RIVER TIBER - DREAMING EYES
RELEASE DATE : DECEMBER 9, 2022


Dreaming Eyes is River Tiber’s (Tommy Paxton-Beesley) first full-length release since his 2016 debut Indigo. The Toronto-based producer crafted nearly every element of the album by himself - writing, recording, singing, and playing multiple instruments. River’s music is a singular mix of psychedelic rock, cosmic jazz, and bittersweet soul that has been tapped by artists such as Drake, SZA, and Travis Scott. Lead single “Hypnotized” was sampled by Kendrick Lamar on his Grammy Award-nominated album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

In celebration of today’s LP release, River Tiber is sharing the new video for “Hypnotized” by director Leo Aguirre. “During the lockdown Tommy and I started discussing themes and got to talking about the lack of empathy that seemed to be at the surface of everything that was happening politically and socially,” says Aguirre. “At the same time, Tommy’s music is inhabited by these mystical and romantic undertones so I really wanted to introduce a character that would in a way embody this hope; this elusive idea of love and hope that he is chasing.”

“Sonically, the song is bathed in this deep mysticism and is explosively psychedelic so I wanted to create something visually striking that would match the song’s energy,” Aguirre continues. “When we were conceptualizing the video, we thought about everything from the pandemic to increasingly drastic climate disasters, data breaches and the extirpation of democracies around the world, so we thought we would be remiss not to create a hyperbolized, but potentially not so distant, reality; one in which hyper-surveillance is inescapable and where it has become easier to live in a state of sedation - something akin to ‘Soma’ in Huxley’s in Brave New World. That is why we wanted to introduce this metaphor of a modern opium den in which people are collectively sedated.”

Dreaming Eyes marks River’s first album in 6 years. He has been a prolific producer and collaborator, embedded in a circle of Canadian musicians including Daniel Caesar, Kaytranada, BADBADNOTGOOD, Charlotte Day Wilson, Frank Dukes, and Sean Leon.But this collection of songs was the result of the solitude and isolation of the pandemic. The album was written and produced almost entirely solo. Every instrument was recorded by River himself (except for a couple of searing guitar parts from long-time collaborator John Mavro). The lyrics are prismatic, examining and shedding light on contemporary life from many angles. Psychedelic rock, cosmic jazz orchestration, and bittersweet soul weave a journey that bends and constantly surprises.

DREAMING EYES TRACKLIST
01 Rainbow Road
02 Hypnotized
03 In Between
04 Sent From Above
05 Taurus
06 Inside Out
07 Everyone’s Sleeping
08 Not Just Anyone
09 Sunset
10 Vanity

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