Tourist

Known for making atmospheric electronic music that often incorporates field recordings from everyday life, Grammy-winning English musician and producer Tourist creates “dance music for people who don’t like to dance.” • The artist born Will Phillips started playing piano when he was three. When he was 12, he discovered dance music via online pirate radio stations. • He first gained attention making remixes under the name Little Loud. He adopted the moniker Tourist—inspired by his feelings of outsiderness—once he began focusing on original music. • Tourist cowrote Sam Smith’s 2014 smash “Stay With Me,” which won the Grammy for Song of the Year in 2015. • His 2016 debut album, U, was inspired by a four-year relationship. The opening title track includes audio of Tourist walking from his flat to the studio after a fight with his girlfriend. • Prone to “telling stories with sounds,” Tourist generally makes instrumental music. A poignant exception is “Emily,” a song for his sister that’s included on his 2019 sophomore album, Everyday. • Later in 2019, Tourist dropped another full-length, Wild, which he called his “being in love dance album.”