Tom Kay, originally from Hull, Yorkshire, but now based in Manchester, has been very busy in his 23 years. With four albums as a solo artist under his belt, and experience performing with various bands, as well as a performance on ‘8 Out Of Cats Does Countdown’ where he performed a guitar solo, he’s certainly one not to let the grass grow under his feet.
Speaking earlier this year to Hannah Robinson, from the Hull Daily Mail, about his new album, ‘From The Outside In’, Kay said,
“I felt I needed to do another solo album as I feel I’ve grown as an artist and have slightly changed direction in my sound. Out of everything I’ve done, this album has come together the quickest. I went through a bit in the past year and wanted to invest all of that back into songwriting.”
‘From The Outside In’ is an album of album of eight soft and very easy listening tracks, the influence of artists such as Damien Rice are evident in his storytelling songwriting style. There’s also something that reminds us a bit of Van Morrison, with the laidback vocals and sparse – yet complex – lyrics.
Our favourite tracks, ‘Father Time’, and ‘Learn While You Live’ show an artist who is constantly developing and has attained a considerable maturity in his style. As we’ve mentioned earlier, Tom is still yet only 23, and so his future is certainly bright if he continues on his current trajectory.
It’s a considerable departure from his previous albums, which had been written between the ages of 15 and 19. Tom said of the album, half of which he claims was written in about a week,
“I’m 23 now and some of the songs seem like they were written by a different person. This album was influenced by artists such as John Martyn and Ben Howard. The last Ben Howard album really turned my world upside down, I can’t get enough of that record.
“But I’d say the person who has had the greatest influence on this album is Dan Foster, who produced it.
“I brought the songs in and Dan has just brought them to life, along with Dave Holley, who plays some wonderful pedal steel on the album, too. I can’t thank those guys enough.”
‘From The Outside In’, as well as the rest of Tom Kay’s music, is available to download from Amazon and iTunes, and also as a signed CD, from Tom’s Bandcamp store. You can find Tom online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and his official website.
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