It’s been an age since Rod Thomas made his first gentle and innocent ‘one man and his guitar’ appearance at Warwick University’s Student Union. Since then he has managed to forge himself a career out of continuously evolving and refining his musical talent into a complete package. As a result he’s now an accomplished musician, a hugely credible songwriter and a favourite on the live music circuit, both in London and across the UK.
The latest development in this exciting evolution is the release of new single ‘Same Old Lines’, one of the most upbeat ‘ending a relationship’ songs you will ever hear, full of happy harmonies, hand clapping and catchy lyrics.
Just listening to Rod, however, will never do him justice. This multi-instrumentalist has a class live act, helped along by his creative and confident use of a loop pedal to produce multi-layered and rich sounds. His sense of irony and timing is immaculate and he has a stage presence that has grown, like his musical talent, out of the confidence of years of experience. Whilst Rod of 2002 could melt your heart, 2008’s Rod rocks the room and gives you glimpses of a life philosophy that bravely describes real emotion and also cheers the world.
Refreshingly Different: Rod the Busker
Rod gives the sense of being on an incredible and independent learning journey when it comes to his music. That’s not to say his songs are introverted. In fact, one of the most heartening aspects of his work is his ability to turn a tragic feeling into a winsome combination of upbeat joy and light: a refreshing two fingered salute to the hoards of woeful ballad-writing, pain stricken, self-indulgent wailers on the singer-songwriting scene.
Also refreshing is the man’s utter lack of pretension. He’s one of the London Underground’s most friendly, approachable and well-loved buskers when he’s not playing to crowds at Glastonbury or headlining his own popular gigs.
His sweet and lilting Welsh voice is charming and genuine, and his head isn’t turned by his copious music industry endorsements. At a recent Oxford appearance (supported by Toby Sebastian) Rod was so bowled over that two particular fans had travelled a long way to see him that he gave them free merchandise. This is a man who lives for sheer creative joy, the outright wonderfulness of making and playing music for an appreciative crowd.
An Original Celtic Talent and Pop Disco
Blending a certain Celtic undertone and folksy rhythms with an upbeat poppy disco feel, Rod offers a unique musical combination. He’s not afraid to experiment and has a number of inventive remixes available of his most popular tracks, such as the James Yuill remix of 'Same Old Lines'. ‘As If’ has now been revisited, reinvented and rearranged several times over and yet never loses its beautiful simplicity, or the infectiousness of its melodies.
'Same Old Lines' is the latest in a string of releases including 'Good Coat', 'You Get Goodbyes' and 'Your Love is a Tease', that together are garnering him a considerable following as well as attracting the attention of industry bigwigs. No matter though, Rod has his own music label too, the appropriately named Self Raising Records, in fact you’d be hard pushed to find a more truly independent artist.
So what can we expect next from the Welsh wonder? Certainly more creative experimentation, quirkily brilliant music videos and collaborative remixes. Whatever he does, be sure that Rod is planning the next stage of the evolution, pushing boundaries, and contentedly continuing to be one of the nicest, and most genuine young artists you could ever have the privilege to meet.
Visit Rod’s MySpace page for information about forthcoming releases and gigs.
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