Tōmn: Blurring the lines between north and south with ambience
By Sweet Sound of Sunrise

Tony Maiella, American-born singer and guitarist who performs under the name Tōmn – in honour of bossa nova pioneer Tom Jobim – fell in love with Rio de Janeiro when backpacking across South America in 2005. Since then, he has adapted Brazilian elements into his music and learned to speak Portuguese. In late 2009, he teamed up with a group of musicians in Boston and in Rio to record a bilingual EP of musical exploration.

The songs are both in English and Portuguese, and feature Tōmn’s soothing vocals over complex instrumental arrangements and electronic ambience. This, combined with 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.

The EP, mixed by Tchad Blake and mastered by Bob Ludwig, will be released on August 27th. Going to be in Somerville, MA then? Check out the release party.

Tōmn – Tōmn EP

A new artist has emerged from the streets of Boston with an absolutely amazing debut EP. Tōmn (Tony Maiella) has put together 6 tracks with an incredibly unique sound. Haven’t heard anything like this in a long while.

Tōmn (name inspired by the master Tom Jobim) seamlessly combines a mix of  Brazilian pop and American rock into a blend that were a match made from the gods. The dynamics, the changes, the songwriting, and the production are all top notch.

There is an all star lineup put together to create this record that was recorded in Boston and Rio de Janeiro. The songs stand on their own but it doesn’t hurt that LEGENDS (and Grammy winners) Tchad Blake and Bob Ludwig mixed and mastered the record.

The voice of Tōmn is one I have to rave about lyrically and sonically. Sonically it’s strong yet mellow with an incredible timbre that fits right in with the bed of music it lays on. I can only imagine how he sounds live.

Normally I get frustrated when I can’t understand lyrics. But it doesn’t bother me on this EP, probably because I look forward to when he switches over to Portuguese. It’s not his native language but he picked it up from friends and Brazilian pop music. Lyrically he sings about love and politics but never mixes the two. The songs and lyrical topics match each other extremely well.

I could go on and on about the production but I’ll leave that up to you to enjoy. 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.

If you’re in the Boston area on August 27th, be sure to try and make it to the CD release at Johnny D’s.