Taking things down a notch or two this afternoon, London-based Tom Hickox is giving away a track from his ‘War, Peace And Diplomacy’ album called ‘The Angel Of The North’. A luxuriantly resonant song with shivering Spanish guitars and swaying strings, Tom’s trembling baritone is centrepiece as it tugs at the heartstrings and takes you on a journey to somewhere else. Listen to the track and download it here:
Comparisons have been made to such masters as: Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits and Randy Newman, but all agree that Tom’s particular take on the art of the singer-songwriter is unique. Tom’s late father Richard Hickox CBE was one of Britain’s most renowned conductors: a Grammy award winner with over 280 recordings to his credit, and his mother was an orchestral timpanist. Tom, however, never had formal lessons; “I knew as a kid I couldn’t possibly compete with my dad, and I didn’t want to. My parents let me doodle on instruments around the house. Really, I am an untrained musician but I have a lot in my guts and in my ears that I picked up by osmosis.”
During his teenage years Tom sought solace in literature reading authors like: Beckett, Pinter and Orton. As his passion for literature became more prevalent, he joined a school rock band and began writing his own music. “I wrote my first song using a poem in the back of the Big Issue and I got a lot of joy out of that.” After studying English at Manchester University, Tom went on to do an M.A in Sound Recording and self-released a DIY album, ‘Fear In A Handful of Dust’, mixing strings and electronica that won him many admirers. He now has a publishing deal with Warner Chappell, and having completed debut album, ‘War, Peace And Diplomacy’, news of its release is to be confirmed.
