THE MODERN RECORD INTERVIEWS... DYLAN JOHN THOMAS AT LEEDS FESTIVAL 2023
WE CAUGHT UP WITH DYLAN JOHN THOMAS AT LEEDS FESTIVAL 2023 FOR A QUICK CHAT.
[Kayla] Hello, I’m Kayla and this is Matthew, and we are here today from the Modern Record, based in Scotland. We came and seen your set in the Festival Republic Stage and ignore out ignorance, but we actually didn’t realise how popular you were. Your set was amazing, and the reaction was fantastic!
[Dylan] Yeah, it was wild man
[Kayla] How does that feel?
[Dylan] It’s bonkers, getting this reaction from the South but I mean this is North for England. But yeah, its mental to play a show like that down her. With the way that we done the set we’ve managed to build up something over the last few years and I suppose its one of the only things I can control as a musician. To be able to write your own tunes and be able to build up a set. And everything else, in terms of radio or playlists, or whatever, its nothing to do with you. It all happens with someone asking someone to make a decision. Whereas, um, building up the set in a way that you know is going to get people bouncing and they’re going to enjoy it is what we tried to do. But as it's a nice kind of thing, to be able to tour down here and still get a reaction like that.
[Kayla] We heard the classic, No Scotland, No Party chant
[Dylan] yeah ha-ha, it was a mix between that English folk just chanting Dylan John Thomas. So it was just a mix and my ears were just melting on stage, like what is going on man
[Kayla] And to speak further about your songs, where does your influence come from?
[Dylan] I listen to a lot of Johnny Cash, a lot of Simon and Garfunkle and Beetles and I think that's supposed kind of foundations, kind of amalgamation of those, those influences, a wee bit of learned cohen in there as well. I used to play a game called Tony Hawks, this is problable the first proper musical memory that I’ve got, I grew up in a foster house and there was also just a bunch of boys hogging the play station and you’d be moaning that you wanted a shot. So we used to sit and listen to the sound track and Ring of fire used to come on every like, 15 minutes and we'd all be jumping about the room singing that. That was probably the first time was like, oh to a song, and got into Johnny Cash. It was the first song that I learned on guitar and was the reason I got a guitar.
[Matthew] Being from Glasgow, how has your local music scene impacted your growth, and are there any local artists that have influenced your sound?
[Dylan] Obviously I like a lot of Scottish Musicians, like older Scottish musicians like ray and archie fisher, Alister McDonald. I suppose those are the kind of first thoughts like Ali-Bali, I like a lot of Scottish folk music as well, like John Martin, and I think that's kind of influence. In terms of the actual Glasgow scene, I met Gerry (Cinnamon) when I was younger and he took me on tour, and so I think that in terms of like in the moment, it was probably Gerry that influenced it the most and put me on the right path. Especially coming out of a foster house and not knowing what I was up to in terms of, kind of being a young boy without much direction.
[Matthew] As a relatively new musician, what are some of the challenges you've faced in the industry, and how have you overcome them?
[Dylan] I don't feel as much challenges, I suppose, the dynamic change over the last 20 years for musicians. Who done that previously, who were maybe selling records and never really had to deal with the change of to Spotify and whatever else, but I've never really been affected by that, because that's I’ve ever known, you know, being a musician now is streaming and that. So, and all the people talking about that, but all I’ve really ever known, is that you put out tunes and if people like them, they’ll come to a show, do you know what I mean?
[Matthew] What about Tiktok and apps like that, do you think they are a challenge?
[Dylan] Actually Yeah, I suppose that’s more of a challenge for me, I don’t do a lot of social media and I don’t really bother. I know a lot of people that like do, but it’s a whole other thing isn’t it. It's an aesthetic, and it's the dances that go along the songs. To me that’s a separate thing, like that works for a lot of people but the challenge I have is people try to push me in that direction and what am I going to do on Tiktok, you know what I mean? It’s not going to work for me so, that’s probable a challenge I have faced and the only one really, is social media. But the other side is that it has been good because with a live show, because you can use it to your advantage and once you get past the open mics and that’s kicking off, like you don’t really need to worry about anything else. Whereas those on tiktok may find it difficult to maintain that on the social media side, instead of it just being a live performance. Everyone has their own battles though, im just working off the sense that I really enjoy the live side of it, so that is my focus.
[Kayla] One last question for you Dylan, we are from Scotland, where can we see you soon?
[Dylan] Edinburgh, were playing the o2 Academy in November and its nearly sold out.
[Matthew] Thanks you very much for your time today and Enjoy the rest of your weekend.