Introducing Interview: Tom Hale

Having previously fronted indie-rockers ROOD, Barnsley-based songwriter Tom Hale has now decided to go solo and is set to release his new EP this week.

Telling the story of a man who falls in love in his dreams, title track ‘In The Night’ soars with a cinematic grandeur. Filled with sweeping strings and majestic, musically rich melodies, the track oozes a romanticism akin to the likes of Richard Hawley, as Hale’s deep, impassioned vocals gracefully glide throughout.

We caught up with Tom to find out more…

Hi Tom, welcome to Gigslutz! Can you tell us a little bit about your latest musical project?
Hi! I’m set to release my debut solo EP this Friday, 7th July. It tells a story of a man who meets a woman in his dreams.

What initially inspired you to start creating music?
Well, I’ve played guitar for as long as I can remember, and I started properly writing songs consistently when I was about thirteen, I think. Listening to new music and going to gigs inspired me greatly at that age.

What would say it is that makes you stand out from other artists these days?
I’d say that recording and producing it all myself would be one, I suppose. There’s also not many young artists my age making a similar style of music as me at the moment.

You were previously part of the band ROOD, what triggered the decision to go solo?
It just didn’t seem to be going anywhere really, it was the right decision for myself.

We’re loving the new single ‘In the Night’ – what’s it all about?
It’s the final chapter of the EP: the man accepts that he’s happy and wants to sleep forever. It’s confusing as it was the first song from the EP that I wrote, so I ended up writing the rest of it backwards!

And what can we expect from the upcoming EP of the same name?
The story leading up to the final track – it should make sense when it’s listened to in order. It has dark and uplifting moments throughout.

How is your local music scene? Do you go to see lots of live music?
It’s not the best… A lot of my favourite local bands have split up. I’ll occasionally stumble across a band who’s playing in town and go check them out though.

As we’re a new music focused site, are there any other new/upcoming bands or artists you’d suggest we check out?
There’s a really good band called badbadnotgood that I’m listening to a lot of recently. Another two would be The Lemon Twigs and Cameron Avery.

And can you describe your sound in three words… ?
Alternative Soundtrack-Pop.

Finally, what does the rest of 2017 have in store for Tom Hale?
Hopefully start gigging after the summer and release another few singles.

Huge thanks to Tom for answering our questions!

In The Night, the debut EP from Tom Hale, is out this Friday 7 July.