Bill Laswell Releases Solo Bass Album, “Means of Deliverance”

Bill Laswell: Means of DeliveranceBassist and producer Bill Laswell‘s amazing career in music has spanned the spectrum. Looking at a short list of the musicians Laswell has worked with says it all: Mick Jagger, Iggy Pop, Public Image Ltd, Laurie Anderson, Brian Eno, Bootsy Collins, Motorhead, Sting, Carlos Santana, Herbie Hancock… It was Laswell’s work with Hancock that brought the 1980’s hit, “Rock-It” — co-written by the Hancock and Laswell — that brought scratching to a mainstream audience.

Laswell has just released his newest effort, a solo bass album titled Means of Deliverance recorded entirely on his Warwick Alien fretless four-string acoustic bass guitar.

The ten-track album draws heavily on Laswell’s musical roots, which began in a small town outside of Bowling Green, Kentucky.

“I grew up in the country”, he explains. “I heard hillbillies play, and it’s different than hearing them on records. And it stays with you. You see the trains go by on the tracks and you realize people are poor and there won’t be anything else for them, and that stays with you. Many of these bands today are inventing images of these things. I actually was there, I grew up like that. So you have this thing deep in you and you play that thing of where you grew up. And it’s rich. It’s American music… Midwest music.”

Means of Deliverance is Laswell’s first-ever solo bass recording. It is available on CD and in digital formats (iTunes and Amazon MP3).

Preview and download Means of Deliverance:

Means of Deliverance Track List:

  1. Against the Upper House
  2. A Dangerous Road
  3. Ouroboros
  4. Buhala
  5. Bagana_Sub Figura X
  6. In Failing Light
  7. Aeon
  8. Epiphaneia
  9. Lighting In The South
  10. Low Country

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  1. I just picked this up and I have to say. It’s fantastic. I think most people when they read “solo bass” they’re expecting Victor Wooten, Scott Fernandez, or Simon Fitzpatrick type stuff. This is a very different approach to Solo Bass music, and like I just said, it’s fantastic, and somewhat refreshing. It also makes my Polk Audio reference monitors shake my house… which is never bad.

  2. Bill Laswell is a hero of mine. Can’t wait to pick this up!