We had the good fortune of connecting with thom.ko and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi thom.ko, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
After navigating through the music industry for a few years, I have realized how important patience and consistency is in whatever you are doing. Those two words are sometimes interpreted as opposites, especially in the current landscape of music, with millions of songs being released every year. Learning to understand what patience and consistency mean to me as an artist, not to someone else, is where I have grown immensely. From the outside looking in, the music industry can seem like a “now or never” model, with so many artists giving a few songs a chance to see if something catches. Instead, create for yourself and at your own pace. Be disciplined, yet forgiving. The artists that can find a balance that works for them will outlast the rest. I am still trying to find this balance personally, but am invigorated by the journey to do so.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My name is Thomas Crowley and my artist project is “thom.ko.” I have been working on and releasing music for about eight years now. Recording and releasing music has kept me company through my early adult life, and has been an essential outlet the whole time. I am not sure what sets me apart from others, as that has never felt like a question I was forced to answer before. Instead, I try to make music that feels like an answer to my questions I have at the time. Trying to keep the dialogue and creative process as internal as possible has also been an underlying belief of mine. To get over the tumultuous nature of releasing music and the music industry as a whole, sometimes ignorance is a blessing. Creating for the sake of creating, with little input from outside sources, especially in the beginning of my career was, I believe, extremely important. I welcomed feedback or praise when it came, but I would never seek it. I also try to refrain from forcing myself into a landscape, i.e telling people who I sound like and why they should like my music. It is exhausting enough to be a modern/digital age musician. Let the audience do their job, you keep creating. What I will say about my music is that I enjoy it. I have continued to develop a partially electronic, acoustic sound that is centered around a rhythm that glues everything together, and am extremely excited to continue to explore this further.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Nothing is more LA than a Ralph’s/Pavilion’s parking lot. I would take my friend to Taco’s Guelaguetza which is in the Pavilion’s parking lot near my apartment. I would take them to Point Dume, then Barnsdall Art Park, then hopefully a concert at the Wiltern or maybe the Troubador. And we would only have to spend four hours in the car all day probably 🙂

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would love to shoutout Ben Hara, Ryan Dulude, Roman Defoe, and Connor Rousseau. They all have played really vital roles in the next project that will be released in early April. Truly could not have done any of this without them. Ben has been a long time friend, collaborator and producer of my artist project. He continues to keep me on my toes and is just insanely talented. Ryan is a relatively new collaborator and friend. He is an incredible producer/engineer and recently finished building a world class studio in his home which I can say is so beautiful. He came onto this upcoming single to really help push it over the line and bring it to life in a way only he could. Roman is a very talented director/visionary/friend. For my song “Moments” which released in August, he created a whimsical, imaginative visual world. For the upcoming song, he co-directed the video, along with Connor, who is incredible in his own right, to create what feels like a second part of the ethereal world that was created for “Moments.”

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thom.ko_/?hl=en

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ7jHWRCZUw6KhE5XWLFXVg

Image Credits
Sophia Cutino Joe Nathan Syndey Cattouse Tobey Lee

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