5 Questions With’: Allday
Adelaide-born, Melbourne-based artist, rapper and songwriter ALLDAY (born Tom Gaynor) unveiled to us the details of his forthcoming album, Drinking With My Smoking Friends, set for release 28 May, and we’re already prepping our playlists for it. This news arrives alongside the release of the second single to be lifted from the album, ‘Void’ – out now, and on his forthcoming project, Allday captures evocative snippets of life from the “extended youth” he found himself experiencing when he returned from Los Angeles to home soil in Melbourne. Marking a significant shift in genre, Drinking With My Smoking Friends integrates more guitar-driven pop sounds into the talented lyricist’s sonic universe, and Gaynor shares: “it is about escaping something and finding something new, whether that’s a place, a relationship or something else.” The record tells stories of suburban drudgery and inner-city decay, crafting sculptures of Australian life and the hopefulness of not only youth but of youthful thinking as well. With exciting things on the horizon, we caught up with this star to delve more into the project, and what we can expect next.
Read the full interview below…
Words & Interview by Danielle Temeng
EQ: Hi Allday, welcome to EQUATE! Can you tell us a little about how you got into the music scene? Who were you mainly inspired by?
A: Hi, thanks for talking to me. I was rapping a lot as a kid, so mainly MF Doom and Wu Tang back then. But then I would listen to James Taylor and Joni Mitchell too. So, I started rapping, made a couple of demos, people said they liked them so I made a couple more. When I started it was very casual, doing it for fun, without any real plans or intentions.
EQ: Who is ‘Allday’ as an artist, and how does he differ from Tom Gaynor who developed his love for music whilst playing the harmonica?
A: There’s no difference between Allday and Tom. Maybe Allday is a bit of an exaggerated version of Tom at times. If Allday was just a ‘project’ perhaps I would keep the music within one genre, and then make another ‘project’ for other genres. But Allday is me, so the music grows and changes with what I think is cool. The only difference really is that as a person I don’t really care about being the center of attention, but as a musician, it’s necessary otherwise I’ll starve.
“…I (personally) don’t really care about being the center of attention, but as a musician, it’s necessary otherwise I’ll starve.”
EQ: You’ve recently released the track and visuals for ‘Stolen Cars’, congratulations – it’s a track taken from your upcoming project ‘Drinking With My Smoking Friends’. What can listeners and fans expect from it, and what was the main inspiration behind the project?
A: It’s basically a guitar pop album. I like to think I’m pretty good with lyrics, I focus on them a lot. My theory is I’m not the best singer, so the lyrics have to be special or I’m in deep shit [laughs]. I was inspired by a lot of 90s Britpop (Stone Roses, Oasis, Blur, Pulp) and some 70s and 80s music too. I wanted it to be authentic to my references, so I went to a studio with a full band, rather than doing a modern version.
EQ: …and on ‘Stolen Cars’, what was the main inspiration behind the track and visuals?
A: So, ‘Stolen Cars’ is about two people who think they can get away from everything and start over really; I think it’s sort of a universal feeling as most people have been in that weird dream of ‘young love’ before. It doesn’t always last, but the optimism of that moment is something to hold onto. Most importantly, I just think the song is great to dance to in the living room.
EQ: With so much excitement from your project dropping in May what are you doing to prepare? Have you got any performances (with things opening up) that we should keep an eye out for?
A: I’m getting started with the preparation for an Australian tour. Hopefully, we’ll get to Europe early next year. The main thing to look out for is the album on May 28th! I think it’s a good one!
YouTube/AlldayOfficial
Stream ‘Stolen Cars’ HERE
Taken from the upcoming album ‘Drinking With My Smoking Friends’ out 28th May, Pre-save HERE
Follow Allday on socials:
Instagram: @alldaychubbyboy
Twitter: @alldaychubbyboy
‘Drinking With My Smoking Friends’ TRACKLIST
- Void
- Cup of Tea in the Bath
- Stolen Cars
- Door
- The Paris End of Collins St
- After All This Time
- Fast Ride
- Bright
- Butterfly Sky
- Spin