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Thomas White

Thomas White Radio

Marc Riley BBC 6 Music Session 28th March



Interview + clips from All The Fallen Leaves - King Of The Kingdom - I've Seen The Sunrise - Listen Again Read the Interview Transcript

YALLA! signed copies + Limited edition EP

Order at Recordstore.co.uk and your CD album will be signed

iTunes with Bonus Track - amazon.co.uk

More info on the Limited Edition EP: Bleeding Heart Recordings Blog

Listen to a song from the EP: Thomas White on Tumblr

Copies purchased from Rounder, Resident, Rough Trade and Piccadilly record shops will receive the bonus, limited edition, 5-track 'World On A Wire' EP featuring covers of Dory Previn, Billy Mackenzie - Watch Video - Louis Armstrong and Camera Obscura, as well as an alternate version of King Of The Kingdom.

Billy Mackenzie cover: Beyond The Sun

RELEASES BY THOMAS WHITE




THOMAS WHITE
"The Maximalist"


CD/Download released 15th March 2010 on Cooking Vinyl Records

The Maximalist is available from Amazon and iTunes

The Last Blast EP Featuring a souped-up version of The Last Blast, recorded with Matthew Twaites and Damo Waters at Brighton's very own Metway Studios, and rollicking covers of Ary Barroso's classic, Brazil, and Mission Of Burma's Einstein's Day. Buy from iTunes

Accidentally Like A Martyr EP White’s interpretation of Warren Zevon’s tale of heartbreak, Accidentally Like A Martyr, leads a 5 track digital EP that features White’s take on artists as diverse as Louis Armstrong and Sparklehorse. Tracks: Accidentally Like A Martyr – Warren Zevon, That’s How I Escaped My Certain Fate - Mission of Burma, We Have All The Time In The World - Louis Armstrong, Little Fat Baby – Sparklehorse, I’ll See You In My Dreams – Joe Brown. Buy from iTunes

Uncut: "The Maximalist opens the dam of ostensibly conflicting styles and releases the deluge in all its' crazily self-confident, so-wrong-it's-right glory. White fuses elements of The Who, Chicago, My Bloody Valentine, Queens Of The Stone Age, Badalamenti and Badfinger, which is not just a feat of cut-and-paste engineering, but also proof of his verve, vivid imagination and fervent love of music." ****

Bizarre: "Thomas White had his fingers burned in The Electric Soft Parade. While licking his wounds it seems he also licked something a little more brainmelting. His second solo album combines soft rock, glam and drone, with a gob of psychedelia. Epic and absorbing." ****

VisualMusic: (translated from French) "Thomas White does many things and the name of this disc fits like a glove: mad riffer with Brakes, pop hero with The Electric Soft Parade, Moon-esque drummer in Restlesslist, and many others. His solo debut, the very much minimal "I Dream Of Black", was recorded in a cool cellar, but the music within warmed the heart. On "The Maximalist," his second solo album, both his experimental and bulimic sides are in order. It is a true declaration of love to all the music he loves. The album can certainly be described as experimental prog-pop when you know that this disc contains long instrumental electro passages, recurring themes, an introduction, soul / hip hop, covers... White abandons any traditional notion of pop - there is no viable 'single' here - but retains its melodic qualities: each segment has its own gimmick, its own inherent melody which is, in places, stretched to fascinating length ( "Starry Nite 4, "" Lost ... ", 'Jerusalem Thorn"). If the beginning of the disc is impressive, in three long tracks ( "Moonlight & Snow," "The Weekend", "Synapse Galaxy") White splices his cut-and-paste juxtaposition of pop melodies with violent electronica, with the listener easily getting lost among those 20 minutes of experimentation. However, once in the heart of the labyrinth, Thomas White invites us to meet the 'Minotaur' of The Maximalist - " The Devil in a Trojan Horse ", a slow gothic grunge ballad, which ends in cascades of distorted guitars. The last section of the record is a delight: the cover of "Accidentally Like A Martyr" is like the wings of Icarus escaping the maze before, "A Bitter Pill" grows like a Russian Doll, and the finale, " ... Lost", is a marvel of reverie very much like Kid A-period Radiohead, though more welcoming, less cold, less distant. "The Maximalist" surprises because it is voracious, hard, difficult - it never goes where you expect, or wherever you hoped it would, yet this causes a fascination of its melodic moments and his willingness to offer something more and go further. Another reason, if need be, to always keep an eye on what Thomas White is currently simmering. Without doubt, one of the best of his generation." ****

Mojo: "At 56 minutes and wholly self-constructed, The Maximalist is magnum opus time, even more kaleidoscopic than ESP's expert No Need To Be Downhearted, but still nuanced and loveable. Inside his overdub playpen, White imagines he's a hard-rock riffmeister, a Bacharachian Super Furry Animal and the South Coast version of Paul Williams. His West Coast-wannabe credentials are underlined by the cover of Warren Zevon's Accidentally Like A Martyr. Jerusalem Thorn, meanwhile, rekindles ESP Britpop-psych flame. Not even a mid-album dip can dilute this record's free-flowing joy." ***

Q: "A decade into his musical career and still just 25, Thomas White is never one to sit still, hence his second solo album, squeezed in between session work and more personal projects. A good thing, too. Introducing The Band - AC/DC meets prog overture - and Synapse Galaxy's aping of Spinal Tap's Stonehenge offer glimpses of humour. The sentimental looks at his Brighton hometown on Jerusalem Thorn, a psychedelic nod to Guided By Voices, and ...Lost allow a different kind of light to shine through." ***

Music Week: "...a blaze of kaleidoscopic, yet finely nuanced, psych-pop, from Syd Barrett-style haunted whimsy to 70's soft rock and heavier riffing. Live he's terrific too, with a dynamic band behind him."
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THOMAS WHITE
"I Dream Of Black"


CD/Download released 23rd June 2008 on Drift Records (UK) and Better Looking Records (US)

Ships worldwide from Drift Records Shop (search for Thomas White)

Download at iTunes - USA iTunes release: see Better Looking Records

Q Mag August 2008: I Dream Of Black (Drift, **** Q Recommends) recalls the psychedelic-rock splendour of Spiritualized at their peak

The Independent, London *** This Brightonian (also of Electric Soft Parade) forges dream-scapes in a DIY spirit on his solo album, recorded at home on four-track. The result prizes mood over melody, suggesting languid evenings spent alone in his bedroom. But if you crave heady chin-scratchers ("Will The Moon Ever Rise Again?") in psych pastels, he makes sounds to swim in.

_________________

Members:


Thomas White, Andrew Mitchell, Alex White, Max Erle, Kit Ashton, Damo Waters, Laura Sherwood, Matthew Twaites, Matty Davies, Adam Kidd, Emily Barnett, Heather Urquart, Alice Marra, Claire Brennan, Rhea McAteer, Kayla Bell, Seb Falcone.


Sounds Like:








(Official Video) Thomas White - 'Accidentally Like A Martyr' - Directed by Matthew Lawes from Matthew Lawes on Vimeo


Thomas White - The Last Blast on MUZU.



a cross between opera and indie mumbling...



me singing and piano-ing...



me singing and drum-ming...



me guitarring...



more guitarring...



rockin' the skins with The 'List



drumming in Dublin with the 'Sea Power lot...

Shows & Events

6 upcoming shows/events

Q REVIEWS YALLA!


Review Quotes (click links for full reviews)

thedigitalfix.com Lyrically, it’s evidently among the most personal work White has committed to record with frequent musings on past experiences, friends and loss. Sparse opener ‘All The Fallen Leaves’ beautifully captures the reflective nature: “Took a trip out to God knows where / Don’t even know when I’ll be back again / I miss Brighton town / Cold wet and brown / All the fallen leaves”. White delivers these songs with a subdued, earnest warmth making repeat listens a must. While White may not know when he’ll be back again, fans will no doubt be returning to this album for years to come.

amusicalpriority.co.uk ‘All The Fallen Leaves’ sets the tone as it slowly weaves its way out of your speakers, when the acoustic guitar and vocals kick in on the one minute mark you will find yourself at one with the album... ‘Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls’ recalls the Beatles at their psychedelic best... ‘The English Sargasso’ is a six minute song which you will find yourself hanging intently on every note that is played and every word that is sung. Thomas White is one of the finest musicians this country has produced and ‘Yalla’ is an album that you can’t live your life without hearing.

greatalbumoftheweek.tumblr.com I loved Electric Soft Parade and I also fell in love with Brakes. Nothing though really prepared me for this acoustic album. Short and sweet and wonderful in every way.

frostmagazine.com Opening track 'All The Fallen Leaves' oozes regret; 'I’ll See Her Again' is a tale of lost love that appears to have picked up the baton from Elliott Smith. 'That Heavy Sunshine Sound' is his finest Lennon/McCartney impression with the moods and shades turning from dark to light and back again. 'I’ve Seen The Sunrise' documents lost love and loneliness but muddles it with the highs and the feeling that all is not lost.

thequietus.com Just as, lyrically, you can sense the conflict between guarded reticence and heart-on-sleeve intimacy, so the tunes often seem about to soar into anthemic choruses before pulling themselves back into a droning minor key; you can almost picture White with an angelic McCartney on one shoulder and a devilish Lennon on the other, each pulling and stretching at his rubber soul... But for all the nostalgic references to English rain and provincial swimming baths, there's a lazy, sun-bleached feel to Yalla! that betrays its genesis on the beaches, bar tables and flat stone roofs of South Sinai. Troubled yet warm, defensive and guarded yet gently reaching out, Yalla! is a low-key landmark in White's on-going artistic evolution...

southsonic.co.uk 'The English Sargasso' is the tenth and final track on the album and it's a real tearjerker. With a simple yet elegant guitar riff repeated throughout its six and a half minutes, it takes you on a mostly instrumental emotional journey. Although the lyrics last just over a minute you don't really notice that there's a five minute outro because you get lost in your thoughts. The ambient backing track paints the picture of whale song and although it's more or less on repeat you don't want it to end.

directcurrentmusic.com More Nick Drake-ian in scope than the T-Rex/Badfinger amalgam of The Maximalist, acoustic neo-folk tracks that move -- make that drift -- at their own unhurried pace... the vocal harmonies and dense jangle of guitar strums hinting at what could have been a dramatically fuller production -- but this is ambient "unplugged" folk/pop that revels in it's own unblushing nakedness...

forfolkssake.com “No-one does hippy love with a bite like Tom White,” claimed the press release... “With a bite” is perhaps misleading, as much of the album drifts by languidly – as on seductively slow-paced standouts All The Fallen Leaves and I’ve Seen The Sunrise. Dreamt I Dwelt In Marble Halls, though, harks back lyrically to Why Do You Try So Hard To Hate Me? – from ESP’s Holes In The Wall debut...

brightonmusicblog.wordpress.com Yalla! is Thomas White's third solo album and is quite possibly his most personal and accomplished work to date... The album continues in it's psychedelic folk theme – Nick Drake with harmonies by the Beach Boys, with Norwegian Wood by the Beatles playing on the radio in the next room.

aaamusic.co.uk Pretty damn mesmerizing from start to finish. Ramshackle, raw and sparse, yes, but all that conspires to highlight the sheer songwriting talent on offer... Taken for what it is, a short, direct set of songs by a supremely talented songwriter, I'm willing to bet my own money that you won't find a better example this year.

subba-cultcha.com White has been steadily building a solo career, a career which is compounded by this rather quietly wonderful third album... it's just a lovely way to spend 30 minutes which underlines Whites reputation as one of our most underrated talents.

madmackerel.wordpress.com: Recorded on a six week sojourn to Egypt and suffering from homesickness he turned to his guitar, laptop and an old Sony Handicam. Over the next ten days he wrote songs, snorkelled, and drank and managed to create what would become this release, Yalla... The songs are simple, reflective and very personal and stripped of any trickery, trappings or extras they remain both touching and resonant in a way that is rarely heard these days.

the-fly.co.uk: Thomas White is now liberating the acoustic guitar from the faux-folketeers. At its best, ‘Yalla!’ flourishes with immaculate embellishments (the gentle waves of ‘Diver’s Torch’ and the ethereal echoing of ‘All The Fallen Leaves’) and contemplates escape and young lust over Teenage Fanclub harmonies.

thisisfakediy.co.uk: The lilting chorus of the appositely named ‘I’ve Seen The Sunrise’ is a particularly lovely moment... There is no doubting White’s ability to make beautifully crafted melodic pop and when he is at his best, on the free-wheeling ‘That Heavy Sunshine Sound’ it is an especially joyful and exuberant sound.

incendiarymag.com: It’s a gentle yet spiky record. It’s an album of love, loss and everything in between. It’s a jumbled up mess of emotions and a perfect accompaniment to any Sunday morning, whether you’re just getting in or just waking up... Yalla is a very honest, funny and ultimately human record that, once you let it into your life, you may never want to let it go. It may not have all of the answers but yalla, yalla. Come one, come all. It may somehow help you to make sense of it all and for that alone Mr White, we are very thankful.

whatculture.com: He’s stripped down his sound to just his soothing voice and a guitar... This frank album is a great way to kill half an hour and be whisked away to the desert... Whether it was the Egyptian sun or the feeling of homesickness that brought this on, one thing that’s for sure is that Thomas White should take more holidays.

Q Magazine: With mostly just his own vocals keeping his guitar company, I’ll See Her Again, That Heavy Sunshine Sound, Lungful Of Air and I’ve Seen The Sunrise bristle with hooks and bustle with an energy White has rarely shown since ESP’s earliest days.

wlv-soundcheck.com: King Of The Kingdom has a very tender and folky vocal style over an acoustic guitar line. It is a very personal track which when you start to unravel the lyrics reveal a tender young man. Surely a track to inspire and one which should win him a few new followers!

smartestgiantintown.com: An extended meditation on limbo, moving, melancholy and a little bit of hope. His voice is sweet and the melodies even sweeter but there’s a folk-blues undercurrent throughout that gives it some sharpness. Plug your headphones and listen - you won’t want to stop.

hangout.altsounds.com: From his folk styling to his self-promotion he tends to perform on the quiet side. Just let the music play. The beginning of the album Yalla! however follows a similar mantra to its creator. Take time, the best things are worth waiting for. The greats don’t brag... Thomas White doesn’t need to tell anyone he’s brilliant.

brotherselectric.wordpress.com: (scroll to end of page) Losing himself in his thoughts and the heat has resulted in a cathartic experience. There’s no crypticism here, instead telling it like it is. The listener is most definitely taken on a journey they never expected and left with a very lasting impression.

TW October 2010 (Blog Post) “it sounds stupid/clever, embarrassing/glorious, drunk/lucid, big/small, plaintive/overwrought, dour/ecstatic, tight/shambolic and just about everything else in between”

General Info

  • Genre: Progressive / Psychedelic / Rock

    Location Brighton, South, Un

    Profile Views: 145830

    Last Login: 4/23/2012

    Member Since 1/11/2008

    Website thomaswhiteofficial.tumblr.com

    Record Label Bleeding Heart Recordings

    Type of Label Indie

  • Bio

    Please see the main Profile for Releases & More Information.

  • Members

    Thomas White, Andrew Mitchell, Alex White, Max Erle, Kit Ashton, Damo Waters, Laura Sherwood, Matthew Twaites, Matty Davies, Adam Kidd, Emily Barnett, Heather Urquart, Alice Marra, Claire Brennan, Rhea McAteer, Kayla Bell, Seb Falcone.

  • Influences

    See the main Profile.

  • Sounds Like

    Watch Videos on the Profile.

Influences:


are a waste of time. Best make your own kind of music, as the great Mama Cass once said. The new Field Music album's pretty fucking miaow though... Despite my penchant for jangle and all things harmonious, at the moment my secret love is for sludge of any kind really - RTX, Sunn 0))), Part Chimp. The Dandy Warhols have been, and continue to be, a massive influence on how I build a groove, guitar sounds, vocal production, etc. Likewise the work of Broadcast, Wire, Saint Etienne, Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith and Mission Of Burma has spurred me on in a big, big way. I'll not get into everything else (un-musical) here - there's a huge list of artists, directors, architects, comedians and general people who have influenced me and Al over the years right here: myspace.com/electricsoftparade ...Enjoy!

Aside from this solo stuff, I have recorded and toured with a number of bands...


Live Stuff:


Electric Soft Parade/The Feltro Media/Fixed Ascent (Vocals/Guitar/Drums/Keys, 1997-2009)
Sonatone/Death Trypp Hookers (Drums, 1999-2003)
The Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster (Bass, 2003)
The Pipettes (Percussion, 2003-2004)
Brakes/Hungry Hamilton and The Scars (Guitar, 2003-2009)
Super Furry Animals (Timpani At An Irish Festival Whilst Dressed As A Yeti, 2003)
Restlesslist (Drums/Guitar/Keys, 2003-2009)
The Dirty Cakes (Guitar/Drums, 2006-2009)
Sparks (Guitar, 2006)
British Sea Power (Drums, 2008)
Levellers (Percussion/Piano, 2008)
Clowns (Drums, 2008-2009)
Patrick Wolf (Guitar, 2009)


Studio Stuff:


Electric Soft Parade/The Feltro Media (Vocals/Guitar/Drums/Keys, 1997-2009)
The Blind Cowboys (Drums/Guitar/Vocals, 2003-2004)
Restlesslist (Drums/Guitar/Keys, 2003-2009)
Brakes (Guitar, 2005-2009)
The Dirty Cakes (Drums/Guitar/Keys, 2006-2009)
Cornershop (Drums/Percussion, 2009)
Patrick Wolf (Guitar, 2009-2010)

This has been going on some time...


The Electric Soft Parade


Brakes



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