“The Flow”, Willis Earl Beal

This way: The Flow

Willis Earl Beal was born on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. In his early twenties Beal joined the U.S. Army, moving to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Beal was medically discharged from the army due to intestinal and visual problems. He then returned to Chicago where he worked at Sears Tower, following a five-month hospital stay. In 2007, Beal moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here Beal spent some time homeless, and working entry-level jobs, notably as a night-shift security guard. During this time Beal began to record music, leaving CD-Rs in public spaces around Albuquerque. Beal would also leave self-illustrated flyers around the town in the hope of finding a girlfriend. One of these flyers was discovered by Found Magazine who put Beal on the cover of their magazine. Found later released a limited-edition box set called The Willis Earl Beal Collection, which included Beal's poetry, artwork and a 17-song album.

In 2012, Beal signed a recording contract with Hot Charity, an imprint of independent record label, XL Recordings. Beal's first single for the labels, "Evening's Kiss" was released on February 17, 2012 and the accompanying music video was illustrated by Beal. Beal's debut album, entitled Acousmatic Sorcery was released on April 2, 2012.

[Spotify] The Flow

[Also, I posted this awhile ago, and it still rates as one of the most amazing performances ever recorded, from Jools Hollands show, 2012] Evening's Kiss