Interviews

Tell us a bit about the Tommy Awards project. Who is involved and when/how did it get started ?

Tommy is a free form musical experiment dedicated to exploring the magical moment of creativity and the emotional impact of music on the mind. We are three persons at its core Jon, Alex and Jonas, but the band could include anyone at any given time. The three of us have been friends since forever and music in various forms has always been at the center of our relationship, whether it was playing, listening, organizing clubs and parties or whatever.

How do you describe the music scene where you live ?

Don't really know. We don't feel connected to any kind of scene. We have our own little bubble consisting of different bands and projects connected to the Tommy experience like Farbror Resande Mac, Lake Placid, Hypnobirds, Bandhagens Musikförening etc, that is it.

What are some of your biggest musical influences or inspirations for the project ?

Everything in life is an inspiration and the creative process is just a continuation of the feelings and state of mind that you bring with you to the studio on that specific day. There are no goals, just an endless journey of ever changing encounters and ideas. With that said, there are of course some sources of inspirations that are almost always present, like monotone kraut grooves, black ark dub experiments, psychedelic feedback drone rock, paradise garage disco vibes and the wonderful hypnotic elements of techno, to name a few.

What is the recording / collaboration process for the group ?

We meet up at the studio, someone's cottage or any other fitting place, explore the inspirations on that particular day and just jam it out and see where it takes us. We don't spend time rehearsing etc. To us the best and most important moment is always the present.

Does Tommy Awards perform live or any plans for that ?

There was a time when we really couldn't see how we would be able to bring the Tommy experience to a live setup without having to compromise on its most sacred core which is the meeting and the moment of creation, in other words we would have to be more like a traditional band and start rehearsing, that's all utterly uninspiring to us and quite the opposite of what we strive for, which is to just keep exploring the sonic universe. However, nowadays we are less dogmatic and have found a setup that is both inspirational and evolutionary. So yes we play live, however we are fairly picky so you won't see us on a grand tour anytime soon.

The first release we heard was back in 2012, how has the group or sound changed since then ?

In a way nothing has changed, we are still on our endless musical journey, trying to capture the moment, not looking back or forward. A lot of our gear was stolen a few years ago, and in hindsight, that was a sort of catharsis that evolved the sound. Starting to play live has also expanded our recording process with miking up amps etc, revitalizing the whole experience in a dionysian way, hypnotic and meditative.

Your new album "Auspicious Beginnings" how did the tracks come about for this release?

These last few years we pretty much lost interest in releasing music as a traditional and optimized product, at least in terms of what you can and cannot do. But then one day we saw a four year old message from you guys on Soundcloud, one thing led to another and here we are. All the tracks on the album were recorded within the last year or so. The centerpiece of the album is obviously the title track, which is sort of an epos of the Tommy spirit that connects past and present.

Check out the latest release from Tommy Awards

Join us on the official release day to stream the new "Auspicious Beginnings" album.

Party starts January 12, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST - RSVP here