What Does Tom Vek Want?

 

Gigwise - So, Tom, this month is really the first time you’ve played outside London for a sustained period, how has it gone?

Tom - ‘Yeah, it’s difficult when you play in your own area cos you’ve got the emotional blackmail of trying to get your mates along to every gig. The London shows were really good, the crowd in London can sometimes be a bit A&R dominated, so it can be a bit weird. Playing these regional dates has been really nice actually, cos it just a bit more like I remember where I grew up. I used to play in pubs and its been a bit more like that.

 

Gigwise - In the recording studio you normally play all the instruments yourself, has it been difficult translating that to the live stage where you have to use a band?

Tom - Well, I’ve played most of the classic instruments in bands and the way I record is kind of live, so it was obvious for the live thing to be a real live band, you know. I could have done it all on backing tracks but because those backing tracks sound like a real live band, it may as well be one. So we always knew that when we got the nod from the label we’d start the live stuff. It’s been interesting, exciting taking it live cos it takes on a different thing, some songs we’ve had to re-figure them out so four people can do them, whereas it was me multi-tasking before.

 

Gigwise - Would you like to record like that as well?

Tom - In this incarnation of the band we have actually written some stuff while we jammed and started playing them live. They just sound different, they sound like songs that have been written by a band that I happen to be in. We quickly recorded them, to listen to them, and they didn’t sound like Tom Vek songs. Tom Vek stuff is what I do on my own.

 

Gigwise - The recordings released so far have a big electronic influence but also have that live band feel, is this what you were aiming for?

Tom - A good proportion of it, the drums are played live, I’ve been a drummer in bands before. It gets recorded in a band sense, it just happens to be me doing everything. Its all reactionary, I write when I record so it will be putting a drum track down, then writing a baseline over it. Its the same way a band would write a song. I used to write a lot of rock songs when I was young but then went through an electro stage and I’ve come out the other end now. Its ended up being a mixture of both.

 

Gigwise - Has working on your own given you more scope for experimentation?

Tom - My Dad’s musical and I’ve always been surrounded by that. When we moved house when I was fourteen we got this old reel-to-reel and ever since then I’ve just been messing around, getting a bit better at the instruments. A couple of vocal mics and a multi-tracker, you can do anything.

 

Gigwise - Where does the lyrical composition come into the production of your music?

Tom - ‘It’s a funny one, I’ve always been more affected by melodies. All my favourite songs it’s the sound, the music. It’s a difficult one, I get asked this a lot. Ordinarily, the lyrics are the last thing that get put on. A song gets written as it gets recorded, so its all reactionary. Its depends, everything’s a different scenario but even during the recording process something may just pop into my head. I do try a take care to write interesting lyrics but mostly it just happens. Its quite organic. I tend not to sit down and do it, it can be quite laborious.

 

Gigwise - What was your reaction to the article in the NME, were you disappointed that it seemed to make you out as just in it for the money?

Tom - Its difficult cos that was never said (Refering to the claim he was just about to sign to a label for £250,000). In the interview I had a couple of jokes that I said under my breath and that seemed to be the main bit of the text. The album is done, its on a tiny little label in London, so when all this interest happened, I was like fine, but there has never been any compromise or anything. Money is just what happens, it happens without your control, every act that has this A&R frenzy is talking about those kind of figures. Its not as if I was asking for it, its just the lawyer I appointed who’s had years and years of experience in the record industry told me this is what it is worth.

 

Gigwise - Is it hard to concentrate on the music with this sort of thing going on?

Tom - Yeah, but its ok though cos the albums done. My parents garage is kind of the spiritual home of it. I worked with a producer called Tom Rixton to do most of it. We recorded bits and bobs all over the place but it still had the same feeling. Some stuff more than others would come out of my studio or we’d work together, but when we worked together it still had the same feel because we worked in the same way I always had done. I worked well with Tom, the day we met we went into the studio to do a song, and when we left we had one of the songs from the album.

 

Gigwise - Tummy Touch, the label your signed to is more of a dance label, how did you start you affiliation with them?

Tom - ‘My relationship started with them when I was doing more electro stuff, still like funky electro. So I thought even then I was teetering on the edge of their spectrum. We had a single deal first, then they said we could do an album. At that point I changed tack and was heading towards more rock stuff and I was thinking this label were going to get rid of me. But, it ended up naturally happening and they adored it.

 

Gigwise - With working from home in your parents garage, your dad must have had a big influence on your career?

Tom - ‘Yeah, he was a producer at one point, and a rhythm and blues guitarist. The first thing I learnt was the bass so that I could accompany him. I started learning all these 12-bar blues rhythms so I could play with him.

 

Gigwise - So what does he think of your stuff then?

Tom - ‘He really likes it, he’s very proud. I’ve been writing and recording music for a long time so you just never know. Your sitting in the studio thinking can I make a living out of this, but you think if someone else can do it why can’t I? When it happens, it happens.

 

Listening to the gig after the interview it's clear that Tom’s attempts to take his music to the live stage have definitely paid off. He has surrounded himself with an excellent band, especially the drummer, which seems at one with what Tom is trying to achieve. It is not the accessible pop of the charts but a challenge which is more rewarding in its own way, a multitude of different aesthetics forming Tom’s particular vision.

 

Tom Vek’s latest single - ‘If You Want’ - is out today and you can see him live till the end of October supporting The Engineers and Bloc Party.