TOBY BARELLI AKA KING SIZE SLIM 

 

Toby Barelli is King Size Slim - an explosive roots and blues guitarist moulding traditional standards and soaring own compositions with explosive musicianship and a unique vocal attack.

Following the release of his new live album, King Size Slim is now touring with a new band as well as continuing his work as a solo performer.

Fat Roots Boogie - A fat boogie style and sound delivered live and direct. This music, percussive and dynamic in its nature, melodic and soulful in its heart, shouts loud and kisses sweet. A potent combination of guitars, percussion and vocal performed with passion and belief.

With one of the busiest gig diaries on any music circuit, Brighton based Toby Barelli, has built a reputation as an extremely powerful performer, immensely engaging, entertaining audiences and challenging their perceptions of modern roots and blues.

Toby was performing regularly with local bands at the age of 14, sitting in with anyone who would let him, style or genre didn't matter, he just wanted to play.

His tenacity paid off and shortly after leaving school Toby got his first professional work. Later Toby was invited to join the Two Tone legends "The Selecter". This led to four years of worldwide touring with many Ska and Reggae heroes, some influences of which can still be heard in Toby's music today.

Performing around 150 solo shows a year, and in the wake of his debut solo album, Toby has become a "must see" act on the alternative blues circuit as well as at established venues and festivals around the country.

It has been a big year for King Size Slim (aka Toby Barelli). The last 12 months has seen the release of his first studio album (see “Milk Drunk” below), an incredibly busy gig diary (including 27 shows in just 31 days during August) and it’s now been capped of with a British Blues Award. 

Announced as winner of the inaugral Emerging Artist Award sponsored by Blues in Britain Magazine on the 24th August, King Size Slim was unable to make the awards ceremony at the Great British Rhythm and Blues Fetival in Colne, Lancashire. Instead he was playing a support show for The James Hunter Six in London – just another sign that he’s made the important transition from being “busy gigging” to “in demand”! 

The award itself came after successful nomination to the list of finalists by a panel made up of members of the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association and then a public vote to select the winner, a format that isn’t glossed over by King Size Slim. 

“To be nominated by people from within the genre and industry is great, real recognition of the work that’s gone in and of the broadcaster’s support for the album. To know that through the years of gigging (around 150 shows a year!), that I’ve built up a fan base that has supported me winning this award is fantastic. A big, big thanks to everyone who voted and to those involved in the Awards, it’s a great showcase for blues in this country.” 

Other 2014 highlights include collaborations with Steve Finnerty (Alabama 3), support slots for Son of Dave, Heritage Blues Orchestra, and Paul Lamb and the King Snakes, festival appearances at Love Supreme, Celebration Days (France), Gloucester Blues Festival plus a whole heap of radio play and media support across the UK and Europe! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MILK DRUNK 

Debut studio album “Milk Drunk” was released late 2013 on TreeHouse44 and is available from iTunes as well as being distributed by Proper Music. 

The big warm tones from his resonator guitar along with a powerful and direct vocal delivery are the trademarks of singer/song-writer King Size Slim.Add rolling grooves with multi-layers of percussion and vocals, harmonica, hand-claps, foot stomps, myriad shakers, even sweeping brooms and pots and pans, as well as some enriching guest performances (including Andy Newmark, drummer for Sly Stone and Lennon’s “Double Fantasy”), then you have a debut studio album that truly shines a light on the original compositions of a song-writer steeped in a world of music that is fully conscious of its roots but at the same time has a new story to tell. 

In the spirit of the Alan Lomax field recordings and using that organic approach, King Size Slim has delivered a collection of songs that have an earthy warmth and reality, dealing with topics many of us face or see around us in the world today – love and loss, parenthood, injustice and the need for social and political change. 
 

 

“Taking lactose intolerance to new levels... I really like this record!”

- Huey Morgan, BBC Radio 2

"....that was really cool...." Bob Log III , Fat possum records 

"This is a great record" Zigaboo Modeliste,Drummer of The Meters ,New Orleans 

"When I saw him performing the first thing that struck me was the power of the

performance, both vocally and in the rhythms and in the accessibility of his

guitar playing........it was easy to fall for King Size Slim as an entertainer,

however it was the quality of his songwriting that really grabbed me".

Graeme Miall, founder Treehouse44 Records London 

"The highlight of the festival" - Nigel Feist, Promoter, Broadstairs Blues Bash 

"The force of nature that is....." - Stephen Ferguson, What's Cookin', London 

"I recently had the honour of seeing King Size Slim perform at a small venue in Leicester and couldn't believe my eyes and ears. Simply one of the best performances I ever seen.........His musicianship is both unique and also refined with a feel and sympathy for the form that tells you this artist truly has a gift...........Go and see a live performance, I guarantee you will be hooked. When this guy performs he frightens, no terrifies you into submission". Anonymous Amazon buyer , UK 

Blues in the North West e-Magazine:

"King Size Slim, aka Toby Barelli, hails from the Deep South – the south coast of England, that is – and his musical style is very much influenced by the heritage of the Delta blues region – in the United States, that is. The eleven original compositions that make up the album present a modern slant on the traditional roots of the old bluesmen, galvanised with a gripping, rhythmic energy.

"The title track starts things off with a contemporary take on the seminal field holler with more than a hint of Adam Ant. The highly percussive “Wake Up The Town” is in similar vein but significantly faster with rhythmic shades of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love”, powered by the East Brighton Rhythm Section, while “Hard Way To Fall” provokes echoes of Lennon’s “Come Together”. “Roast Beef Blues” is in the style of Mississippi John Hurt with some tasty finger-picking and is followed by a couple of country blues – “Angel Dear” and “Leaving Portsmouth Town”.

"The Latin-rhythmed “I Hope It’s You”, with Aimee Grinter guesting on vocals, is followed by the waltz tempo of the folksy ballad “”Rising Spring”, which features Roger Hubbard on mandolin. “Dark Soul” ups the pace again in advance of the hypnotically rhythmic “Monkey, Where Are You?”, splendidly driven by Andy Newmark on drums. The album is concluded with “She Lies”, on which King Size delivers superb Joe Cockeresque vocals.

"This is a little gem of an album – the eleven tracks lasting only slightly more than thirty minutes, with five of them running for less than three minutes each. King Size Slim is a talented songwriter and guitarist and is capable of delivering a range of vocal styles. He is unsurprisingly in demand on the acoustic blues circuit and would certainly offer a very different and entertaining contribution to any blues festival.

LIONEL ROSS

 

 

http://www.kingsizeslim.com/

 

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