corto.alto: some small fortune
Francisco Espregueira
Glasgow-based multi-instrumentalist Liam Shortall is stepping into bold new territory under his corto.alto moniker. Raised on a steady diet of ska, blues, and big band music, he originally cut his teeth playing the trombone and mastering his jazz chops. Following the massive success of his Mercury Prize-nominated debut album Bad With Names (New Soil & Bridge The Gap, 2023), he is now pushing his creative boundaries even further. Releasing via the legendary Ninja Tune imprint, his upcoming project, SOME SMALL FORTUNE, finds him embracing collaboration over limitation. The record officially drops this friday capturing a young producer who is fully willing to explore the unknown.
Instead of tightly controlling every element of the production, Shortall opted to open his studio doors. SOME SMALL FORTUNE features an expansive roster of guest vocalists, including Mick Jenkins, anaiis, Oscar Jerome, Jacob Alon, and BINA. These voices merge seamlessly with his core crew of Scottish heavyweights, such as drummer Graham Costello and pianist Fergus McCreadie. The resulting tracks blend jazz instrumentation with heavy electronic beats and indie pop sensibilities. It is an unpredictably exciting collage of sound that proves he is entering an entirely different musical world. Available on vinyl.