River Tiber (musician)

River Tiber
Birth name	Thomas Rohan Paxton-Beesley[1]
Also known as	Tommy Paxton-Beesley
Born	1991 (age 32–33) Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Origin	Toronto
Genres	Indie pop alternative R&B
Occupations	Songwriter musician record producer
Instruments	Vocals keyboards guitar cello violin drums trombone
Years active	2013–present
Website	rivertiber.com

Tommy Paxton-Beesley (born 1991), also known as River Tiber, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer.[2] He released his debut studio album Indigo in 2016. As a songwriter, Paxton-Beesley has frequently collaborated with producer Frank Dukes and artists including Kaytranada, Daniel Caesar, and BadBadNotGood. He has co-written the charting songs "No Tellin'" by Drake, "Broken Clocks" by SZA, "AstroThunder" by Travis Scott, and "I Keep Calling" by James Blake.

Background

Paxton-Beesley was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. He also spent a year in Italy as a child, where he lived near the Tiber River.[3] Growing up, he took part in community music programs and attended the Claude Watson School for the Arts.[4] He attended McGill University before graduating from the Berklee School of Music.[5][6]

He released his debut EP The Star Falls in 2013,[2] and followed up in 2015 with When the Time Is Right.[7] A track from the latter EP, "No Talk", was sampled by producer Boi-1da for "No Tellin'", from the 2015 album If You're Reading This It's Too Late.[4] Paxton-Beesley has also collaborated with BADBADNOTGOOD on their 2015 album Sour Soul,[2] with Kaytranada on his Polaris Music Prize-winning 99.9%,[2] and with Jazz Cartier on a track for Hotel Paranoia.[2]

He released his debut full-length album Indigo in 2016.[8] In 2017, he won a MuchMusic Video Award for "Acid Test",[9] and the song was a shortlisted finalist for the SOCAN Songwriting Prize in 2017.[10] During the end of the decade, he worked with Toronto artists Charlotte Day Wilson and Daniel Caesar.

On December 9, 2022, he released his sophomore record "Dreaming Eyes".[11] The album release was accompanied by a music video for the acclaimed track "Hypnotized" which was conceptualized and directed by Leo Aguirre.[12] “Hypnotized” was also sampled on Kendrick Lamar’s "Savior" from his 2023 Grammy Award-winning album Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.[13]

Personal life

He is the brother of actress Alex Paxton-Beesley.[14]

Discography

Studio albums

• From Now On (2011)
• Synapses (2013)
• Indigo (2016)
• Dreaming Eyes (2022)

Extended plays

• The Star Falls (2013)
• When the Time Is Right (2015)

Singles

• "Prophets" (2014)
• "West" with Daniel Caesar from Indigo (2016)
• "Illusions" (feat. Pusha T) / "Gravity" (2016)
• "Acid Test" from Indigo (2016)
• "Patience" (2017)
• "Deep End" (2018)
• "Taurus" (2019)
• "Nevada" (2019)
• "Rainbow Road" / "Hypnotized" (2020)
• "Sent from Above" (2021)

As featured artist

• Kaytranada – "Bus Ride" and "Vivid Dreams" (feat. River Tiber) – from 99.9% (2015)
• Selena Gomez – "Kill Em With Kindness - River Tiber Remix" single (2016)
• Jazz Cartier – "Tell Me" (feat. River Tiber) from Hotel Paranoia (2016); also producer
• Junia-T – "Tommy's Intro" (feat. River Tiber & Sean Leon) from Studio Monk (2020)

Songwriting credits

  indicates a featured artist contribution.

  indicates an additional/co-producer contribution.

  indicates a background vocal contribution.

Year	Artist	Album	Song	Co-written with
2014	Justin Nozuka	Ulysees	"Right By You"	Nozuka
			"Sweet Lover"
	BadBadNotGood	III	"CS60"	Matthew Tavares, Chester Hansen, Alex Sowinski, Frank Dukes
2015	Drake	If You're Reading This It's Too Late	"No Tellin'"	Frank Dukes, et al.
	BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah	Sour Soul	"Ray Gun" (feat. MF Doom)	Tavares, Hansen, Sowinski, Frank Dukes, MF Doom
			"Experience"	Tavares, Hansen, Sowinski, Frank Dukes
	PartyNextDoor	N/A (later released on 2020's Partypack)	"Things & Such" (fka. "Kehlani's Freestyle"	Frank Dukes, et al.
	Travis Scott	Rodeo	"Oh My Dis Side"	Frank Dukes, et al.
	Mac Miller	GO:OD AM	"ROS"	Frank Dukes, et al.
2016	Kaytranada	99.9%	"Bus Ride"	Kaytranada
			"Vivid Dreams"	Kaytranada
	Jahkoy	Foreign Water	"Selfish"	Frank Dukes, et al.
	Usher	Hard II Love	"Make U a Believer"	Frank Dukes, et al.
2017	SZA	Ctrl	"Broken Clocks"	Frank Dukes, Daniel Caesar, et al.
	Jhené Aiko	Trip	"Never Call Me"	Frank Dukes, et al.
2018	Travis Scott	Astroworld	"Astrothunder"	Frank Dukes, Matthew Tavares, et al.
	Charlotte Day Wilson	Stone Woman	"Falling Apart"	Charlotte Day Wilson, Matthew Tavares
	Camila Cabello	Romance	"Feel It Twice"	Frank Dukes, Matthew Tavares, et al.
2019	Daniel Caesar	Case Study 01	"Entropy"	Daniel Caesar, et al.
			"Cyanide"	Daniel Caesar, Matthew Burnett, Jordan Evans, et al.
			"Open Up"
			"Superposition" (feat. John Mayer)
			"Too Deep to Turn Back"
			"Are You OK?"
	Giveon	Take Time	"Like I Want You"	Jahaan Sweet, et al.
2020	James Blake	Before	"I Keep Calling"	James Blake, Charlotte Day Wilson, Matthew Tavares, et al.

Other credits

Albums

• Justin Nozuka – Ulysees (2014); musician
• BadBadNotGood – III (2014); guitar, violin, cello
• BadBadNotGood & Ghostface Killah – Sour Soul (2015); cello, violin, trombone, guitar, organ
• Tess Parks – Blood Hot (2015); co-producer, drums, guitar, bass, tambourine, cello
• Kingsway Music Library – Colors (2015); musician

Tracks

• Daniel Caesar – "Death & Taxes" from Pilgrim's Paradise (2015); music
• Sean Leon – "This Ain't 2012" single (2015); additional vocals[15]
• Freddie Gibbs – "Insecurities" from Shadow of a Doubt (2015); additional vocals
• Daniel Caesar – "Won't Live Here" single (2016); music
• Charlotte Day Wilson – "Where Do You Go" from CDW (2016); producer, bass, cello, violin, synth
• Post Malone – "Cold" from Stoney (2016); background vocals
• Charlotte Day Wilson – "Let You Down" & "Falling Apart" from Stone Woman (2018); strings, synth, vocals, drums
• Kaytranda – "Freefall" from Bubba (2019); synth

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated Work	Result	Ref.
2016	Grammy Awards	Best Rap Album	If You're Reading This It's Too Late (Drake) (as songwriter)	Nominated
2017	iHeartRadio MMVAs	Best MuchFACT Video	"Acid Test"	Won
	SOCAN Songwriting Prize	Best Song – Anglophone		Shortlisted	[16]
		Best Song – Anglophone	"Won't Live Here" (Daniel Caesar) (as songwriter)	Shortlisted
2018	Soul Train Music Awards	The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award	"Broken Clocks" (SZA) (as songwriter)	Nominated
2019	ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Awards	Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs		Won	[17]
2019	Grammy Awards	Best Rap Album	Astroworld (Travis Scott) (as songwriter)	Nominated

References

1. "Song Details: Broken Clocks". www.umusicpub.com. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
2. "UNCHARTED: It’s River Tiber’s turn"^[usurped]. Chart Attack, May 12, 2016.
3. "Flowing like the River Tiber". SOCAN Words and Music. 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
4. "Who The Hell Is River Tiber and Why Is He Suddenly Everywhere?". Noisey, February 26, 2015.
5. Caira, Celine (2013-02-18). "Cerebral transmissions". The McGill Daily. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
6. "Sound of the 6ix: How Drake inspired Toronto to mint its own music". The Globe and Mail, July 30, 2016.
7. "River Tiber: 'When the Time Is Right'". Exclaim!, September 14, 2015.
8. "River Tiber: Indigo". Exclaim!, June 21, 2016.
9. "Acceptance and diversity get major stage time at MMVAs". Hamilton Spectator, June 19, 2017.
10. "Punk Phenoms PUP Win $10,000 SOCAN Songwriting Prize". Canada Newswire, July 12, 2017.
11. "River Tiber: Dreaming Eyes". Killbeat Music, December 9th, 2022.
12. "ATWOOD MAGAZINE’S WEEKLY ROUNDUP". Atwood Magazine, December 16th, 2022.
13. "Best New Canadian Tracks This Week: Skiifall, River Tiber, Zeina". Complex, December 9th, 2022.
14. "Grolsch Open House | River Tiber". ION Magazine, September 4, 2014.
15. THIS AIN'T 2012 (PRODUCED BY WONDAGURL + SEAN LEON), retrieved 2021-02-16
16. "2017 SOCAN Songwriting Prize Finalists Vie for $10,000 | SOCAN". 15 June 2017. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
17. "2019 ASCAP Rhythm & Soul Music Awards". www.ascap.com. Retrieved 2020-12-30.