tmrw's #DreamSofar

Up-and-coming. Next big thing. tmrw.

If ever Sofar Sounds was to be a magazine, it would be similar to tmrw. The similarities between the two are practically endless. It goes without saying that both are intelligent and ridiculously good looking but, fortunately, the likeness goes beyond appearance. So too, for example, does tmrw see much potential in the future, in ‘tomorrow’. Belief that is less Star Trek, more current creative talent.

With the likes of Bastille, Little Comets, Al Lewis, Fenech-Soler and several others having already featured in #1 and #2, and Flume, The Lumineers, PEACE &Co. to come in Spring 2013 in the form of #3, the ‘zine for the modern professional’ more than warrants claiming to be ‘Aimed at individuals who like to be ahead of the game when it comes to new music and the latest fashion’. But with the brains of tmrw, Joe Brine, having interviewed the now household names of Ed Sheeran and Rizzle Kicks before they were so ‘household’ for his music blog that preceded his aspirations turning into thick A5 pages, it was always likely this was going to be the case.

But the similarities between Sofar and tmrw do not stop there. So, too, does the latter have a soft spot for the alternative. So, too, does the latter believe that, in some cases, the ‘done’ and ‘accepted’ have it wrong. We believed that ‘normal’ gigs, with their overpriced beer and inattentive crowds, were robbing the paying public of a genuine musical experience and so started hosting free, secret, intimate living room gigs. Joe Brine believed that traditional interviews, with their dull, monotonous question-and-answer passages, were robbing the paying public of an interesting, intriguing read they, the writer and the interviewee deserved, and so replaced them with narrative driven, story-like creative pieces.

But still the parallelism between the two grows. There are some out there who do it for a quick buck. There are some out there who do it out of the heart, for passion, to help give attention to those who deserve it. With Brine explaining that ‘every penny from sales/advertising goes into the production of the next issue’, it is clear, similarly to Sofar, which of the two camps he is in. It is this passion, this enthusiasm, this sacrifice, that keeps the creative world so exciting, so just as you better get your hands on #1 and #2 and look out for the release of #3, we best find out what Joe’s dream Sofar would be comprised of.

tmrw sees the future in today’s aspiring creatives. With the likes of Harrods and Selfridges as stockists and a worldwide trend on Twitter to its name, it’s clear that the world sees the future in tmrw.

tmrw’s dream Sofar would be:

Bastille

‘These boys are so talented, I'm so pleased to see them now getting the recognition they deserve. Everyone should check out their mix tapes; some old school tunes given a Bastille twist.’

Kodaline

‘When I first heard this song, it made me stop everything I was doing, I sat down and just appreciatively, nodded along. Such down to earth lads as well, 2013 is their year.’

Ellie Goulding

‘Ellie's Starry Eyed was the soundtrack to my 2010 Summer. So proud to have her on the cover of TMRW issue #3.’

Hanson

‘Brave move putting this into a #DreamSofar set. Probably could lose some rep points for this! But it's got to be a few peoples guilty pleasure! I loved this track when I was growing up, so good to see that they're still together!’

Paul Simon

‘My brother passed away when I was 8 years old. He is still my hero. This was his favourite song and it always comes on the radio whenever I'm feeling down. I know he's still here and forever will be. For me, this would be the perfect track to end my dream Sofar.’

Interview with singer-songwriter Al Lewis for tmrw magazine

Al Lewis - he's just like you and I; so too does he suffer heartbreak when that seemingly unbreakable relationship falls apart, so too does he feel the ache when the previously clear career path becomes infringed, so too does he ride the rollercoaster that is life with all its ups and all its downs. Why, then, is he - and not you, nor I - featured in this magazine? When life does it's best to make living everything other than plain sailing, chances are you and I like nothing better to have a good old fashioned moan and to be done with it. Whilst listening to us spew our troubles out might be seen as a duty, a nuisance even, listening to Al Lewis do so is seen by many to be a pleasure. This is why he is featured in this magazine, and you and I are not.

Take Lewis's new album, Battles, for example. In reference to the album's somewhat cryptic title, I tell him that as much as I'd like these 'battles' to be epic Lord of the Rings-style, I figured that he'd most likely be talking a little less Tolkien and a little more figuratively. He tells me that the album is about the realisation that "life is hard". He's right on both accounts; the album is indeed about life being hard (on opener The Truth in Growing Old, Lewis tells us 'Life can take it's toll - loved ones come and go', for example) and life is indeed hard - Al tells me he wrote the aforementioned track when a few loved ones sadly passed away during the recording process.

But by no means is it all doom and gloom for the Welsh singer-songwriter, far from it. Although the start of his musical career was a little bleak (but who's isn't?), scouring our country up and down in a quest for the next available open mic night, him and his ability to be a man of the people, and sound 'reminiscent of the classic singer-songwriters of the 70s delivered with a modern twist' has got him going to all the right places and meeting all the right people: it got him sharing the stage with King of Collaborations Mark Ronson (at Welsh festival Wakestock), it got him meeting his musical childhood heroes, such as Manic Street Preachers and Gruff Rhys of Super Furry Animals (at the ceremony of the Welsh Music Prize; Lewis' first English language album, In The Wake, made the shortlist (he also operates in his native Welsh tongue, which tends to have a bit more of a 'band' feel and makes for a more "raucous" set)), you could even say it's what got Battles produced. Regarding the latter, Al tells me he only got in touch with producer Charlie Peacock on a whim having liked the sound of a band Peacock had previously produced (The Civil Wars) as they performed on Later...with Jools Holland. Lewis was expecting nothing of it. Peacock e-mailed back the next day saying he had liked what he had heard of Al's material, and invited him to his recording studio in Nashville. Things went from there.

Somewhat bizarrely, Al has rather made a knack of being swayed by musicians appearing on television shows. Whilst it is almost expected for Al to take inspiration from such 70s greats as Jackson Browne, Neil Young and Cat Stevens, and even their modern day equivalents, such as Damien Rice, Michael Kiwanuka and Ben Howard, what is not expected is for him to be getting ideas from the likes of Cheryl Cole. Yes, you read that correctly. Cheryl. Cole. Whether it be a defence mechanism or whether it be a legitimate excuse, in an attempt to defend his corner Lewis alleges that it was somebody else's idea (his manager's) for him to cover something contemporary. "But why, of all people, Cheryl Cole?" I quite rightly enquire on behalf of all music fans. Well, guess who appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show?

In an attempt to move conversation onto artistry that's a little more, well, credible in the music world, I ask him who his dream collaboration would be with. I breathe a sigh of relief when he comes out with an absolute corker: "It's got to be Bob Dylan." Well, given the way he's going, does dim drwg am gofyn. Which, if you didn’t know, is Welsh for 'there's no harm in asking'.