Inspired #178 - Thom Southern
Thom Southern talks us through the inspirations behind his music and his hypnotic new single ‘Perfect Someone’.
Who are your top three musical inspirations?
Nick Drake: Nick Drake’s songs are something I will never get tired of. I can listen to him any time of the day and whatever mood I’m in. I feel as if there is a sense of detachment with his writing, being more of an observer than participating in the story he’s telling or like he’s viewing his own life from a distance. He’s really inspired me to write my lyrics like this a lot of the time. The guitar tunings he uses have been a huge influence on me for years.
The Smashing Pumpkins: My friend showed me Bullet With Butterfly Wings when I was 15 and it completely changed my life. I think Siamese Dream is definitely one of the greatest albums of all time too. The way Billy Corgan projects his voice and delivers the emotion of his lyrics is awesome. Especially on his more stripped back songs like Luna and Spaceboy.
Beck: Each album of Beck’s has had a moment of its own in my life. When I first heard Loser it completely blew my mind. The mixture of blues and hip hop is incredible. Not only that but even on Mellow Gold you have no idea what type of song is coming next. The way he blends genres together is a massive influence on me. I’ve never really liked sticking to one type of style so having Beck’s music in my life has reassured me along the way. He’s a total genius to be able to go from albums like Odelay to Sea Change and back to Modern Guilt. He’ll always remain one of my biggest inspirations.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
So many movies inspire me so it’s hard to choose one… Donnie Darko has it all really. The story, the script, the class acting and the soundtrack is fantastic. If I had to pick one off the top of my head it would be that.
What city do you find the most inspiring?
For my music I’ve mostly written all my songs in Belfast at home or in Liverpool when I lived there. I think having a base somewhere inspires me musically. Personally I really need to be grounded to be able to write. Although when it comes to recording I’ve been to some amazing studios all over the place and when you lock yourself away in there with a band it’s amazing. I’ve actually been to Spain a bit this year and took my guitar and recording equipment to see what it would be like, literally couldn’t get any work done.. it’s too nice out there. Don’t know how the spanish get anything done.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
I couldn’t really pick one person really there are so many movie directors, actors, musicians, painters, poets... I think so far I’ve learnt in life your biggest inspiration is usually your family. Mine would be my mum and my sister. I also think you have to be your own inspiration in life.
What were your inspirations when writing your new track?
When I first wrote Perfect Someone on my acoustic a couple of years ago I was listening to The La’s and Echo & The Bunnymen loads. I really like how Lee Mavers goes from his deep voice to high falsetto notes in the chorus of There She Goes. I also love how Ian McCulloch from The Bunnymen writes. Like at the end of Nothing Ever Lasts Forever he starts repeating the lyrics “All the shadows and the pain are coming to you”. And in the chorus he repeats “Nothing ever lasts forever”. There’s something so great about repeating lyrics like that with simple melody changes. From a production point of view I’ve been obsessed with My Bloody Valentine the last few years. That mixed with The Smashing Pumpkin tune 1979. I always wanted to do an explosive pop tune using an 808 drum machine too, glad it finally happened.
How would you like to inspire people?
Just keep on truckin’