Hannah Williams & The Affirmations- “50 FOOT OF WOMAN TOUR”

Hannah Williams, the British soul hurricane who sensationally became part of Jay-Zs

chart-topping 4:44 album, is primed and ready for her own national and international

breakthrough.

Williams turned heads worldwide when the hip-hop superstar sampled her heart-

stopping vocals on 'Late Nights & Heartbreak' for the title track, ‘4.44’ on his 2017

album. Now Hannah and her exemplary, Bristol-based band the Affirmations deliver a

definitive career statement with the drop-dead soulful new album 50 Foot Woman which

will be released October 18th on the Milan based imprint Record Kicks.

The album captures all of the visceral power of the band's increasingly legendary live

performances. Shades of classic Soul and Psychedelic Funk blend uniquely with

modern-day flavours on a record destined to set the soul agenda for 2019 and far

beyond. “I've never been as proud of anything in my entire career” says Hannah.

Born in High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, William's father was a musically gifted

minister, and her mother let her join the church choir at the age of six. Hannah could

read music before she could properly read words, and when she discovered soul by

listening with her mum to Motown and Bill Withers, there was no turning back.

After a 2012 debut with her previous band the Tastemakers, it was 2016&'s Late Nights &

Heartbreak that announced the arrival of Hannah Williams and the Affirmations. But little

did she know that Jay-Z was listening. One day, at her then-day job running the music

department at the University of Winchester, he sent her a text.

Once she'd established that it wasn't a wind-up, and summoned the courage to call him

back, she learned that JayZ's producer, No I.D., had played him Hannah's track to

inspire his response to Beyoncé's Lemonade, on which she sang of his infidelities.

Williams was as in the dark about how Late Nights amp; Heartbreak's; would be used until

4:44 dropped. But the substantial sample of her voice opened doors she never dreamed

of. “It was an incredible catalyst,” she says, “as a change in our collective career, and

getting a global audience. Suddenly, there were millions of predominantly American hip-

hop fans listening to my voice, going Is this from the 60's? Is she dead?”

What followed was a year of the band's widest-ever touring including an invitation to

perform at Central Park Summer Stage NY, Toronto Jazz Festival and Brooklyn Bowl

NY and expanded audiences in continental Europe where she and the Affirmations had

already made a mark. Then came the burning determination to make the record of their

lives. The captivating 50 Foot Woman is that album, produced by Shawn Lee, a

respected presence on the funk/soul scene whose credits include Amy Winehouse,

Lana Del Rey and Alicia Keys. Lee has released five solo albums as Shawn Lee’s Ping

Pong Orchestra on San Francisco label Ubiquity Records and is also one half of the

cool melodic pop duo Young Gun Silver Fox.

Now the world will hear what the cognoscenti have known for a while: that Hannah

Williams is the real deal, and sings from her very soul. “I feel like my performance

comes from my solar plexus,” she says. “The emotional side of it is so intrinsic; I can't

take it away from what I do.”

Hannah Williams & The Affirmations are:

Hannah Williams – Main Vocal

James Graham – Wurlitzer, Piano, Organ

Adam Newton – Bass

Adam Holgate – Guitar

Jai Widdowson-Jones – Drums, Percussion

Victoria Klewin – Backing Vocals

Hannah Nicholson – Backing Vocals

Liam Treasure – Trombone

Tom Taylor – Baritone Saxophone