‘Every song I write will reflect a time in my life or the views I have of the world at that moment.’ 

Following the release of ‘Chapters’, and his premiere performance at Cheltenham Playhouse, I caught up with Tom Moriarty to chat about the process of creating the new album, what is was like to finally to get to play it live – 7 years after writing the tracks, and what makes music so important to him. So, grab your favourite drink and settle in for Listen to Discover’s most in depth interview to date. 

Hi Tom, congratulations on the release of your phenomenal new album, ‘Chapters’. What’s the narrative across the album?
Hey thanks so much. The songs are a collection of stories reflecting different times and life experiences. Some are true, some are fictional, however they all reflect my own story via a thread of love, hardship, fight and redemption.  

Which of the tracks from the album was the most rewarding to record?
It’s always so difficult to pick out certain tracks as being the most rewarding as they all have their own musical stories, but one of the stand out tracks in terms of the journey is “You Are My Island”. It builds via instrumentation and vocals particularly towards the middle 8. The backing vocals by Louise and Melanie Marshall are stunning and powerful. We then have a main reprise of the chorus, however, I felt there was more to say, just not in lyrics. So I said it with a guitar solo inspired by BB King, Clapton and my classical guitar playing. It’s all about touch and dynamics, and communicating the warmth and comfort of love. Then, a soaring overdriven solo influenced by Page and Hendrix communicates feelings such as hardship, struggle, redemption, and victory.  We spent a lot of time on this record and particularly these solos as it was important to get the tone right, but with a combination of the Strat driven through a Mesa Boogie and an Orange amp, and Tristan Longworth’s production, we found what I think is a great sound.  

‘It’s not about being a protest singer, it’s about singing about what’s in front of you, the world you’re seeing.

What led to the you closing the album with ‘Bella’s Garden’?
It just seemed a natural place for that song, but the most interesting thing is how it came about. I was visiting a friend called Bella and sitting in her garden, playing guitar in the sun. My hands just found that chord progression and rhythm and that’s how the song came about. I recorded it at my home studio in a stream of consciousness take, with additional guitar added later. I believe in mindfulness and mindful experiences, and I felt that the instrumental at the end was a time to consider the music you have listened to, a time to reflect and a time to think.

So if someone was watching a recording session, what would they be most surprised by?
I think some might be surprised at the level of detail I go into, but I don’t think that’s just me as an artist. I think many artists go into that level of detail when they are producing a record and performing. Ask any artist if there was anything in a performance that wasn’t right and they would find something – it’s unlikely anyone else would have heard it though.

Are you a music or lyrics first songwriter?
The songs start in my hands, with me sitting down, and discovering a chord progression or a melody that it could be a chorus, a verse, or middle 8. Then I’ll hear vocal lines over it and the words sort out come out of the melody line. Sometimes it’s known as a mumble track where you just sing and the mumbling becomes words. In those words, a theme will come which suggests the rest of the song and then you think about the story, the character, the experiences of that character, their characteristics, and what led them to be there. In ‘One Day’, the main character is a female single mother fighting through difficulty and finding redemption, solace and joy. She has a daughter. When I first saw her, she was alone and the era was in the time of Bronte, but as the story moved on so did the time it was set, moving into more modern settings. It told me that this was a story that existed across time and that found happiness when dancing with her daughter in the sun.  

‘Musicians can be perfectionists. It kind of comes with the territory.’  

Turning to live music, you recently premiered ‘Chapters’ album at Cheltenham Playhouse. What made this the right venue for the gig and what are your reflections on it?
I moved to this part of the country a few years back – having lived abroad – for the beauty of the nearby countryside and not being too far away from the black mountains in Wales where I like to go hiking. I got to know Cheltenham pretty well, and I had heard about this old theatre so I went to visit it and it seemed like the right venue. I felt it was good to play locally and local music scenes are important to the community. I do feel that Cheltenham could have more live music, and it doesn’t really have a specific live rock music venue like many other towns.

For the performance, I spoke with a lot of people about who they knew and got some great recommendations, as a result I was really fortunate to find some awesome musicians to join me. The one person who played on the album who was there was Thibault Guillen who I met when I was living in France. We first started jamming together in 2018 and I always knew that when it came to performing the album, I wanted him to be there. As I’m sure you could hear, everyone else are top London session musicians and singers who have toured with major artists so I was lucky they were available. Joe Glossop on keys was actually only available because he was flying in that morning from another gig, and others just had some time between other concerts! 

‘Don’t be disturbed by a few people making noise or talking when you’re playing your set. Remember, you can’t hear the people listening.’ 

What led to this album sounding so different to your previous ones? 
I’ve always been into rock and got my first electric guitar aged 10. It was Christmas, and I’ll never forget opening a box to see this beautiful Gibson SG copy that looked just like the one that Angus Young played. In fact, one of the first songs I played on that guitar was Back in Black by AD/DC. I’ve played electric in other bands and studied at the Musician’s Institute in LA where I played 8 hours a day. However, for the previous albums electric guitar wasn’t part of the pallet as it wasn’t right for that place. With this album though, it was and I think ‘Chapters’ says more about me as a person because musically there is a broader pallet. In terms of musical influences though, it’s with blues artists like Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, and Hendrix, blues rock and southern rock influences like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Doobie Brothers, and more recently, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots – though these last ones are more in the background.

Did your EP of Bob Dylan songs reveal anything about them that you didn’t realise before?
It made me realise even more what a great songwriter he is. I mean we all know some of the most famous songs, and we know a lot of the words, but when you sing the lyrics they mean more and they mean more to you. That’s the thing about Dylan songs, they become a reflection of the person singing meaning Dylan’s vocal doesn’t define the song, the lyrics do. Of course, he has a sound and he has a certain voice some of his songs are associated with, but the nature of the vocal leaves so much room for others to do their vocal.

So, has that project impact your own songwriting?
I have always been influenced by Bob Dylan, so it’s played a part in my songwriting before that project. One of the main things with Dylan is his observation of the world around us which is exemplified in a song like “The times they are a changin’” and his influences were songwriters who in turn reflected the times. He would have been an influence on many of those songs where I observe the world and sing about it, like the title track of my debut album “Fire In The Doll’s House”. When I released that, there were a few critics that mentioned I was a “protest singer”.  In fact, when I did an interview with ‘The Times’ the journalist asked me if I had a problem with being called a protest singer. I didn’t. I think people all too easily might call that protest singing, but that’s lazy and more to do with the fact that others aren’t doing that. A lot of rap artists will talk about their own lives and what they’re seeing, but they won’t be called protest singers, just rappers. It’s about how culture sees expression.  

‘There is more anger and aggression in the vocals on ‘Chapters’ than I have shown before. It felt good to show that side of myself.’

Given your deep interest in photography, do the creative elements of your life inform each other?
I think there are some themes that run through both such as nature. It is, and always has been important to me., and with photography, I try to reflect the beauty in nature. My philosophy is that the more we see the beauty in nature, the more we will care about it. People are not so connected with nature as they used to be, and as society becomes more distant from nature it tends to value it less. In this society, if something does not have economic value then it is seen as less important so nature and conservation are important to me.  With music, I try to create beauty in the melodies, the words, and the playing. I think in songs like “She’s Like The River”, “One Day”, and “Born Again” there is beauty.  “She’s Like The River” is inspired by the beauty in nature and it’s about my love for the river being the same as my love for a person.  

Which moment has confirmed you how important music is in your life?
Music has been important to me from the day I started playing piano when I was 4 and guitar when I was 6. As a natural born musician, I can’t imagine not playing music. I know there have been times where I have received messages from people saying that my music helped them get through a certain time in their lives and that is important. Other times, people have said they were on a road trip, driving up a mountain, and my album was the soundtrack. I think if music brings people joy and happiness then that means something. Music also unifies people. It’s one of the only things that does, but it’s a concerning time as music is being valued less by society. A lot of people just tend to turn on a playlist so they have less of a relationship with the artists that make the music. An algorithm defines their listening and that music starts catering to the algorithm. More and more “artists” seem to be making algorithmic music that follows a required criteria so it gets automatically placed onto generic playlist. And now of course, AI is being used to do that as well meaning people will hear tracks on their playlists without any idea it’s AI. 

And finally, what would you say to someone who is looking to head out on the road as a musician in 2026?
It’s not so easy to answer these days. If we’re talking about embarking on a music career, then you should have a good idea as to why you’re doing it as there is very little money for original artists. I would say to artists that one important thing is to be authentic. Just be you. And show off. If you’re going to sing, really sing. Push it and show people what you can do. If you’re a guitarist, rip it. Don’t be modest. People want to see you really perform.

Thanks Tom Moriarty for chatting with Listen to Discover
All photos by Listen to Discover