River Tiber

Canadian producer River Tiber started his professional career writing for hip-hop artists, which kickstarted his own solo ventures into textured alt-R&B atmospherics similar to Kaytranada, BadBadNotGood, Boots, and Knxwledge. Following work with artists like Ghostface Killah, Travi$ Scott, and Jazz Cartier, he made his full-length debut with 2016′s Indigo. He returned in 2022 with Dreaming Eyes. Born Tommy Paxton-Beesley in 1991 in Toronto, Canada, the classically trained musician mastered the cello at a young age, later learning drums, trombone, and guitar. Outside of art school, he looked to non-classical artists like Jimi Hendrix, D'Angelo, and Kanye West for inspiration. After graduating from Boston’s Berklee School of Music, the singer-producer-musician returned to Toronto. In addition to crafting beats for artists like Travi$ Scott, Ghostface Killah, and Jazz Cartier, his song “No Talk” was sampled by Drake on “No Tellin’” (from his fellow Torontonian’s 2015 mixtape If You're Reading This It's Too Late). His first EP, The Star Falls, arrived in 2013. The downtempo collection was followed by the “Prophets” single, a skittering track that revealed his love for Radiohead (in addition to Jeff Buckley, Paxton-Beesley counts Thom Yorke as one of his major vocal inspirations). Sophomore EP When the Time Is Right was released in 2015. In addition to “Illusions” — a single featuring Pusha T and Kaytranada — Paxton-Beesley unveiled his debut LP Indigo in 2016. Continuing to collaborate with other Toronto artists, he enlisted soulful bluesman Daniel Caesar and singer Tess Parks on the effort. Included on the album was the song “Acid Test,” which was shortlisted for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize. More singles followed, including 2019′s “Taurus” and 2021′s “Sent from Above.” Both songs were included on River Tiber’s sophomore full-length album, 2022′s Dreaming Eyes, which found him further embracing a psychedelic, jazz- and R&B-influenced sound. Also included on the album was the single “Hypnotized,” which was sampled by Kendrick Lamar for his 2022 song “Savior.” ~ Neil Z. Yeung