On the radar: Thomas Western

Published on 16/11/2009 15:22

Play: Plough »

Some acts toil for years to make their mark. Others never manage to succeed no matter how hard they try. To their eternal frustration, it has taken singer-songwriter Thomas Western less than a month to become the talk of the town.

Having moved from Derbyshire to Edinburgh for a spot of postgraduate study and musical adventure, Western's first month was a whirlwind of activity. He got his first local radio appearance, had his EP in several shops, featured on some prominent blogs and managed to become 'musician in residence' at the capital's much loved Bowery venue.

Not all of this was part of a master plan, as Western happily admits. On his serendipitous Bowery meeting after a Jesus H Foxx gig, he says: "I met Ruth who runs the place, and half-jokingly asked if I could play every week. She said yes".

As part of the link-up, Western will also produce an album - another unique offshoot of the collaboration between performer and venue. "The plan is for me to write three songs each week to play, then to record and release them as an album at the end of it all", he enthuses.

Sourced from the Under the Radar blog

After starting out as a drummer, Western has moved on to solo work, although he admits he was "too scared for a long time". But he says that this also acts as a spur: "In playing by myself I am totally accountable to myself and if the music isn't good enough, then it is my responsibility to work harder at it".

Western's musical style is, at times, similar to the 1960s San Francisco folk scene epitomised by Tim Buckley - his vocal style is also not dissimilar, singing in octaves other artists would never dare attempt.

Citing his influences as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Will Oldham and Jeff Buckley, it's easy to see where the inspiration has come from in tracks like 'Plough' and 'Your Front Door', the latter featuring on Western's wonderfully homemade and packaged EP 'Quite Early One Morning'. There is also something charming and old fashioned about finding a CD in a shop which appears to be made from paper and UHU glue, potentially falling apart at any moment.

Western plans to release a solo album in addition to his Bowery sessions album. Beyond that, he doesn't rule out playing as part of a band again. "There is a joy to playing with other people that is lacking from solo performance, so I would really love to get an ensemble together at some point," he says. "It is dependent on meeting the right people though."

Given how much Thomas Western has achieved in the short time he has lived in Scotland, by this time next year he could be running the country, although surely he's too honest for that.

Thomas Western's EP is available from emusic and iTunes, as well as Avalanche in Edinburgh. His Bowery album will be released later this year and his first full solo album is due to be recorded in early 2010.