compilation.
At the start of 2024, BADBADNOTGOOD was overflowing with fresh creative energy. Having wrapped up a series of one-off international tour dates and recording sessions with artists like Daniel Caesar, Charlotte Day Wilson, reggie, Baby Rose, and Turnstile, the Canadian trio—Al Sow, Chester Hansen, and Leland Whitty—were ready to dive back into the studio to create without limits. They invited close friends and collaborators, including touring member Felix Fox-Pappas (keys) and some key figures from Toronto’s jazz scene like Kaelin Murphy (trumpet), Juan Carlos Medrano (percussion), and LA-based guitarist Tyler Lott, for an intense, productive week at Valentine Studios in Los Angeles in February 2024.
The outcome of these sessions is the “Mid Spiral” series, first released in three parts—”Chaos”, “Order”, and “Growth”—earlier this year and now available in full on a double LP and CD. In the “Mid Spiral” suites, BADBADNOTGOOD returns to their roots in instrumental jazz while continuing to push genre boundaries with influences from hip-hop, neo-soul, psychedelic, and funk. Bringing in additional musicians to layer their sound, they achieved a deeply collaborative, expansive new expression. As they sifted through the week’s recordings, three distinct themes surfaced—”Chaos”, “Order”, and “Growth”—each mirroring both the musicians’ personal journeys and reflections on the broader world.
Take a listen below.