Coffee House Session: Tom Walker

Coffee House Sessions is back and roaming the country, with a regular Sunday afternoon slot at Camden Market.

First up on the weekly bill is 20-something Tom Walker. Signed to Sony’s Relentless Records – which makes him a label-mate of Artful Dodger, So Solid Crew and Craig David – Tom blends a soulful, poppy approach to songwriting, with hip hop beats and a distinctive raspy vocal. He released his latest cut Play Dead three days ago and if praise from Clash, Music Week and Earmilk are anything to go by (they are) then this Manchester lad is one to watch.

Find out a little bit more about him and press play on his latest track.

How did you get into music?  

My dad loves music, he’s who got me into it – he used to take me to a lot of gigs growing up, anything he was going to, he’d take me with him. When I was 9 he took me to see ACDC in Paris, Foo Fighters, Muse…
His taste is super diverse, which I think has rubbed off on me. In the house, he’s got a massive stack of CDs covering four shelves – there’s Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Deadmau5, Underworld – and speakers in every room. Music was an everyday thing in our house.

How has your life changed since being signed?

I used to work for a photobooth company for corporate events and I was doing music in my own time, so I’d say quite a bit. Now I’m making music everyday, I’m on the road quite a bit and going to gigs – it’s the dream!

We hear you were living in a house share with 12 other musicians.

It was amazing, I was living with other singers and producers, we just made music all the time – if you weren’t making music, you’d feel lazy. Downstairs we had a studio, upstairs there was a control room, a band set up all the time with amps, guitars, basses, a drum kit, a live PA set-up – there was everything you’d need to walk into a room and just have a casual jam. It was super inspiring, but there was never any peace and quiet.

How does it feel being on the same label as Pro Green and Joey Bada$$? 

Pretty damn good! I wasn’t expecting to get signed when I did. The label is wicked, they let me do my own thing and are always very supportive – it’s a sick label to be on.

Most listened to song on your iTunes right now?

I’ve had ‘Get To Know Ya (For All We Know)’ by NAO on repeat for the last week.

See Tom Walker live at KERB Camden Market on Sunday 9 October. For more info and to attend the event, click here.