corto.alto has released his new single “31.Bleep (01)” via New Soil, a UK label for jazz and jazz adjacent music. corto.alto is the moniker of Glasgow multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer Liam Shortall, a genre-defying producer who brings together influences from hip-hop, broken beat, electronica, dub, and punk with an informed jazz sensibility. In the wake of corto.alto’s 2023 Mercury Prize-shortlisted album Bad With Names, Shortall challenged himself to record 108 tracks, ultimately releasing 30 of them over 30 days for a 2024 project titled 30/108. Previously unreleased, “31.Bleep (01)” was the first demo recorded for 30/108, and the single is the genesis of the collection.
Listen to corto.alto “31.Bleep (01)”
“This is a track I’d been sitting on for a while, exploring the relationship between kick patterns in drum grooves and bass lines,” says corto.alto. “I wanted to subtly shift elements throughout the track in a way that the listener might not consciously notice. The title, ‘Bleep,’ reflects the fleeting nature of time—how it passes by almost imperceptibly. The track features the usual boys from my band, along with Norman Willmore from the Shetland Isles on saxophone.”
After becoming the youngest ever graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland’s undergraduate jazz program and earning a spot playing trombone with the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra, Liam Shortall balanced his classical jazz training with a love for beat-making. Drawing inspiration from artists like Flying Lotus and A Tribe Called Quest, Shortall began recording his genre-defying music under the moniker “corto.alto,” a portmanteau which translates to “short.tall” in Spanish.
corto.alto’s 2019 project, Live From 435, saw him release 20 tracks over a year, while his debut album Bad With Names was shortlisted for the 2024 Mercury Prize. corto.alto’s 30/108 release was accompanied by daily performance and breakdown videos, drawing on the vast range of improvised grooves, musical sketches, compositional ideas, and sound design that underpinned the making of Bad With Names. To date, Shortall has accumulated millions of streams and global recognition from the likes of Gilles Peterson, Jamie Cullum, and KCRW.
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About New Soil
New Soil was founded in 2020 to provide a home for jazz and jazz adjacent music.
Everything we do is bespoke – spanning label, management and strategy. Partners include Jazz re:Freshed, Women in Jazz, Bridge The Gap, Mushroom Hour, Total Refreshment Centre and Church of Sound. 2024 label recognition included: corto.alto’s Bad With Names album being nominated for the Mercury Prize, Scottish Album of the Year and winning Scottish Jazz Album of the year. The label was nominated for best Boutique label at the AIM awards and won Presto Music’s Jazz Label 2024. 2025 holds exciting things from New Soil including new music from Oscar Jerome as well as tuba master Theon Cross in partnership with the Blue Note NYC featuring US sax supremo Isaiah Collier.
Follow New Soil:
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