Tom Misch isn’t exactly the most famous artiste on Britain’s music scene. But many Londoners who were previously unaware of the 22-year-old singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer will certainly know about him now. Posters advertising Tom’s UK 10 debut album, Geography, adorn stations on the London underground train network while a giant mural of the album cover artwork has been painted on the side of a building. 
“That was thanks to the people at Spotify UK who had the mural done,” smiled south London-born Tom. “The nice thing is that my mum, Carol Misch, actually designed the cover, as she does for all my releases, so the mural is really special for both of us.”
While his mother’s talent is in graphic design, Tom’s musical ability is inherited from his father. But his style of jazz meets hip hop dance beats by way of funk could hardly be more different from the kind of music to which he was exposed as a child.
“My dad played classical violin so there was always a lot of classical music playing in our house. I got taken to a lot of classical concerts and operas. I didn’t much enjoy them but my first instrument was the classical violin. Then my sister got a guitar and I started messing around on that. I sort of fell in love with the guitar and that’s what I’ve been playing ever since.
“Creating the dance beats came from studying music technology when I was in the sixth form at school. I learned how to use the music software and everything developed from there. I didn’t actually intend to have a career in music. Geography was always my favourite subject, hence the title of my album. But I put some of the music I made online, the reaction was positive and I just sort of fell into music being my career.
“The jazz side came from an appreciation of the pianist at school who played during assemblies. He was a gospel pianist. I loved the harmony and chords in gospel music. But I really got into jazz through my sister’s ex-boyfriend. He was a big collector of music. I heard a lot of jazz and hip hop thanks to him.
“I became so enthusiastic about jazz that I ended up studying jazz guitar at Trinity College of Music in Greenwich. I did that for a year by which point my music career was starting to really take off. I wanted to devote my time to making progress in this.”
Tom initially made his name as a producer rather than a performer.
“I’d create a beat and put it on SoundCloud. I got so many positive responses that I decided to release what I thought were my best 20 beats on Beat Tape 1. That was just over four years ago. It’s still available for people to hear and buy on my Bandcamp page.
“At that time, I didn’t really have confidence in myself as a singer. I’d produced songs for other artistes and founded my own record label, Beyond The Groove, but it took another six months before I put my own voice on any of my recordings. Even then, it was in a collaboration with a brilliant singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist named (Jess) Carmody. She is incredibly talented and wonderful to work with.”
Their first recorded output was on the 2014 EP, Out To Sea. Carmody was also among the featured vocalists who worked with Tom on 2015’s Beat Tape 2 and the 2017 EP, Five Day Mischon. But the female with whom Tom collaborated for a track on his 2016 EP, Reverie, was his sister, Laura Misch. 
“Laura is an incredible saxophonist. She has her own music career but I had this song called Follow on which I wanted to use a lot of saxophone. I couldn’t imagine anyone I’d prefer to create the saxophone piece for it than Laura.”
Tom’s chart success now with Geography is testament to the extent by which his fan following has increased in recent times. His online and physical record releases have been backed by a solid concert schedule and coupled with more than enough rave reviews.
“I still can’t believe Geography has gone Top 10. This is an album I made in my bedroom and released independently on my own label. The chart placing is so unexpected and feels a bit mad. I can only say a massive thank you to everyone who has helped me along my journey and to all those who think enough of my music to have actually bought the record.”

in brief

Kendrick Lamar
Although Kendrick Lamar took home five awards, he was overshadowed by Bruno Mars at the 2018 Grammy Awards ceremony. The Honolulu, Hawaii-born singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer won all six categories for which he was nominated.
One of these was Album of the Year. Bruno’s 24K Magic beat challenges from Jay-Z, Lorde, Childish Gambino and Kendrick. Although he did win Rap Album of the Year, Kendrick was naturally disappointed to miss out on the major award. 
He has now been more than adequately compensated by winning the Pulitzer Music Prize for his album, Damn. The decision shocked but delighted many people in the music business. Kendrick has become not just the first rapper to win since the Prize was inaugurated in 1943 but also the first artist who is not a classical or jazz musician.
Damn was described by the Pulitzer committee as “a virtuosic song collection unified by its vernacular authenticity and rhythmic dynamism that offers affecting vignettes capturing the complexity of modern African-American life.”
While the move away from exclusively classical or jazz music can be applauded, questions have been raised about the racial make-up of those who selected Kendrick as the winning artist. Both the Chair, Eugene Robinson, and administrator, Dana Canedy, are African-Americans. Much of their work away from the Pulitzers concerns the promotion and history of African-Americans. Critics have suggested their influence may well have been a main factor in Kendrick’s triumph.
When asked about their choice, Ms. Canedy said; “The time was right. We are very proud of this selection. It means that the jury and the board judging system worked as it’s supposed to, the best work was awarded a Pulitzer Prize.
“It shines a light on hip hop in a completely different way. This is a big moment for hip hop and a big moment for the Pulitzers.”

T.I.
Rapper T.I., real name Clifford Harris, has called on his fans to boycott the Starbucks chain of coffee shops.
His action was prompted by two African-American men being taken into custody at a store in Philadelphia. They had bought nothing but were waiting for a friend. The manageress called police and had them arrested for trespassing when they refused three requests to leave.
T.I.’s involvement is just one of many calls for Starbucks to be boycotted. The store in which the incident took place was the scene of vocal and banner protests by a group of around 40 African-Americans. Initially on the sidewalk, they were driven inside by bad weather. Innocent counter staff were then subjected to continued verbal protests directed at them through a megaphone from a distance of about one metre.
No amount of apologies from Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson has made any difference to T.I.’s stance.
“Just an apology ain’t gonna get it,” he said. “Every time we’ve been slighted, every time we’ve been disrespected. Every time we’ve been devalued, it’s always a tweet or an apology. There needs to be real action taken.” T.I. did not elaborate on what he meant by ‘real action.’ But Starbucks will close all 8,000 branches on the afternoon of May 29 to carry out “racial bias training” for their employees. Perhaps this will appease T.I. and the protesters.
The Starbucks announcement did not say if African-American employees would also receive the ‘training.’

Zayn Malik
Former One Direction star Zayn Malik is gearing up for the mid-summer release of his as-yet-untitled second solo album, the follow-up to his 2016 international chart-topper, Mind of Mine.
Available now though is Zayn’s latest single, Let Me. The accompanying video can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-dv_DcDD_A.
His new material will not be promoted by First Access Entertainment. The company was founded by Sarah Stennett, Zayn’s personal manager since 2015. But she has now ended her association with him amid suggestions that he was challenging to work with.
In rapid succession, Zayn has lost two important women in his life. The second is American model Gigi Hadid. Her decision to end their relationship hit Zayn hard. Let Me deals with the split and his emotions after realizing the life he hoped to have with Gigi had slipped away.
“I loved Gigi,” Zayn stated. “I wanted us to be together for the rest of our lives. But things change and we have to move forward in life.
“We go through experiences so we have the memories, things to write down and think about. If you get to really put your experience into something, it should be remembered forever. That’s what I was thinking when I wrote Let Me.”