Tommy Gold
The prince of West London, in his element.
Tommy Gold has been relentlessly pumping energy into his work over the past four years. Now signed to the independent record label BoneSoda, Tommy’s journey has him flying around the globe to take on spots at some of the worlds most recognised venues and events. We caught the young artist and taste maker just after he’d touched down in London, following back to back shows in Montreal, before he set off again for his upcoming set at Glastonbury.
“It’s crazy being able to connect these places, but no matter where i’m going to be i’m always going to miss London. You hate it, you get sick of it, you can’t wait to get out, but it’s the fucking best place in the world.”
Within minutes of speaking with Tommy, it becomes pretty evident that our meeting strikes at a pivotal moment in his career. With his name becoming increasingly recognised and sought after, he’s set on a strong trajectory to catch the tails of his contemporaries. Having begun his career at the early age of 17 - as an intern within the heart of NTS radio - Tommy knew that he wanted to DJ, but had yet to conceive any notion of how he might achieve this goal. It wasn’t long however until the founder of NTS radio, Femi Adeyemi, picked up on Tommy’s desire to perform. Without any prior experience of mixing he soon found himself thrown straight into the deep end, playing the ‘graveyard’ set at a Neverland Clan live show for Night Lovell: “Luckily everyone had left by the time I was on so it was fine!” He laughs.
““Just from spending hours researching and listening to music I found what I love. I can understand the pretension in music, if you know a lot about it. But I feel that music is not to be snobby about, it’s about feeling.” ”
From that night onwards, Tommy knew what he had to do to hone his craft and refine his technique. By going into NTS and booking as much studio time as possible, he worked up to doing a series of NTS guest shows. He admits at the time his live sessions were lacking the understanding that he’s worked hard to cultivate, but they undeniably reflect his strong ability to pluck lesser known artists and place them alongside each other in ways they’d not been heard before. Tommy is also quick to admit that it’s taken these past few years to feel like his work is really credible and worth delving into: “I personally think that only recently I feel proud of what I do. Before I just felt like I had good taste. When people asked me what I do, I used to not want to talk about it but now I feel like it has credibility.”
Returning to his roots, Tommy’s musical taste was undoubtedly influenced by his upbringing; his love for Afrobeats he attributes to his mother, who’s Kenyan heritage resonates through his mixes. His appreciation for hip hop and soul however can be traced back to his father, whilst conversely his affinity for techno and house music resulted from sharing music with his older brother. This strong melting pot of sounds establishes an incredibly personal tone to his mixes and firmly resonates Tommy’s signature style. “Just from spending hours researching and listening to music I found what I love. I can understand the pretension in music, if you know a lot about it. But I feel that music is not to be snobby about, it’s about feeling.” When tasking Tommy on his lack of social output over the past 18 months or so, he admitted that he’d neglected investing time in cultivating a social media presence, instead relying on the strength of his sound to carry his name and generate realtime engagement through performing at a wide range of clubs across the globe. “I’ve just been in the clubs, that’s all I wanted to do. Now I know what i’m capable of but I want the rest of the world to see it. That’s the best way to put it.”
Photography & words Jamie A Waters