Growing up Eagliscliff, a small village in Stockton on Tees, provided Tom Joshua with a wealth of inspiration. The North East as a whole has always been a fertile ground for artistic growth; a mix of leftover industries and the long-felt effects of disproportionate government policy, Middlesbrough and the towns and cities nearby are stoic in their self-sufficiency, their history, and their respect for the often overlooked beauty on the doorstep.
“I’ve always considered the skyline you can see from the flyovers between Stockton and Middlesbrough pretty epic and unique – you have miles of industry, stretching out to the Coast met further along the way by some massive hills. The contrast of the landscape feels thoroughly Teeside, both bonny and rough in equal parts.”
Each track on Tom’s debut ‘Undergrowth’ EP is rooted in a location for Tom, a specific space or feeling associated with somewhere never very far from home. Whether it’s lyric writing while walking the dog to the same local shops he’s visited since he was a boy, or heading to the infamous Showcase Cinemas complex (the inspiration behind lead track ‘Cinema’), the overriding feeling is one of nostalgia, growing up and learning to appreciate all you have.
