13 April 2023
What was the inspiration behind the album?
My last album ‘Night Tales’ came out in 2020 and I had been slowly chipping away at writing new material throughout 2021 and 2022. The process was very natural.
The last album sonically was quite full on compared to some of my previous work. There were drum machines, synths, bass and loads of guitars. This new album has much more space and that was really intentional. I wanted the tracks to breathe and for the listener to hear the nuances in every part. The album was inspired by Mark Hollis of Talk Talk, particularly the last few Talk Talk albums and his solo album from 1998.
Those are my favourite albums of all time and they definitely influenced the sound and the space on this new release.
Did the pandemic have an impact when recording the album?
The pandemic had an effect on the writing but we were kind of coming out of the lockdowns etc as I was recording it so no it didn’t have a direct impact on the making of the album. But the pandemic and the period of reflection that came with it definitely influenced the writing.
How long did the album or EP take to create from start to finish?
I was writing it off and on for a couple of years. In terms of the recording, it was recorded over quite a long period of time. I wanted to release a run of singles before announcing the album and myself and Pat (Pat Dooner – Producer) had to work the sessions around other projects we had going on so it’s been a very steady process which I’ve quite enjoyed to be honest.
Which track was written first?
I wrote a track called ‘Wicked Ways’ back in 2020 but I didn’t record it for the last album as I didn’t feel like it sat alongside the other tracks. I revisited it for this new album and it fit perfectly. So that one got the ball rolling.
Do you have any personal favourite tracks?
I like ‘No Shame/No Rain’ which was the first single. It was written about my daughter who wasn’t born at the time of writing it. My wife was around five months pregnant when I wrote it. The song is basically about life, being in a good place after going through some difficult times. Coming out the other side.
I also really like the collaboration with Vicky Foster. I’ve admired Vicky’s work for a long time and we’ve worked together on Broken Orchestra projects before but I really wanted to collaborate with her on a track for this album. Vicky recorded some spoken word and I improvised every other part which was a really interesting process. It was all recorded in one take!
Were any tracks difficult to write?
Not particularly. Some came much quicker than others and there were other tracks that I never finished writing. But for the most part, the album was a very natural process and each song felt like it deserved a spot on the album. The most difficult tracks were probably the instrumental ones!
What do you have coming up in the next 12 months?
I’ve got the album launch at Brew in Hull which is a very intimate venue. I love playing there as it really suits the music and the people there are lovely. That’s happening on the release day too which is really nice.
I’m also supporting So Low Choir at O’Rileys in Hull at the end of April. And then the plan is to play more shows and hopefully do a little tour to promote the album.
Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Released: 26th May 2023
You can find out more about Tom via Apple Music, Bandcamp, Facebook, Instagram, SoundCloud, Spotify, Twitter or YouTube.
You can read my Independent Music Monday interview with Tom here, and you can also read my interviews with him about his earlier albums “From The Outside In” and “Wither & Bloom“.
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