about the record

South Carolina-based artist Khari Lucas, aka Contour, releases Onwards! on London’s Touching Bass, an evocative twelve-track journey through Black art, both past and contemporary, with soul, electronics, and archival material at its core.

“The record exists as a bridge in conversation between today’s artists and art of the past which offered potential ways to navigate the world that we’re in—personally or on a larger scale,” says Contour.

Khari describes himself as multifaceted, including musician, score composer, film and radio programmer within his universe of practice. Contour, the musical alias he started in 2014, is the vessel for his musical research, songwriting, and production.

During 2020, Khari spent a lot of time reading works from poets, writers, and theorists involved in the Black Arts Movement. Films, including many from the L.A. Rebellion movement of the 80s, became a recurring source of inspiration, as well as a Roland SP-404 that was first intended for organizing samples but became his personal audio diary populated with soundbites.

Using this vast pool as a foundation, alongside additional samples and select co-production from collaborators Swarvy and 10.4 ROG, Onwards! takes shape as a synthesis of sample-based production and the direction his songwriting skills were already moving in.

The project comes from an emotional exploration of the media he immersed himself in, digesting the intersection of political and emotional realities. Through soundbites and references, he places artistic ancestors and influences in dialogue with his own work.