Tom Dwight - Interview With Tom Dwight.

Here with us today at Kegger we have Tom Dwight, a fantastic young solo artist whom i have had the pleasure of working with before for some photography, his upcoming EP drops 24th of March. Get to know him a bit before it does, and show him some love.

Tell the readers a bit about yourself.

"Hello readers. My name is Tom Dwight and I’m a 24 year old musician and producer from Cheltenham. I’m also a writer and poet on the side, and I’m obsessed with a million different varieties of tea. "

As you’re a solo musician , what instruments do you play? Do you do everything yourself when it comes to writing and playing the tracks?

"I play a little bit of everything really! Piano, guitar, drums, trumpet you name it I’ll give it a go. I think it’s the way the industry is going to be as diverse and adaptable as possible so playing plenty of instruments definitely helps. I tend to do everything myself as well, I think it’s because I’m a bit of a control freak, but it’s also easier to maintain your own creative vision when it’s just you."

What kind of music do you play?

"That’s a hard one. I like to be as diverse as possible really. I think you’d probably categorise my new EP into ‘pop’ but overall I’d like to think it’s a nice mix of jazz-infused electro-acoustic pop. "

Any new music on the way?

"Yes! Lots actually. The ‘Fade and Replace’ EP is out 24th March, which is a 5 track combination of my best songs so far. The first supporting single is ‘Riverrun’ which is an acoustic piano ballad remade with electric drums and synths and it actually directly quotes James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake. My new music video, which is out 17th March, is called ‘Memory’ and that’s a truly electric piece with a sudden orchestral break-down thrown into the mix. I’ve got plenty more coming out in the next few months but I won’t bore you with it here!"

What musicians inspired you to start making music?

"I started making music at about 16/17, and back then I only really listened to a few artists. It was pop artists like Billy Joel and classical composers like Beethoven that really got me going. When I got into my late teenage years I started listening to a much broader range of music, and from there it was everything from Paramore to James Blake, Pendulum to Fun. "

Is there any music you listened to as a kid you still listen to now?

"I still listen to the majority of stuff I used to listen to! I don’t think you ever stop liking music that you used to listen to, your tastes just mature and grow. That emotional connection you felt to a particular band or song doesn’t change, but since you’re never really in the same emotional place more than once in your life the song/band can’t really speak to you as well. "

Top 5 albums?

Only 5?!

In no particular order I’d say:

1. James Blake - The colour in anything

2. Fun. - Aim and Ignite

3. Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Blood Sugar Sex Majik

4. Bon Ivor - 22, A Million

5. Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly

Do you play gigs?

"I used to, yet since I’ve been locked away in my home studio recording the EP and producing about a hundred other songs day in-day out I’ve not really found the time :( "

so you have an EP coming out soon, how is that going?

"It was probably the biggest challenge I’ve faced yet. Just the process of trying to thin my songs down into 5 tracks was hard enough, and then the mixing, mastering, and marketing nearly killed me. I make things harder for myself because I mainly write songs acoustically at the piano, and then I’m faced with trying to turn them into original pieces of music that aren’t just singer/songwriter tracks. It’s also taken me years to get to the point from where I announced I was undertaking it at university, to this place now. I’ve changed so much as a person and my methods of producing have modernised so much that it was a protracted and almost confusing process. I’m happy with the end result though, plus it’s only the first step to a long career so it’s onwards and upwards! "

Favourite gig you’ve been to?

"Favourite gig was probably seeing Bastille at Leopallooza one year. There were only about two thousand people at the festival so it was a great mix of intimacy and crazy that worked really well. Plus me and my mate managed to score VIP tickets and so we met the band afterwards and hung out with the other acts! "

What is the favourite song you have made?

"I’m not one for boasting, but I’d probably say it’s the track on my new Music Video ‘Memory’. I think it represents everything I’m about as a musician and producer and it’s just got that little bit of a zing that puts it head and shoulders above the rest. Then again that’s for you and everyone else to decide, haha!"

If you had to describe your music to someone who had never heard you before, how would you describe it?

"It’s a mix of electric and acoustic pop, with some surprises thrown in. Lyrically I’m inspired by modernist poets like Ezra Pound and T.S Elliot, so the lyrics provide a really cool counterpoint/ tension to the instrumentation."

Is there somewhere the readers can listen to you?

"All my music is available on Soundcloud, Bandcamp and Youtube! Head to my Facebook to stay updated and there are links to all my music there."

How did you first start making music? was it a conscious thing or did you just start playing around one day and think “wow this is fun i’m gonna do this more often”?

"I started playing piano at like, 5 years old. By the time I was 15 I was playing 3 instruments and doing grade 8 music without thinking about taking it any further because I was so bored with the theory and the classical songs. It was only when I started my first band ‘Antler’ back at university I started to think about devoting my life to music. I was going through a really tough time with relationships and mental health back then, and music was the only constant thing that I could always turn to. Friends might not be friends after an argument, relationships might break up and reform, yet there’s always going to be 86 keys on my piano and I know exactly how they’re going to sound. On top of that I will always acutely remember that rush I got on stage whilst playing with ‘Antler’ ; once you’re in the moment it transforms you into something else and you are just a vessel that music uses to come into being. It’s something that’s so deeply entwined with my identity as a person it’s not really a conscious decision, but I guess I started it all off because it was fun and new and something that was reliable and dependable. In a way I think that’s why every artist starts. "

So i heard you are making a Music Production company, How did this start out?

"It’s a bit more boring than the last answer really! I was sick and tired of being a musician on the side and having to work a 9-5 job to support myself. Making Tom Dwight Music Ltd was just the next logical step to be able to support myself as a musician and producer solely. I have the skills and ability to make it happen, and I couldn’t stand to live with myself if I was far too lazy to give it a go and twenty years later I was still working in the same 9-5 job."

What will you do with this company? Help other musicians with their production?

"We specialise in making bespoke and stylised sound experiences for businesses and film production companies. We work with a number of advertising and marketing companies to distribute the music. Another big project is offering music production services for up-and-coming artists that are affordable. I remember starting out, and everything was so expensive I couldn’t afford it. It took me years to learn everything. It’s all about offering a more personal and dependable service than bigger companies can provide. On top of that our current outgoings and equipment costs are so minimal that all incoming profits can be redirected straight into the company to improve our services for future work!"

If some of the readers are interested in working with your company is there somewhere they can contact you?

"You can find everything about our company and our services, including my blog, at tomdwightmusic.com"

Thanks for chatting to us today, anything else you want to say to the readers?

"Thanks for having me! To the readers, stay cool, and don’t give up on your dreams. You’re always bad at something until you’re good so keep on dreaming and keep on creating."