The Artist Explains: T. Thomason - 'Birdsong'

Canadian singer-songwriter T. Thomason speaks to us about his emotional visuals for intimate single, ‘Birdsong’ that sees him shave his hair to represent the transformation he's made as a musician and as an individual.
‘Birdsong’ is taken from Thomason’s self-titled debut album, out now and available on all popular streaming platforms, here.

Where was the video for 'Birdsong' filmed?
The video was filmed in Stouffville, Ontario. We found the property through Katherine Kwan (who shot the video), it's actually the family farm of a good friend of hers. We had an amazing time hanging out there for a couple days, and Nessa (who lives there) was so good to us. She let us crash, fed us, showed us around the area where we explored waterfalls and trails and the foundations of old houses. It was probably my favourite weekend of the summer.

How does the video connect with the song?
I think the head shaving in the video really speaks to the theme of transformation in the song. I was very excited to pair the two.

Do you have any behind the scenes stories you could share with us?
The process of making the video was intense. Britt (the director) and Kat (the videographer) did rough test shots of the concept weeks before we actually shot. Then we went up to Stouffville for two days where we set up the backdrop and spent a day running the sequence because it was pretty much one take. I had to shave my head for the first time ever - without a mirror, and lip synch to a sped up version of the track because we put the video into slow motion. It was intense, but so much fun. We had a big dinner, went swimming, drove around in a convertible, and worked our butts off. I think my favourite BTS story was going to explore some old abandoned houses and there was a fence which I touched and fooled the crew into thinking I got electrocuted.... Britt was like "NOOO WE HAVE TO FINISH THIS VIDEO FIRST" hahaha.

Can you tell us about the ideas/ themes/ imagery used?
I'd been wanting to shave my head for a long time. At one point, a stylist I was working with told me that if I did that, I'd have to build it into something I was releasing and make the look a whole thing. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense to pair that desire with ‘Birdsong’. I'm so glad that the two could come together in the end. It just felt right.

What do you hope people take away from watching the video?
To be honest, I wasn't thinking much about other people when planning out this video. It was a really cathartic experience, and so much fun in the moment with Britt and Kat and Mat and Nessa. That's what I was focused on. I think we were all really pleased with what we got, we worked so hard on it, and that was the focus for me. I hope that maybe people feel the joy that went into and came out of making this video. It truly was my favourite ever to shoot.

Interview by Karla Harris