Eight questions with Tom Lowman

(c) Gilbert Yates Photography

1. Who is Tom Lowman and how long have you been making music? (a short introduction)

I’m me! I’m 25, born and raised on the South Coast of England. I’m a fairly nerdy and intense person and I love playing music and meeting people! I started creating music in bands from the age of about 15, but I was singing from pretty much the moment I could speak. I’ve been making solo recordings for quite awhile now, I did my first EP at university aged about 20 so I guess it’s half a decade of solo songs and solo shows now! I’m always dabbling in band projects too and I have the beginnings of some new band stuff in the works as we speak...

2. You recently released a live video for ‘Mine Is A Selfish Dream’ - how has the response been so far?!

The response has been good! I’ve been away from the UK for a few months living and working in Uganda so putting out live videos has been a nice way of keeping in touch with people back home and keeping people updated about what I’m working on musically. I hadn’t done a song on electric guitar in a while and that seems to have gone down well, as have the horrendous guitar faces I pull when I’m playing it!

3. The track is taken from your upcoming ‘Live and Lost’ EP, out on Good Friday. What can you tell us about the EP, any interesting stories about the people who worked on it and how you came to meet one another?

Live & Lost came out of some sessions I recorded with my good friend Jonny Breakwell, who plays in a London band called Chalk. I knew I wanted to put out some live videos whilst I was away from England but listening back to them I was so pleased with the slightly rough and ready way the songs sounded live on the electric that I thought it would be fun to put those versions out as an EP as well! I don’t know how long it’ll be til I can do album number two so it’s a good way of familiarising folks with the new songs before I take them out on tour. the songs are connected thematically in as much as they are all retrospective takes on situations from which I decided to break out, rightly or wrongly! Hence the lost part...

4. You’re launching the EP with a tour kicking off in Southampton on the release day (14th April) - what can we expect from the shows?

The last few months I have been writing constantly, so I have about 15 new songs ready to take out on tour. I’m hoping to trial most of these new songs in the live environment, probably bringing the electric guitar along! I will play a few of my older ones too. As soon as I get back to England I will start rehearsing with some of my old band members again so I hope to get a few other instruments along to some of the gigs, and I am supporting or bringing along some great musicians I know from playing shows as well. Expect intimate gigs with a truckload of new material!

5. The tour finishes up with a hometown Winchester show alongside Harry Pane and Hazey Jane - an incredible line-up if we do say so ourselves… have you seen those guys live before?

I haven’t and I’m extremely excited to do so! Meeting new artists and sharing a stage with them is one of my favourite parts of touring- you get to make new friends and there aren’t many environments that bring people together better than a gig! I’m excited to have Harry and the HJ guys along because my friends come out in force when I play back down south and it’s always good fun to introduce them to some brand new acts. Plans for a fairly scandalous post gig house party are in the works as well...

6. Who is your audience and how do you connect with your fans? Any crazy, fun, exciting stories are very welcome.

My audience is a fairly consistent blend of long-suffering friends and the fans and supporters that you only make through playing shows, putting yourself out there and being friendly! I’ve been doing this long enough now that there are always a few familiar faces at gigs in my favourite cities, which is amazing to see. Whilst I recognise how important it is, I struggle with this new age social media stuff as a means of connecting with fans- endless questions, talking about yourself etc kind of gets me down to be honest. I much prefer a drink and a chat before and after the show, nothing beats face to face interaction! The best shows end up winding down in someone’s kitchen at 4 am, with bad cover songs and slightly off-kilter conversation!

7. What would your dream gig look like? Any particular venues you’re desperate to play or artists you’d love to play alongside?

I would love to support musical icons of mine like Damien Rice or Will Varley, the kind of intimate gigs they thrive on suit my style as well, and getting to meet them properly would be awesome! I love the small local venues I have grown up playing and I’m still dreaming of that massive sold out hometown show, full band, huge mess, stories galore. So I guess I’ll keep working for those!! I also love the living room type shows offered by the guys at Sofar, and I’m always gunning to put another run of Sofar shows together too!

8. What does the rest of 2017 hold for you?

2017 is an interesting year for me! I’ll move back to the UK, hit the ground running with an Easter time tour, then try and get some of these new songs recorded! I’ve got a band project up and running and will work on that too, and then hopefully I’ll be able to take the band and solo stuff out on tour again later in the year. With any luck I will squeeze a few festivals in too, both as a performer and a punter!

Tom Lowman heads out on tour from 14th April to support the release of his new Live And Lost EP. Dates on the poster below! Tickets will be available through Tom's Tigmus profile!