Having spent the past 15 years fronting various bands in Finland and the UK, Tom's jump into a solo project has been a long time coming. His appeal to a broad age-group is something which truly defines his diverse songwriting style and his fan base is growing with every live show.
Warmly received since his debut in March 2011, Welshman Morgan has already been compared to various well-known artists - James Blunt being the most cringe-worthy addition to a list that includes Green Day, David Bowie and Pink Floyd. Label interest has also been present to an extent, but Finland has so far proved to be a hard sell for an artist writing songs in English.
Tom's music career started by accident back in school. Hooking up with a few friends to form a band called Cambrensis, sixteen-year-old Tom was the non-musical member of the group, adding only his voice to the mix. Forced to learn the guitar by the departure of the band's lead guitarist, Tom taught himself a few chords and started playing. Six months later, having perfected G, C and D, Tom wrote his first song!
Cambrensis split up in 1999 when the boys went their separate ways, but Tom continued writing. Following a move to Finland in 2003 and armed with new songs, Tom formed a band called The Blonde Brunettes. Tom left the The Blonde Brunettes in 2008 to form The Firsts.
Tom's '10-years-in-the-making' tune about his home town 'Tenby' was a major part of the Firsts' set and the band worked with Asko Keränen (22-Pistepirkko) to release the track as a single in 2010. Lyrically, Tenby is Tom's strongest song and The Firsts enjoyed radio-play of the track on Radio Helsinki, YLEX and Radio Pembrokeshire (UK). The Firsts split up in 2011.
Kommentit (30)
Thanks to everyone who voted for me :)
Thanks also for the negative comments from a few of you... at least you felt moved to say something!!
Thank you Wales for all of your support! Cymru am byth!
Please following me on...
Official: www.tomtenby.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/tomtenby
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tomtenby
SoundCloud: www.soundcloud.com/tomtenby
Taas ja taas... nyt vaan itkijä poika.... tylsä. Boring!
Todella tylsäääääääääääääääääääääää musiikkia! Tasapaksu 3.14 min. kestävä rämpytys ilman mitään huippuhetkiä.
Liikaa Wake Me Up When September Ends. Green Dayn biisi. Ja kun laulaja vielä kuulostaa Billie Joe Armstrongilta niin... Sääli. Sillä Tom osaa kyllä laulaa ja pystyy varmaan säveltämään ikiomia biisejä.
@Kriitikko - Thats more like it! Thanks for the reply and point taken :) I have actually been considering vocal coaching for a long time. I know I could improve my technique with some professional help but I never seem to have the spare money to do it.
Anyway, I'm not sure my voice is sooo nasal (Nylon Beat comes to mind when I think of nasal)... I know it's sharp and trebly, but in a sense that's what makes it unique :)
Eipä se tee biisitä parempaa, vaikka laulaja onkin ulkomaalainen. Aika samaa toistavaa kappale ja laulaja laulaa epäpuhtaasti. Ai niin olikos tämä kaveri tutustunut 22-pistepirkkoon...No sitten sen ymmärtää..
Tom, I bet you could make it better with the aid of a professional producer if you got further in the competition. I'm not a producer nor a master of making good songs so I won't give any advice.
I think singing lessons would be a great help to make your voice less nasal. It's because the placing of the voice is wrong and the sound is then in the nose.
As I said earlier, I liked the guitar a lot. The song sounds really British, which is a good thing in Finland.
Good luck and best regards!
@Kriitikko - I'm glad you liked the guitar (harmony) at the beginning, but what did you think of the song as a whole? Ignore the rough arrangement, lack of production and the fact that you don't like my voice :) The key elements of a promising song are harmony and melody, do they work in your opinion? If I get to the next stage I'll be able to work with a producer who can take my basic elements (the raw song, as it right now) and add some spice to make it great!
I really appreciate everyone's comments - it's great that you're all interacting and voicing your opinions - but please try to be constructive in your criticisms ;)
0_o: That's not right, what you said. I have given a comment to every artist and said also many positive things to them whom I liked. I said to Tom Morgan earlier: "Kitara on kivan kuulas alussa ym." I think that's something quite nice.
This guy behind nickname Kriitikko, haven't red anything positive from him to anyone, don't bother to ask him anything, he's a specialist and knows what he's doing
@Kriitikko - Did you listen to the 'more produced' version of the song? Check it out at : http://soundcloud.com/tomtenby/melt
Kitara on kivan kuulas alussa ym. Mutta valitettavasti mitäänsanomaton biisi ei parane paljoa sitä sovittamalla. En myöskään pidä äänen soundista. Sorry!
@Päivi - Thanks very much :)
Ihana, kaunis kappale, tykkäsin! Tomin lauluääni on mieleenjäävä, hyvä. Pidin sekä tästä versiosta että uudemmasta versiosta. Keep going! :)
For all my critics, there's now a more 'produced' version of 'Melt' at my SoundCloud. It still needs work, but if you vote for the track here, I'll get the chance to work with a producer and finalize it ;) Thanks!
Melt (alternative version) - http://soundcloud.com/tomtenby/melt
@Good job! - Thanks ;)
I really think this one of the best tracks here. I know this is just demo, so I understand why it sounds little unfinished, but I really hope you get top 12 and chance to make this even better. It's very nice now !
@stoneworth - Thanks :) It's all my own work/voice... unfortunately, and I didn't realise until I'd entered the song, the end sounds like Coldplay *head in hands* - If I get the chance to record this properly (last 12) and work with a producer, it can be a competitive track. It should be a bit faster and the end needs to change but the basic melody would stay the same... we'll see.
Once another "totally OK" song - once another one I will not vote because of those 2-3 great ones we have here. I'm not exactly sure how many performances will there remain in the next phase; if it's twelve as someone here stated, then I think this one should be included. There were comments about the modest equipment this was produced with, which made me interested in the cool backing vocals in the end. Were there other singers, or was it all Tom's own voice layered ?
I am proud of myself :) I just wanna go out in style, not in 40th place! It can't be the worst song, surely...?
You should be proud of yourself Tom just making this far. Joe Average is just listening the song, not the potential what it could be. But hey, you never know, best of luck in the competition
@Anonyymi - You're kinda right, at a stretch. It doesn't 'start', but did you find yourself imagining the drums coming in at the second verse and then building towards the end? That's my vision, but I don't have the musical/technical skills/equipment to complete the song at home, on my own. If I get to the last 12 (which looks unlikely), the song will hopefully change quite considerably in terms of production... BUT the key thing about any song is melody & harmony. If those key elements don't work, then I understand the critique :) Some of the tunes here lack any kinda of decent melody...
@ Ronnie - Good luck for next time and it's good to hear someone understood the entry requirements in the same way as I did.
Ootin koko ajan että milloin se kappale alkaa, eikä sitä tapahtunut ollenkaan. Ei jatkoon.
And meant that I was embarrased, because I also recorded my song in my "homestudio" and the sounds were quite shitty compared to these songs.. but my song didn't make it in here so next time I have to do better one. And I'll do again in my "homestudio".
I was surprised and an embarresed when I heard those other songs that they sounded so good.. But sound isn't everything. Song is!! :)Good Luck! :)
I appreciate the criticism but bear in mind this is just a home-recorded demo at this stage. I was under the impression that anyone who got further in the competition would have the opportunity to work with a producer to finalize the track... maybe I was wrong to enter such a raw version? :(
Kappale ei valitettavasti lähtenyt lentoon, vaan jäi vain herkäksi ja minimalistiseksi illan viimeiseksi hitaaksi. Sorry Tom, ei pisteitä ainakaan minulta! :(
Keep on with the good work, Tom!
Thanks for visiting!
I hope you enjoyed the song :) If you'd like to be kept up-to-date with news, gigs and releases, please 'like' me at Facebook @ www.facebook.com/tomtenby
Cheers ;)
Pidän erikoisesta äänestä, ainakin erottuu joukosta:) Tarvitsee kyllä lisää lauluharjoitusta..