Tom Rowley has spent years in the orbit of one of Britain’s biggest bands. As a longstanding collaborator with Arctic Monkeys, and a former member of Sheffield outfit Milburn, his name has been well known to those paying close attention for a long time.
Now, with the release of his debut solo album Moses and the Drones, he is stepping into the foreground on his own terms. The record was cut over a week in Los Angeles with producer and drummer Loren Humphrey, recorded straight to tape. Among its eleven tracks is ‘Something Strange’, co-produced by Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner – a detail that speaks to the depth of a creative relationship built over many years in the studio together.
Rowley spoke to whynow shortly after the album’s release.
The album has just come out. How has the first weekend felt?
It’s been great, kinda just processing it now actually. We had a gig on Saturday and a celebration yesterday, so yeah – it’s just a good feeling that it’s out there and people can listen to it.
You’ve been sitting on this material for a while. What finally made you commit to releasing it?
I’ve toyed with the idea for years and never just had the balls to go and do it. I felt like this time I believed in the songs a lot more than before, and they were too good to waste again. I really wanted other people to hear them this time.
The album was recorded to tape with Loren Humphrey, who also worked on the last two Arctic Monkeys records. Was that a deliberate continuation of that approach?
The last two Monkeys albums were done like that and Loren worked on those. It were like — yeah, this sound obviously works, there’s something about it. Loren is great at doing that, so it was a joint thing.
Alex Turner co-produced ‘Something Strange’. How did that come about – and what was it like being on the other side of the creative process from him?
When we were doing the backing tracks in LA, we did a version of ‘Something Strange’ where I sang on it. He heard it and imagined it going in a different direction – more stripped back. So he asked if we wanted to try that, which we did, and I feel like it definitely benefitted from it.
I didn’t think of it at the time, because you’re in the studio with someone you’ve been in the studio with quite a bit – it’s just working on songs and getting ideas down. I suppose the difference was that normally I’m working on his songs, and this time he was working on mine. But I didn’t really consider that at the time. It was just like we’re working on our song. We had a couple of days in New York doing it and it turned out great.
How did you settle on the sound and shape of the album?
Before, I’d get about ten or eleven songs together, think “this could be an album”, and then bin them all and start again. This time the key was ‘Something Strange’ and then ‘Vegas in the Snow’ – they have different subject matters, but both felt right. ‘Something Strange’ is quite personal; ‘Vegas in the Snow’ can be silly at times. So every time I sat down at the piano or guitar I had those two as reference points, and kept going until I reached eleven songs.
You’ve known Jamie Cook since school, and Louis Carnell – who plays in your live band – is the godfather to one of your kids. How much does that web of long-term relationships shape how you work?
I’ve known Louis since I was about seven. We were in Milburn together and having him there is like having your brother in the band – it’s great. With Jamie, we’re from the same side of the city, went to gigs together, started bands around the same time. You just gravitate towards people with the same interests.
You’ve reportedly got around ten albums’ worth of material in the vault. Now the seal is broken, what comes next?
I think it will be completely new stuff. The older songs were written at a different time – you might go back and pick an idea out of one of them, but the focus is definitely on moving forward from here.
And you’re about to go out on tour supporting Inhaler. How did that come together?
They just asked us to do a few gigs with them in Europe. So we said yes – looking forward to it.
Moses and the Drones is out now.
