Tyrone Jermaine "TJ" Carter, better known by the stage name Lil Silva, is an English record producer, singer, songwriter and DJ, based in

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. He has produced and sung on his own singles and EPs (mostly released through the Good Years label) that have been described as

funky house Funky house is a subgenre of house music that uses disco and funk samples, a funk-inspired bass line or a strong soul influence, combined with drum breaks that draw inspiration from 1970s and 1980s funk records. The use of disco strings are als ...

UK funky UK funky (sometimes known as UKF or funky) is a genre of electronic dance music born in United Kingdom that is heavily influenced by Soca, soulful house, tribal house, UK garage, broken beat and grime. Typically, UK funky blends beats, bas ...

, instrumental

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

and "

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

-inflected pop". He also takes a more traditional producer role on other musicians' work—was principal producer on

Banks A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

's album ''

Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...

'' and contributed production to

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

's album '' 25.'' He has collaborated with SBTRKT and on

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968) is an English-Icelandic musician, singer-songwriter and composer, best known as the frontman and primary lyricist of the rock band Blur and as the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual ...

's Africa Express project.

Life and career

Carter was born and raised in

, England. He produced a CD worth of original material at age nine, began producing at age 10 or 11, and at age 13 was DJing at "Bedford's all-ages club Cabana" whilst also part of local

crew Macabre Unit. The competition and camaraderie of the Macabre Unit pushed all of its producers to find and develop their own distinct sound. Influenced by what was happening in the music scene overseas in the US, where artists such as

Pharrell Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

were starting to create their own distinct 'sounds' in terms of their production styles, Lil Silva thought that there was no reason why the UK grime scene couldn't have its own

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

J Dilla J, or j, is the tenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its usual name in English is ''jay'' (pronounced ), with a now-uncommon varia ...

. As he moved away from grime, Lil Silva began to search for what would become his signature 'Silva Sound'. Some would say this first became actualised on 'Seasons', the upbeat, thumping single from his 2010 EP 'Night Skanker'. This preceded the release of several short bodies of work including five EPs released between 2010 and 2016. His first of what would become many collaborations with Sampha came in 2011 on his EP ''The Patience,'' while 2014's ''Distance'' features two songs with the British artist

BANKS A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

. In 2015, Lil Silva was called upon by producer

Mark Ronson Mark Daniel Ronson (born 4 September 1975) is a British-American DJ, songwriter, record producer, and record executive. He is best known for his collaborations with artists such as Duran Duran, Amy Winehouse, Adele, Lady Gaga, Lily Allen, Robbi ...

to provide additional production to Adele's song ' Lay Me Down', a bonus track on her album '' 25''. Ronson also called upon him for a session with

Lady GaGa Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

around this same time period. In 2019. Lil Silva joined forces with George Fitzgerald to create a house-leaning project called

OTHERLiiNE OtherLiine, stylised as OTHERLiiNE, is the collaborative electronic music project of duo George FitzGerald and Lil Silva (TJ Carter). They released the eponymously titled debut album ''OtherLiine'' in 2020 on Ministry of Sound. History Prior to ...

, and the pair released an album (also called ''OTHERLiiNE)'' in 2020. It was in 2019 when frequent collaborator

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria * Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State **Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries **Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...

invited Lil Silva on stage at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

to perform with him that he first started considering releasing his own debut album. The lockdowns imposed by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

expedited the quiet time he would need to create solo music for himself, and also offered a reprise from life as a touring DJ and in-demand producer. Lil Silva's debut album ''Yesterday Is Heavy'' was released on 15 July 2022. It features frequent collaborator Sampha, as well as

Little Dragon Little Dragon are a Swedish electronic music band from Gothenburg, Sweden, formed in 1996. The band consists of Yukimi Nagano (vocals, percussion), Erik Bodin (drums), Fredrik Wallin (bass) and Håkan Wirenstrand (keyboards). Little Dragon' ...

Ghetts Justin Clarke, better known by his stage name Ghetts (formerly Ghetto), is a British grime MC, rapper and songwriter. His music has been played on national radio stations such as BBC Radio 1, Kiss 100, BBC Asian Network, and BBC Radio 1Xtra. C ...

Serpentwithfeet Josiah Wise (born July 9, 1988), known professionally as serpentwithfeet, is an experimental musician based in Brooklyn, New York City. Wise released the EP ''Blisters'' in 2016, his debut studio album ''soil'' in 2018, his second EP ''Apparit ...

BADBADNOTGOOD BadBadNotGood (stylized in all caps) is a Canadian instrumental band and production team from Toronto, Canada. The group was founded in 2010 by bassist Chester Hansen, keyboardist Matthew Tavares, and drummer Alexander Sowinski. In 2016, they w ...

, Charlotte Day Wilson, Skiifall and Elmiene. The album received a 5 star review from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', a 9/10 review from '' Clash''. and a score of 9 from The Line Of Best Fit.

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

said of the album "consider this album an extension of UK club's instinctual soul".

Discography

Albums

* ''OtherLiine'' (

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

, 2020) – with George FitzGerald as

OtherLiine OtherLiine, stylised as OTHERLiiNE, is the collaborative electronic music project of duo George FitzGerald and Lil Silva (TJ Carter). They released the eponymously titled debut album ''OtherLiine'' in 2020 on Ministry of Sound. History Prior to ...

* ''Yesterday is Heavy'' (Nowhere, 2022)

Extended plays

*''Night Skanker'' (

Night Slugs Night Slugs is an English electronic music record label, established in 2010 by Alex Sushon (also known as Bok Bok) and James Connolly (also known as L-Vis 1990). History Night Slugs was originally started as a London-based club night by DJs/ ...

, 2010) – 6 track EP *''The Patience'' (Good Years, 2011) – 4 track EP – "On Your Own" features Sampha on vocals *''Lil Silva: Club Constructions Vol. 2'' (Night Slugs, 2012) – Night Slugs' Club Constructions series, 3 tracks *''Distance'' (Good Years, 2013) – 4 track EP; "No Doubt" features Rosie Lowe and "Salient Sarah" features Sampha *''Mabel'' (Good Years, 2014) – 5 track EP, two tracks feature

*''Drumatic'' (Good Years, 2015) – 3 tracks *''Jimi'' (Good Years, 2016) – 6 track EP

Singles

As featured artist

*"Roll Back" – '' All That Must Be'' (2018) by George FitzGerald *"Got My Brandy, Got My Beats" – ''

Hoodies All Summer ''Hoodies All Summer'' is the sixth studio album by British rapper Kano (rapper), Kano. The album was released on 30 August 2019 by Parlophone Records and Kano (rapper), Bigger Picture Music. It follows the album ''Made in the Manor'', released i ...

'' (2019) by

*"Fall Again" (feat. Lil Silva & Melanie Faye) – ''Help'' (2020) by Duval Timothy *"OBX" (feat. Lil Silva) & "Love Galaxy" (feat.

Jay Electronica Elpadaro F. Electronica Allah (born Timothy Elpadaro Thedford; September 19, 1976), known professionally as Jay Electronica (stylized as J A Y E L E C T R O N I C A), is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in New Orleans, he ...

& Lil Silva) – ''Voyager'' (2020) by

Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...

Production discography

* ''

'' (2014) by

* '' 25'' (2015) by

(additional production with

) * ''Darth Vader'' (2018) by

Chip Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) is a type of immunoprecipitation experimental technique used to investigate the interaction between proteins and DNA in the cell. It aims to determine whether specific proteins are associated with specific genom ...

(co-production with Sampha) * ''Fellowship'' (2021) by

Remixes * "In Common - Lil Silva Remix" – ''In Common (The Remixes)'' (2016) by

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

* ''Love Galaxy Remixes'' (2020) by

with Lil Silva and

– EP * "Rush - Lil Silva Remix" – ''New Me, Same Us Remix EP'' (2021) by

References

External links

* *
Lil Silva profile at BBC Music
{{Authority control Living people People from Bedford English record producers English DJs Grime music artists Year of birth missing (living people)