Billy Nomates Shares New Single 'saboteur forcefield'

UK up-and-comer Billy Nomates, the project of the Bristol-based songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Tor Maries, has shared a new track and video, "saboteur forcefield."

On "saboteur forcefield", Tor lays bare her propensity for self-sabotage, an admission she hopes could be "the first step" towards unlearning some of her destructive patterns. About the song, Maries said "I think it's about the inevitable feeble fight against feeling and progress". The mellow track showcases another side to her much-anticipated, second studio album, CACTI, that is set for release on January 13th, 2023 via Invada Records.

"saboteur forcefield" follows the release of the "blue bones", a gentle, '80s-influenced, synth-pop bop which was a celebration of life, featuring the refrain, "Death don't turn me on like it used to", and "balance is gone", which charted Tor's attempts to find purpose.

Billy Nomates is slated to perform live on Later... With Jools Holland on BBC2 this Saturday, October 22nd and has also announced new UK and European live dates for April 2023, which includes a new show in her hometown of Bristol at Marble Factory on April 29th and her biggest headline show to date at London's Kentish Town Forum on April 27th 2023.

She is also embarking on a nine date tour of the UK next month with a London show at Village Underground on November 22nd which is now sold out, as have dates in Norwich, Bristol and Falmouth. Tickets for all other shows are available here and full live dates are listed below.

Recorded at her flat and at Invada Studios, CACTI, now available to pre-order and pre-save here, is a huge step up for the artist, who received widespread critical acclaim for her eponymous 2020 debut album, with heavy airplay across BBC Radio 6 Music and support from luminaries such as Iggy Pop, Florence Welsh and Steve Albini.

Though every bit as unrepentant as Billy Nomates' debut, CACTI comes from a much more exposed place and sees Tor further develop her instinctive, inventive songwriting and production. Unafraid to wade into the traumas of the past two years and the eerie sense of apathy that lingers, alongside heartache and more political themes, the 12-track collection openly confronts uncomfortable truths, as Tor puts it, "70-80% of being bold is about being vulnerable as hell."

Maries said: "Writing CACTI took just over a year. I wrote very intensely and then none at all. (This seems to be the way I work best). I picked up old drum machines, mapped out things in my kitchen with the same small micro keyboard I always use and then raided the cupboards and rooms at Invada Studios, to play and experiment with old synths, an upright piano, this weird organ thing. I hope everyone finds their own narrative in CACTI. I think it's about surviving it all."

Watch the new music video here:

Tour Dates

11/22/2022 - London, UK - Village Underground - SOLD OUT

11/23/2022 - Oxford, UK - The Bullingdon

11/24/2022 - Cambridge, UK - MASH

11/26/2022 - Norwich, UK - Norwich Arts Centre - SOLD OUT

11/27/2022 - Sheffield, UK - Leadmill

11/28/2022 - Stoke-on-Trent, UK - Sugarmill

11/29/2022 - Liverpool, UK - Arts Club

12/1/2022 - Bristol, UK - Trinity - SOLD OUT

12/3/2022 - Falmouth, UK - Cornish Bank - SOLD OUT

3/14/2023 - Lille, FR - Grand Mix

3/15/2023 - Paris, FR - Petit Bain

3/16/2023 - Orleans, FR - L'astrolabe

3/17/2023 - Bordeaux, FR - Rockschool Barbey

3/20/2023 - Madrid, ES - El Sol

3/22/2023 - Barcelona, ES - La Nau

3/24/2023 - Lyon, FR - Le Périscope

3/25/2023 - Bologna, IT - Covo Club

3/27/2023 -Milan, IT - Magnolia

3/28/2023 - Zurich, CH - Bogen F

3/29/2023 - Munich, DE - Milla

3/31/2023 - Berlin, DE - Badehaus

4/1/2-23 - Copenhagen, DK - Loppen,

4/2/2023 - Hamburg, DE - Molotow

4/4/2023 - Cologne, DE - Blueshell

4/5/2023 - Amsterdam, NL - Tolhuistuin

4/6/2023 - Brussels, BE - Botanique Orangerie

4/17/2023 - Cardiff, UK - Tramshed

4/19/2023 - Nottingham, UK - Rescue Rooms

4/20/2023 - Manchester, UK - New Century Hall

4/21/2023 - Leeds, UK - Stylus

4/22/2023 - Glasgow, UK - St. Lukes

4/24/2023 - Newcastle, UK - Boiler Shop

4/25/2023 - Birmingham, UK - Institute 1

4/27/2023 - London, UK - Kentish Town Forum

4/28/2023 - Brighton, UK - Chalk

4/29/2023 - Bristol, UK - Marble Factory

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