- Desert Island Cloud Capture the point where universal and personal grief meet

Raiding decades of UK dance, from tech-house and drum’n’bass to garage and dancehall, the five-track EP finds the flamboyant Mr Bruce letting loose as never before. Flamboyantly fun, yet lyrically deep, it’s a release every bit as honest, inventive and theatrical as you’d hope from the bendy-bodied performer.

Touching on an intense array of topics, from the climate crisis to the breakdown of his marriage in 2019, it’s also a record that’s haunted by the spectre of his late twin brother, who died just aged 20. Speaking about the collection’s poignant core, Mr Bruce says:

“I set out to capture the point where universal and personal grief meet… I mix macro issues like the horrors of climate change with intimate details of the everyday. Musically, it’s the old Motown formula. The songs have you itching to dance, but listen a little too closely and you may shed a tear!”

Mr Bruce, who is also an acclaimed portrait artist and an award-winning animator (under his real name Ian Bruce), began hatching plans for a solo career while on tour in Australia with The Correspondents in 2018. Bored in hotel rooms between shows, he found himself writing dance music that harked back to his early clubbing days, rather than the jazz and swing infused sound with which he found fame. Fleshing out the songs in the UK with the London-based producer Angus Kemp, Mr Bruce arrived at the 5 club-ready cuts you can hear on ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ [PART ONE].

Loopcloud Music App from Loopmasters.com

Intended as a multimedia project, the making of ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ has seen Mr Bruce not only teaming up with esteemed director Daisy JT Smith, but also making a string of evocative animated videos from his home studio.. Receiving plaudits from fans and film buffs alike, the video for “Easier” picked up the Best Lo-Budget film award at The London Short Film Festival, whereas the striking video for lead track “I Am Disaster” piqued major interest on the film festival circuits of both in the UK and in the States.

Plotting the follow-up to the EP for release early on in 2022, ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’ [PART TWO] promises to find Mr Bruce offering a deep reflection on the untimely passing of his Correspondents partner-in-crime Tim Cole, who passed away from a pulmonary embolism aged just 35. When placed together, the two parts will together form a complete album like nothing he has made before: ‘RACE TO NOWHERE’.

MR BRUCE – UK TOUR DATES
MARCH
23 – LONDON, The Lexington – SOLD OUT
24 – BRIGHTON, Green Door Store
25 – SOUTHAMPTON, The Joiners
26 – BIRMINGHAM, Sunflower Lounge
30 – LEEDS, Hyde Park Book Club
31 – NEWCASTLE, Head of Steam
APRIL
1 – GLASGOW, The Hug & Pint
2 – EDINBURGH, Voodoo Rooms
6 – MANCHESTER, The Deaf Institute
7 – CARDIFF, Clwb Ifor Bach
8 – BRISTOL, The Jam Jar
9 – LONDON, Omeara
TICKETS
https://www.mrbruce.co.uk/liveshows