A rite of passage.

Soulful singer-songwriter Taz Babiker will release his gorgeous three-track EP ‘Where The Heart Is’ on November 8 – a thoughtful, therapeutic reflection on the rocky road of midlife, and the quest to find one’s place in society.

“I’ve always been a singer, since I was four and my dad played the oud around our house,” says Totnes artist Taz Babiker. But the responsibilities of adult life – work, Taz’s own growing family – took precedence over the years, gradually pushing music into the background of his life. “Then Covid happened, and that pause in life’s business led me to this process of self inquiry. What does it mean, I wondered, to be me in this world today? What does it mean to be a man of my heritage, raising children in a land that’s not my own?”

I began to hallucinate

This in turn led Taz – born in the UK, to Sudanese immigrants – to embark on an epic three-days-and-nights spiritual trek of self-discovery from the source of the River Dart, all the way to the sea.

“A close friend led me to the source of the River, up on Dartmoor where we conducted a brief ceremony. Then I set off, alone, without speaking to or encountering another soul for three days.”

The journey was arduous. “I like to think of myself as a wild creature! But by the third day I was struggling. The gas stove I’d borrowed broke. I only had a bivvy bag to sleep in. It was tiring. It was cold.” Nevertheless, Taz found enlightenment.

“In my loneliness, and desperation to meet up with my friends and family at the end, I began to hallucinate. From nowhere I started humming a melody, and after my adventure was over I decided to turn that melody into a song. “

That song, River, inspired a further trio of songs by Taz, which became the ‘Where The Heart Is’ EP.

“Opening track Divide is about our relationship with the world,” Taz says. “The disconnections and misunderstandings that fracture human relationships and society at large.. Chi explores the spiritual and mystical connection between individuals, emphasising love, harmony, and the unifying force of life energy. Bring Me Home focuses on the themes of belonging, community, and the emotional journey back to one’s roots. It speaks to the human condition of seeking solace and understanding in familiar spaces and relationships.”

Uplifting, soulful and graced with sublime masculinity, Taz’s ‘Where The Heart Is’  EP was recorded at Sorting Room Studios in Dartington.

Taz intends the proceeds of this EP to be donated to help the humanitarian crisis currently unfolding in Sudan.

“My song Divide expresses how I feel about conflict,” says Taz .”How we need to overcome our differences as people, if we have any chances of surviving as a species.”

First single:  ‘Divide’ is released on October 11,  Second single: ‘Chi’ on October 25  and the full EP ‘Where The Heart Is’ on November 8