I sat down with Tom aka Novelty Island. He forgot to bring the biscuits but I managed to get hold of his favourites last minute, Tunnock Caramel flavour wafers!
This is what he had to say.
Hello Tom, how are you?
Hey Del, I’m good ta…
Congratulations on the release of the Taped Over EP, how does it feel?
Thank you! well I started it eight years ago, so it’s a relief… I’ve never released anything that links into one piece and hope people like it (why not listen to it here)…
It’s an 8-track project with several cool influences, what was the easiest and hardest part of recording it?
Figuring out how to record and mix a linking suite of tracks was tricky. It didn’t seem practical to track 20 minutes of drum machines, 20 minutes off bass on top and so on… so I recorded each song separately like normal and glued them together in the final bounce. Something like the Mellotron string segue between Word Art and Sage Guitars; the final chord just hangs for ages in the original Word Art session, so I could drop Sage Guitars on top. The easiest part was knowing how it should sound as I had a specific brief: music about childhood with Boards Of Canada-inspired sounds in a Brian Wilson-SMiLE structure. I started the whole project one night in 2016 by making a list of titles. Then I composed from that.
What’s your favourite track on it?
I like Hotspur – it’s got a Harry Potter PC game bit, school disco bit, me and Frankie doing a pretty convincing assembly hall choir (if I do say so myself) and lyrics about stick insects and wheel-in televisions…
It’s a companion piece to your album Wallsend Weekend Television, were there any changes in approach to recording this?
It was in the same batch of songs that formed Wallsend Weekend Television and I briefly tried it as the second side of that album. The medley structure of Taped Over makes it a more headphones-on dreamy listen – not made for playlists! I also composed my own VHS idents, computer game music and TV soundtracks as little Easter eggs to sample throughout.
You’re an artist from Liverpool, how did it all begin for you?
Well I was born in Liverpool but moved to Newcastle (sometimes Wallsend…) when I was very little. I loved Thomas the Tank Engine and was told the narrator had a prior career as a drummer and it all went from there… I learned a lot of instruments and how to record on a little digital multitrack. I was in jazz ensembles where I learnt a load of chords but I always wanted my own band. I never met anyone to play with so my music developed in isolation. When I was 16 I moved back to Liverpool and went to art college so I could meet a band. I didn’t. So I started gigging solo and toured supporting Glenn Tilbrook and Squeeze. Then Deltasonic released an EP that I made on my phone. I had a stage name that I hated saying and got fed up so I moved to Abbey Road and Novelty Island was born…
What did you listen to growing up?
I Beatled more than anyone could Beatle.
You studied and recorded at Abbey Road, what was that like?
I felt like I needed to record everything I’d ever written while I was there and gave it a good shot. Everyone who goes there is amazed so it’s hard to articulate a unique sense of that but it was just the greatest 18 months. I made my music in the same rooms where my favourite things in life were made, through some of the same instruments, mics and desks. I met some of my favourite people and we lived next door at 1A Abbey Road with the crossing right outside. It was like being granted some mad simulation that just blew up in March 2020 and I was very sad to leave.
What surprised you the most being in that space?
I probably ruined every surprise for myself by reading and watching so much about it as a kid. I suppose I’m pretty surprised that I had Christmas dinner in the same room Sgt Pepper was recorded in…
Being a Liverpudlian and recording at Abbey Road, it has to be asked… Who’s your favourite Beatle and your favourite Beatles song?
Paul forever and impossible to answer…
What are you listening to at the moment?
Grandaddy 👴, Broadcast 📺, Blur ❤️, Tusk 🐘 and Rhapsody In Blue 🌊
What are you looking forward to doing most in 2024?
I’m starting work soon on some new sounds in new ways, so that’s exciting…
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Photo by Frankie Tibbles
