Tom Bem is one of the most exciting up and coming artists to step onto the scene for some time, filling a slot in the market we don't see much from.
We got the chance to put some questions to Tom about life as a musician, what it is he loves about the world of music and what to expect from him in the coming months.
How would you describe your style as a musician?
Fundamentally I am a jazz guitarist but my production style is electronic / RnB. It's hard to define because I am influenced by so many different styles!
What is it about music that you love?
Music is a language everyone can understand. I love how it can stimulate emotion so effortlessly and can help people share those emotions, or just be the soundtrack to those feelings.
Feelings. It's all about feeling stuff.
What are some of your earliest music-related memories?
In primary school, I refused to sing in assembly. I thought singing was for girls! My how that changed!
I discovered a passion for music through my Dad. He played me "baggy trousers" by Madness and I think that changed my life. From that moment, I wanted to play guitar.
How would you say the life of a London-born artist and producer is?
I'm very lucky really. London offers such a great opportunity to work with like minded creatives. I think the competition that this also brings drives me to work harder.
Do you find it difficult to balance your working and personal life?
I work a full time job, go to uni and work harder on my music career than anything else, making my personal life quite restricted. Fortunately, my friends and family support my music fully and are often at my shows.
What can you tell us about your latest EP 'Shallows', and the creative process behind that record?
Shallows is a concept EP, chronologically telling the story of my emotions through my break up last year. The songs came naturally out of what I was feeling at the time of writing them. As a writer, I don't restrict myself to a set method of writing, each song comes about differently. Sometimes I would start with guitar / piano or sometimes with the beat, or other times I would focus on the lyrics first. However I feel like writing and whatever I feel like singing about, I do. I do this to be as honest and true to the concept of my songs as possible. When the song is written, I then produce it, focussing on the style to support the substance.
How did you find working with classical composer Dexter Britain on 'Blind'?
Dexter is a real good friend. I've worked with him a fair bit on other projects.
I usually work alone on my material, but I recruited Dexter for the two songs he features on for my EP 'shallows' because I needed his expertise with string arranging to capture the emotions of the songs. He's an emotive genius. Working with him is great because he just gets what I want so easily and we can be frank with each other without worrying about any sensitivities.
What was the experience like of putting together a video for that track?
That day was so fun. The song is quite dark and miserable, but if you watch the behind the scenes video, you'll see that we had a blast making it.
I was overwhelmed by the incredible effort by the whole team involved. It's so humbling when you get a group of people working so hard for the love of a project. I am blessed.
Where do you hope to be by this time next year?
I would love to be touring and making new records full time.
What projects do you have in the pipeline that you can share some details about?
I am always writing and producing for myself and for other people. The next release I am involved in is a rapper I work with called Reece. He's about to drop his EP which include songs I have produced and feature on.
Other than this, projects are currently concepts and works in progress!
Check out Tom Bem's EP 'Shallows' below.