A self-produced indie pop, electronic artist hailing from the Gold Coast, Thomas (aka Tom Costello) has recently released his debut album 'Limerence'.
His journey to become a musician was almost lost to the world of trade and numbers.A commerce student at university with no musical background, Thomas taught himself to play guitar and piano from YouTube tutorials. He soon dropped out of the commerce degree, enrolling at SAE in Brisbane studying audio engineering.
Thomas also expanded his own music horizons at the insistence of his lecturers, discovering the worlds of The Beatles, Daft Punk, Radiohead and a host of other acts he otherwise would not have.
The result of his study and diversified music listening is 'Limerence'; eight tracks that explore the lighter and darker aspects of indie pop shaded with electronic production.
"'Limerence' is a state of mind that you fall into when you develop a romantic attraction towards someone," Thomas says.
"It involves intense feelings of euphoria and the desire to have your feelings reciprocated. When the feelings are unrequited it can really mess someone up.
"All of these songs mean a lot to me, as they were written in very difficult times, and also written in the best of times.
"This is my first release into the world and I’m excited for people to hear more as I develop as an artist."
Who is Thomas? Hey, my name is Thomas and I make music. I produce, write, record and perform everything myself. I started off making music for fun and then found that I actually wanted to take it somewhere, so here I am.
I sound like... Jon Bellion, Khalid. It's hard to be the judge myself.
My first gig was... I've actually never had an official gig yet. I mostly make stuff in my bedroom, and it hasn't left there. I can't wait until I get to perform live though.
When did you settle on your artist name? I went with Thomas because it's my first name and is easy to remember.
I also went with it because it represents simply who is behind the music, just me. To be honest, not a lot of thought went into this, it just made sense to me, hahaha!
In the studio I usually... Wait for ideas to come to me instead of sitting down and trying to write. I also usually make the music instrumental first, and then write to it. I find it's the easiest way for me.
The hardest part has to be writing all the lyrics and it takes me the longest. I also mix all my own stuff as well, that takes up some time. But yeah, most of the time I write the music first and then come to the ideas for themes and lyrics.
If I could tour with anyone... It would have to be Post Malone. I've watched a couple of the tour videos from him on YouTube and it looks like so much fun to be apart of. Beer pong and a jam room backstage... count me in. Looks like great fun to be around.
Social media is... Fun to be on, but too much of it can drive you crazy. I think it's really good for content creation as well and watch people do really well at it.
My favourite app at the moment is... Spotify. It's hands down my most used app and it's my go-to for listening to music. I like how it makes custom playlists for me as well. I don't really stop listening to music unless I'm working or sleeping.
If you'll have me on your bill, all I ask is that the rider contains... Drinks, good speakers for music and snacks; can't complain with those.
What celebrity/ famous person would you love to be spokesperson of the band... Sticky Fingers. I love their music. I am way too much of a fan to let that go to waste. Plus I can play nearly all of their songs, so if they need a fill-in one night at a show, I'm their guy.
If we were coming over to your place, what would you cook us? I'd probably order some takeaway like pizza or something, I'm not the best cook. Either that or something simple like spag bowl.
No matter the expense, send me a case of... Beer, any beer.
The last time I saw the inside of a gym was... Regularly. I like to go to the gym often, it's a great stress reliever. Also keeps my mind right.
Would you ever partake in a reality show? I probably would take part in one, they are pretty entertaining to watch and surely it would be fun to be a part of one. I wouldn't want to be known for it though.
Life on the road can be… I'd imagine it would be pretty fun! This is what I'm most looking forward to. I suppose you would get tired of all the late nights and sleep schedule, but it's surely got to be a great time.
