BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT
In precisely the same way that all highly skilled craftsmen create their quality products, when pop music is done well, it appears to be somewhat effortless. It strikes all the buttons marked ‘positive’ and ‘satisfying’, whilst simultaneously ticking all your inner fun boxes. We’ve recently been in touch with Rod Thomas who kicked off this new project last summer, following a career spent working inside music distribution (PIAS) from 2004, to eventually setting up his own label, Self Raising Records, in 2006. With the likes of Andy Chatterley (Unkle, Kanye West, Kylie) and Boom Bip (Neon Neon) backing him in the studio he’s chipped out an album, which is yet to have a confirmed release date, but is at least in the bag. The below single, released last week, will be it’s first foundation block and now sees Rod deservedly starting to find the edges of the spotlight online. It’s a gorgeous piece of pop, brightly lit and fizzing with confidence. If you had a scale of pop with the dumbed-down, cliche-ridden, Simon Cowell-backed style at one end, then Bright Light Bright Light would be found at the opposite. It’s intellectual, tidy and sophisticated, whilst still being jammed with flowing melodies and catchy choruses. It’s thrumming soundscape drifts around like an echo over the kind of beat and handclap that would suit a dance routine. It’s an addictive tune, pulsing along whilst Rod sings of mending broken-hearted moments. You may have heard his other work, mostly completed under his real name, remixing the likes of James Yuill, The Answering Machine and Ellie Goulding to brilliant effect. The signature synthetic wall of sound seems to be his trademark, filling the room with every tune he touches. You can catch our new favourite Welshman on a brief tour starting tomorrow (30th March), then throughout April, taking in London, Tunbridge Wells, Southampton, Manchester and Cardiff. We may yet ask him to come and play our Recommender party at some point, as a musician working this kind of skilled craft is bound to be a mesmerizing act to watch. (MB)
Find him here: Myspace
Hear him here: BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT – A NEW WORD TO SAY
Hear him here: BRIGHT LIGHT BRIGHT LIGHT – A NEW WORD TO SAY (JAMES YUILL REMIX)