If Misch seems surprised, itโs because his fanbase has developed naturally. He never set out with any grand plan when he began making beats, and uploading roughly three tracks a week to Soundcloud at 16. โ I prefer a more organic approach to making music, but also to building a fanbase,โ he reflects. โI donโt want a big push on my music as I donโt want to be as big as possible.โ And yet, heโs rapidly become one of the U.K.โs most exciting emerging new artists, gaining 1.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify and playing a sold-out tour of the U.K., U.S. and Europe in 2016. Collaborating with a clutch of fellow trailblazers like Novelist, Loyle Carner, and Zak Abel, heโs accumulated a total of 75 million streams across all platforms to date โ and it all started in his bedroom.
Mischโs earliest introduction to music came via his artistic family, including his psychiatrist father, a passionate violinist, who would take him to concerts and the opera as a child. He sang in a choir at school, and picked up the violin himself at the age of four. When one of his older sisters took up guitar and later abandoned it, nine-year-old Misch inherited the instrument, and taught himself to play Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Nirvana songs. Today, he also plays bass, banjo, and a smattering of keys.
It was one of his sisterโs boyfriends who introduced him to the music of J Dilla at 15, and from then on, Misch was hooked. He took up Music Technology at school the following year, and began learning how to create his own โreally chilled out, boom-bap kind of โ90s hip-hopโ on Logic Pro. โWhen I wasnโt at school, Iโd be making beats,โ he says. โIt was just what I did.โ As he began sharing his tunes on Soundcloud, he found the response was overwhelming. โYou put songs out and you build a fanbase โ itโs kind of addictive.โ
A collaboration with his sister Laura, on the jazz-inflected โFollow,โ was a major turning point for both siblings after it was uploaded to influencer YouTube channel Majestic Casual. The track features Laura on sax and Tom on beats and vocals, intertwined to mesmeric effect. โThat was the point where I was like, okay, maybe I could do this as a career,โ Misch reflects. โSuddenly it had 100,000 plays.โ Shortly afterward, Soulection co-founder Joe Kay commented on one of Mischโs productions on Soundcloud, asking the teenage prodigy to guest on his radio show.
Soon afterward, in 2014, Misch contributed to Soulectionโs White Label series, weaving together obscure jazz samples, guitar, and vocals to create the perfect summer listen (including the dreamy fan favourite โThe Journeyโ). His Beat Tape series collected the best of his hip-hop instrumentals, the 5 Day Mischon project featured collaborations with grime MC Novelist and singer-songwriter Zak Abel, and his 2016 Reverie EP brought the official release of Mischโs most sophisticated songs to date. As well as soulful singers Carmody and Jordan Rakei, he struck up a collaborative relationship with fellow south Londoner Loyle Carner, whose mellow bars flow over Mischโs productions like a breeze on a hot day. Both artists form part of the much-hyped scene of singer-songwriters emerging from south east London, including King Krule and Cosmo Pyke. Each has a DIY mindset and a brooding, poetic approach to lyricism that weaves them loosely together. โThereโs definitely a certain sound,โ reflects Misch. โEveryoneโs music in south London is really chilled. It reflects the vibe of this part of London โ itโs laid back.โ
Misch has lived in south London all his life, and he loves it so much that his new single, โSouth of the River,โ is dedicated to it. โI much prefer the general vibe of south London,โ he says. โI love this area, Peckham, Dulwich, Forest Hill. Singing that line โ You should come south of the river โ it just felt really good.โ With its string arrangements mirroring disco synth stabs and a funky bassline, itโs an irresistible bop that nods clearly to Mischโs danceable new direction.
One of the biggest influences on Mischโs sound has long been jazz. With a degree in jazz guitar, Misch is an avid listener of Robert Glasper, Roy Hargrove, Cory Henry, and jazz-influenced songwriters like DโAngelo and Erykah Badu. โItโs kind of a warm feeling, when you hear a certain chord progression,โ he explains.
In the making of his debut album, heโs also been drawing on inspiration from disco, house, and techno, discovered through the portal of producers like Kaytranada and Motor City Drum Ensemble. The euphoric feel of 1970s and โ80s disco (think Earth Wind and Fire or Gwen McCrae), and the thump of nightclubs like Fabric or Corsica, inspired him to bring more movement into his songs. โI want people to dance at my live shows, I want to bring more energy,โ he says. โWhen youโre in a club and you can feel the bass...I want people to have that experience.โ
Mischโs sound is true to its roots โ he still makes his tracks in the same bedroom studio in his parentsโ house, and his mum produces his artwork. (โ Her work is very DIY, just like my music, and feels homespun,โ he explains.) But heโs never afraid to explore new territory. โI think itโs really important to make music that hasnโt been made before,โ he says. โIโm trying to work out what my sound is, and pursuing that.โ Fans might think they know his style, but Misch is a restless experimentalist, keen to spend endless hours honing his craft. One of his favorite new songs is a โBrazilian-soundingโ jam that reflects how deeply he feels about his work. As he puts it: โItโs about how you canโt take away my love for music. Iโll always have that.โ
Festival
Tom Misch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When the sun comes through, why, my dear?
Don't forget when we were younger, no fair, no fair
Well, that was only now and then
Hundred miles, keep going, keep going
Put the pedal on the floor 'til the skies are clear
'Cause it's still here
Seemed too matter at the time
I had tunnel, tunnel vision anyway, it made me blind
When exactly did we stop in on top of the world
And called it just a mountain to climb
All those moments come and go, everything I thought I know
Still don't know what I left behind
'Cause we're still here
We're still here
Still here
Still here
In "Festival," Tom Misch and Yussef Dayes reminisce on their youth and the nostalgia that comes with it. The song takes the listener on a journey with the artists as they reflect on their past and are reminded of the fleeting nature of time. The opening verse describes a feeling of detachment, with Misch asking Dayes why he doesn't feel warm even in the sunshine. This can be interpreted to represent a feeling of isolation or detachment from the happiness around them. They then reference their younger days, implying that this feeling may be rooted in their experiences from long ago.
The chorus, "We're still here," shows that despite nostalgia, the artists have moved forward and grown from their past experiences. They encourage the listener to continue moving forward as well, even when it seems difficult. The second verse is more introspective, with Misch saying that he had tunnel vision and was blinded to the present moment by his own aspirations. The line "When exactly did we stop in on top of the world and called it just a mountain to climb" speaks to the idea that as we grow older, we lose our sense of wonder and excitement for things that may have once seemed insurmountable.
Overall, "Festival" is a beautiful and introspective song that encourages the listener to remember their past while also moving forward and not getting caught up in nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
You were saying that you don't feel warm
You mentioned that you do not feel warm
When the sun comes through, why, my dear?
When the sun appears, why don't you feel its warmth, my dear?
Don't forget when we were younger, no fair, no fair
Remember when we were younger? It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair
Well, that was only now and then
However, those moments only occurred occasionally
Hundred miles, keep going, keep going
Let's keep going, despite the fact that we have already traveled a hundred miles
Put the pedal on the floor 'til the skies are clear
Drive as fast as possible until the sky is clear
'Cause it's still here
Because it's all still here.
We're still here
We're still here.
Seemed too matter at the time
At that time, it seemed to be very important
I had tunnel, tunnel vision anyway, it made me blind
I had tunnel vision, which blinded me
When exactly did we stop in on top of the world
When did we stop feeling on top of the world?
And called it just a mountain to climb
And began calling it just a mountain to climb
All those moments come and go, everything I thought I know
All of those moments come and go. Everything I thought I knew
Still don't know what I left behind
I still do not know what I left behind
'Cause we're still here
Because we're still here
We're still here
We're still here
Still here
Still here
Still here
Still here
Lyrics ยฉ Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Francis White, Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Raisinsetmelodies
Best song of the album to me !
@templarexemplar35
WE NEED AN ALFA MIST + TOM MISCH + YUSSEF DAYES COLLAB ALBUM ASAP
@elentendesigner3469
I'll personally put myself under lockdown again for that album
@robbylove5079
shit.
@juanpablovp0
ALFA MIST + MISCH + DAYESS + BAS + FKJ
@p00ky81
Mist+dayes+wu+tom
@tyroneroberts1234
Nothing like driving sunroof open and music like this. Transition in the beginning whew
@rynknez
Fantastic drumming. Surreal experience overall. Wow
@MadmaxMusic93
Tom misch an a Anderson Pak collab would be dope!
@Mr_Gray_1995
โSeemed too narrow, at the time, I had tunnel, tunnel vision, anyway it made me blind.โ
Yeah, I felt that Tom. Weโve all been there before