‘Written in your love’ - Thom Rodriguez
A lot of great art has been made as an act of therapy. Using art to process events in an artist’s life can make for beautiful and genuine outpourings that would never be captured without going through something heart-wrenching. Singer/songwriter Thom Rodriguez’ latest single is a tribute to a fallen family friend, in ‘Shida’.
There’s an interesting sound to the music of Thom Rodriguez, no doubt influenced by a childhood spent in South-East Asia, whilst his life is currently spent in Bristol. It was the English countryside where his forthcoming debut EP was recorded, ‘These Are Just Songs’. Thom’s first single and music video, ‘Peppermint Roses’ was released in late February.
The sound of Peppermint Roses fits together like a puzzle. All of these arrangement and production choices were simply meant to be, I wouldn’t want to add or take anything away. At first glance it appears to be more straightforward than it ends up being, but look closer and you hear all the little nuances that make Peppermint Roses something special.
Beginning with strumming acoustic guitars, sparse bass guitar and a simple beat from drummer Callum Green, I already love how warm all the instruments sound together. Rodriguez’ vocal is in multiple layers and gentle harmonies, he sings with ease even when the melody steps up. The added percussion elements are something to look out for, which sound software based, though I’m inclined to believe they’re as real as the other instruments in this track. Piano chords are kept simple, if they were too much they’d turn Peppermint Roses murky. It’s when those strings come in and the drums drop out, that’s production majick. Much of this can be attributed to Philip Van Den Brandeler who played many of the instruments, plus recorded and mixed the EP.
The music video for Peppermint Roses doesn’t give too much away, but it’s full of character. Shot on old film in black and white, it’s unclear how much of the look of this video is in the post-production. Hints of the locations used in the film can be seen in sprinklings on Thom Rodriguez’ Instagram account, an interesting alternative to the presentation of this film.
With the production on ‘Shida’, Thom Rodriguez uses a simpler recording set-up in a converted chapel. Dedicated to his friend Shida, there are beautiful lines in this song from start to finish; ‘it is written in the Bible, it is written in your love, so my feet fall to the ground, and this numbness fills you up inside.’
Shida begins with acoustic guitar, where the vocals and drums soon follow. The snare sound is interesting here, like something is covering the skin, muting it slightly. There are great keyboard textures too, including a synth that dances around the track later on, and a small amount of electric guitar which I would’ve liked to have heard more of. Thom Rodriguez sings with passion on Shida, I think it would be an intriguing exercise to see these songs performed live once restrictions start to ease. The good thing about these tracks is that they’d work both as sole acoustic numbers, and also with the full band. I can’t wait to hear the full EP once it’s released.
1. Your latest single 'Shida' deals with some heavy subject matter, how long ago was this song written?
The initial idea I had was just the intro guitar riff. That was sitting around since 2015 before anything came of it. Then when I found out Shida had passed away, the song wrote itself. I guess it was a way for me to process it all. She was such a special person.
2. This song was recorded in a converted chapel, what was that experience like?
It was amazing! My girlfriend found this place and we ended up spending a year there. I’ve always been tinkering away at ideas/melodies but living in that space really did something for me. Songs just came out and they felt really good. Maybe it was the remoteness & stillness of it all. It’s hard to find that nowadays.
3. I saw on your Instagram about programming drums in the studio, are the drums on 'Peppermint Roses' and 'Shida' live? They sound great!
Thanks so much! Yeah they are all live. ‘Peppermint Roses’ was recorded at a friend’s studio, played by Callum Green. ‘Shida’ was recorded at the Chapel. I played drums and messed around with layering some bits on top. It’s all very experimental, we ended up pitch shifting the whole drum take and it just worked for this track. We’d try loads of things until our ears were happy basically.
4. The artwork for 'Peppermint Roses' is gorgeous, where was that taken?
It was taken at Croyde Bay in Devon. A bunch of us every summer would go camping/surfing around there. If you ever get a chance to go, you have to visit The Stores! Best coffee & treats.
5. I love the video for 'Peppermint Roses', who put that together?
Thanks so much! It was filmed by Charlotte Clark and edited by Marcus Rexford. I’m really into film photography and just got obsessed with the aesthetic of film. I wanted to make a video using 8mm film so I found an old video camera and some film from the 60’s on eBay. I honestly had no idea if it would work or not but it did (kinda)
6. Is a video forthcoming for 'Shida'?
There is indeed. With lockdown, it was a little challenging as there isn’t much to work with in terms of location so I had to get creative. It was fun and I was definitely out of my comfort zone for it but I’m happy with the result.
7. You're putting this music out on Quatre Femmes Records, how did you link up with those guys?
Yeah it’s all been an in-house kinda thing which works perfectly for all of us. My girlfriend runs the label along with her sisters and family so it’s been nice to work that way.
8. Going further back, what artists inspired you to start writing your own music?
There’s so many, but if I had to choose a few (in no particular order) it would be, Ben Howard, Bon Iver, Elliott Smith, Leif Vollebekk & Big Thief. I just love the honesty in their music.
9. It seems we could be on the path out of the pandemic, what are you most looking forward to once restrictions are lifted?
Seeing friends & family again. This has been a long road for a lot of us and I think we all just want to be with the people we love most. Definitely will cherish the little things in life now that we haven’t had them for such a long time. Maybe a show too? Never done one before so could be fun.
10. You have an EP coming out in 2021, what more can you tell us about that?
There’s a couple more songs coming out. I’m working on getting some more content up too so there may be a few videos along the way. Excited to share it with everyone.
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The music of Thom Rodriguez can be found on all usual streaming and download platforms.
Follow Thom Rodriguez on Instagram and Facebook @thomrodriguezmusic and on Twitter @thomrodriguezuk.
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