You can find new interview for Music Radar on their website where Tom discuss songwritting, studying music, his support of Poetry For Change and social media.
Tom Odell: “I couldn’t make the music I make today without having learned music theory”
Tom Odell shot to fame in 2012 with the top ten hit Another Love, followed by the chart-topping debut album Long Way Down. Success came instantly for the British singer-songwriter, who initially signed for Lily Allen’s short-lived In The Name Of label. Since then, the numbers have been impressive, with Odell selling 1.8 million albums and 10 million singles, plus enough streams to crush a calculator.
The driving piano pop of Odell’s 2016 album Wrong Crowd held nothing back, cementing his international success. Meanwhile, last year’s Jubilee Road showcased his musical dexterity, with Odell’s superlative playing dovetailing with his trademark emotional vulnerability.
We sat down with to Tom to talk about his inspiration and involvement with Julius Meinl’s Pay With A Poem campaign.
You wrote songs from a young age, but kept them secret. Did you have the self-awareness to realise you still had a lot of learning to do?
“It’s hard to remember but, genuinely, it was because I didn’t do it for anybody else’s pleasure. I found the craft and the challenge of it to be quite satisfactory without having to play it to anyone. It’s a bit like an amateur painter.
“I remember my grandma used to paint flowers and, in the first part of her career, she never used to show anyone. I guess there’s a presumption that when you make art you have to show it to people; maybe you don’t.”
Read the full interview on MusicRadar.com