“Well, as far as I’m concerned Tōmn can go as far off the map he wants because from beginning to end he (and all his talented guest musicians) truly delivers a stellar piece of musical art with this EP.” – Debbie Catalano, The Noise: Rock Around Boston
Tōmn (pronounced “tome”) aka Tony Maiella is a North American musician based in Boston who fuses rock and Brazilian music, unveiling dense and dream-like pop songs. His self-entitled debut has received critical praise from the press and music blogs fueling a host of local shows.
Tōmn’s musical explorations in South America stem from an Italo-Argentine background. His maternal grandparents moved from Italy to Argentina in 1948 where his mother was born. Awaiting U.S. visas, the family lived in Buenos Aires for ten years before moving to Boston. In 2005, Tōmn left his job to backpack for half a year with his guitar. Beginning in Argentina, he explored South America at large, but was drawn to Brazil and Rio de Janeiro. Since then, Tōmn has revisited Rio seven times, most recently in August 2011. Through patience and observation, he learned from Brazilian culture, adopted elements from the musical tradition, and speaks and sings in Portuguese fluently.
The beginnings of Tōmn’s music occurred in Visconde de Mauá, a mountain town in the middle of the Atlantic rain-forest. The sounds of the surrounding woods led him to experiment with new tunings on his acoustic guitar and craft pop songs that feature Brazilian percussion combined with electronic ambiance.
Upon returning to Boston, Tōmn assembled a group of over twenty musicians and collaborators for the studio recording, including but not limited to Colin Sapp (electric guitar), Neil Taylor (bass), Dan Shure (keys), Mike Daillak (drums), and Luis Maurette (sound design). The music was recorded at Q Division Studios with Rafi Sofer and at Estudio 304 in Rio de Janeiro with Latin Grammy award winning producer Chico Neves (Los Hermanos, Skank, O Rappa). Mixed by Grammy award winning producer Tchad Blake (Peter Gabriel, Sia, Pearl Jam, Elvis Costello) and mastered by Bob Ludwig (The Rolling Stones, Beck, Coldplay), Tōmn’s recording is a uncommon combination of MPB (Brazilian pop) and rock. Most of the songs on the recording have about 80 tracks interacting inside the music.
An ex-member of the pop rock band Delhill, Tōmn has performed across New England and beyond at The Middle East, The Paradise, Brighton Music Hall, Johnny D’s Uptown, Boston University, MIT, Great Scott, CBGB and the Dubai Media Center with Naree as an opener for Pink. Tōmn recently returned from living and performing for four months in Rio de Janeiro and continues to share his love of modern Brazilan music with the northern hemisphere.
“…the mild dissonance of bossa nova minor keys, gives the tracks a dreamy, surreal feel – like the music that might be playing in your head when you’re alone in a rainforest. Altogether, the EP sounds like a love affair between a man and Brazil expressed through music.” – Tiana Feng, Ride the Tempo
“Sonically this album is incredible. In the day and age of DIY recordings (which I still love) it’s good to hear a record that was crafted with songwriting and production meeting together to result in an amazing listening experience.” – Dysononsound.com
“Full of horns, a landscape of sounds, great vocals and slow to fast songs. Soft subtle explosions of noise assault you around each corner. I can see this album shuffling around my I-pod for a few years.” – Yourband.com
