Meet Thomas Porter, who makes summer-y lo-fi pop with his debut single, Tired

"I’ve been learning saxophone since I was in year two at school... I don’t play it much anymore but I went through all of the classical training. So, I am a classically trained saxophone player and it gave me that base level of classical training." 

In the space of just a sentence or two, it's become clear that Thomas Porter is someone with a tonne of talent inside of them, and now, it's finally getting shown to the world. The Sydney-based musician is an exciting new entrance to Australian indie-pop, bringing together a long-standing history of musicianship - in both production and performance - with a list of influences and inspirations that span genres and time periods beyond the norm; all of which brought to life with the charm and energy of Thomas Porter, a newcomer worth introducing yourself to.

This week welcomed the arrival of his debut single Tired, and it's a brilliant introduction that seems to encapsulate the richness of Thomas Porter's sound, and how it's brought to life with the intimacy - yet fun - that seems to define the musician's work. It's a bright-eyed and sun-soaked entrance, with dancing ukelele sitting amongst a relatively lo-fi and subtle production that adds a further layer to the mix, and works perfectly amongst Thomas' hook-y, pop vocal. There's something whimsical and delightful about it all - the heavy influence from The Beach Boys makes sense - and Thomas brings it to life in a way that feels really new, almost like unexplored ground.

Then, there's the lyricism hiding amongst the low-strung vocal, which showcases that aforementioned sense of intimacy at perhaps its most potent level on Tired. "For me, this feels like pop music for people that don’t necessarily want to admit they love pop music in a lot of ways," he says on the single. "I’m hoping that people see the honesty of it. That they see real rawness. Authenticity is so hard to come by now. I’m a lot of things and I’m not a lot of things, but I realize that all I have is this."

There's not too much else to say right now, aside from that Thomas Porter is an artist well worth introducing yourself to, and that Tired is a brilliant introductory debut that gets us damn excited for what's to come.

You can take a listen to the song below, and underneath that, introduce yourself to Thomas Porter, and what he has in store:

Tell us about yourself?

I’m not sure there is much to tell... I’m Thomas and I make music in my bedroom!

What’s your music like? What does it sound like? What kind of themes does it usually cover? 

My music is musical paper mache! It takes bits and bobs from all over the internet and tries to glue them together into something completely new. Usually, it sounds pretty upbeat and happy, but I love to contrast happy lyrics with stuff that is a bit left of centre and very concise to what I want to say!

What are your production and writing processes usually like? 

It usually starts with a feeling or a concept. I’ll lay down some drums and record in some vocal and instrumental layers, and build out from there. Everything is very spontaneous at first and is just me following my songwriting and production instincts. Most of the hooks I write are meaningless when I come up with them and then the meaning of it all is worked in once I find something that sounds and feels really good. There’s really not tons of forethought for it all at first, it’s just following an instinct! 

Can you tell us about your new single, Tired? 

Tired is the perfect embodiment of following that feeling. I find when people use Ukulele in songs it is often super gentle, which is beautiful, but I wanted to do something with a uke that is big and in your face. It’s a super manic song to me...the thoughts in it are cohesive, but also all over the place. I wish I could better explain what I mean by that, but the lyrics + production + the instrumentation of it are just all over the place! That said, as a song I love it so much. It feels simple yet in your face, and more than anything, super honest and not hiding behind layers of metaphor. I’m just out here saying what I want to say shamelessly.

What do you have planned for 2021?

I have a ton of stuff I’m so so so excited for. Covid season has been so hard for so many people, and I am so blessed that as a bedroom producer, I have been able to retreat into my room and just work on my craft. I have so many songs. Just so many songs. I am so excited for everyone to hear them and for the world to hear what my life sounds like in my head. I am hoping to release a LOT of music.

What do you want people to take away from your work? 

I want people to feel great! If people can walk away with a feeling, a smile, or anything, that’s all that we can really hope for. I make all this stuff to make myself happy and to have fun myself, and all I can hope is that other people feel even a fraction of what I feel.

Where can we find more of your music?

I don’t have much more music out yet, but I post very dumb music and covers on my tik tok very often. Otherwise, follow my Spotify to find hear more of me in the future <3

Follow Thomas Porter: INSTAGRAM