Stockton-based singer-songwriter Tom Joshua is preparing to release his new EP so Lee Allcock caught up with him to speak about recording in London, walking his dog, and daydreaming around Egglescliffe.
What was it like working with Cam Blackwood (George Ezra, Billie Marten, British Sea Power) on the new EP?
I was tentative at first because the guy has produced loads of great music and worked on some big chart albums. I was nervous and anxious but smiling wide that he was into it.
Cam is super encouraging and he was confident in the tunes. He made loads of room to chat about the song without prying too much and did a great job of listening to me attempt to verbalise (without useful terminology) the kind of sound I was feeling for the songs.
His team, engineer Dan and drummer Matt, were the nicest people I’ve met in London and as a group, they were giggly and efficient.
You recorded the EP at London’s Voltaire Studio. What did you learn during the recording process?
That clarity is important and pushing to communicate is the only way to get where you want with music. Artists are making music every day in their heads and writing lyrics and are normally very aware of who they are in that way.
When you work with a producer, they become a conduit for your music and it’s scary if you want to represent yourself authentically.
I think a big part of the recording process is presenting who you are properly and keeping communication open otherwise the songs could end up in a cul-de-sac somewhere you’ve never been before.
I feel like the biggest learning curve for me in this process was being intentional in doing that and being braver in my convictions and honest in my approach.
We hear that the record was conceived, so to speak, while walking your dog…
Almost True! ‘Undergrowth’ is a tenuous link to a previous release, ‘Knock on a Hollow’. I wrote this one after my dog and I heard someone playing the drums above the parade of shops near me. I continued thinking about this drummer and about my music being too loud with my window open. Around that time, I had a pretty vivid dream of me, a little nomad, waking up in the middle of the night with a floor tom on my back, walking around the estates where I live, and I found a place to set up my drum – a fenced-off green in a nearby estate – and started playing.
In the dreams, loads of odd people came out of garages and Biffa bins and skeletons came out of the hedges and the flowerbeds to watch me do some terrible one-man drum busking. They seemed overwhelmingly grateful, the big bunch of weirdos!
And the new release was inspired by your hometown of Egglescliffe too…
Yeah. I love Egglescliffe. It’s classed as a town but it’s more like a big village. It’s sleepy and weird and I think about all the unknowns living here – they are a good means for imagining. ‘Undergrowth’ happened all over Eaglescliffe in the dream.
Finally, what do you have lined up for 2020/early 2021, all being well?
I have loads of new music I want to record and it would be really nice to do some shows! I’d also like to buy a new dog because the other one died.
You can listen to the EP now on all major online streaming platforms.
