Thanks to Tom Felton for doing this great interview for us. We took your questions via Twitter and posed them to Tom, who kindly answered (even though he’s on vacation in California now!).
Thank you, Tom! And thanks to everyone on Twitter who submitted questions!
From @xo_bree_ox: What inspired him to write the songs he did for this album?
Tom: I’m always jamming and writing new little riffs. My songs are just the riffs that are stuck in my head and I couldn’t forget! So the next day I write a bit more for it, record it on Garage Band and it kind of goes from there. My songs are all melodically driven, and I like them to be catchy.
From @SouthernBets: When does he expect the full album to be released? How many songs will it (most likely) have?
Tom: I’m not releasing a full album… music for me is just a hobby and a passion that I love to do when I have down time! I don’t take it too seriously – I just have lots of fun with it and I like to share that. I don’t think I’m up to scratch to do a complete album and I don’t count myself as a musician, i just release a few things here and there when i get time to record them. I think its really important to do something you love even if you aren’t as good as others doing it.
From @Feel_The_Beat_x: What was Tom’s favourite song to record for the upcoming EP? x
Tom: That’s hard to pick, but “Hawaii” was amazing to hear come to life. This was really just a very simple chorus line that i managed to turn into a full song. it’s also the only tune to have several tempo changes as well as a nice little story. amazing to hear a little tune you’ve written come to life so much!
From @eriky1986: Why a song about Hawaii? 🙂
Tom: This song was written when England was covered in snow last year and my car was stuck! I couldn’t get to London that day so I ended up stuck inside (after walking Timber, she loves the snow!) and wrote “Hawaii”. Escaping the harsh realities of British weather!
From @fantalanta: Why is it named Hawaii?
Tom: That was the place on my mind at the time when England was covered in snow and I couldn’t leave the house, all i wanted to do was be back in Hawaii for that moment. In fact quite a lot of times when I don’t want to be doing what I’m are doing, or be where I am, Hawaii is that place I always want to transport myself to at those moments.
From @___aishaaa__: Why “Hawaii,” out of all places? 🙂
Tom: I had one of my best holidays to date in Hawaii, everything was perfect and idyllic. One of those holidays that you expected to be great but it surpassed all your expectations. I can’t wait to go back, I have some of my best memories from it.
From @NeedlessSmiling: What inspires you when you write music?
Tom: A bit of everything really! Places I go to, special moments, other musicians often inspire me to write, and of course those I hold dear to me.
From @Estrella89San: What do you think of the idea to write a song about your time at the Harry Potter movies?
Tom: I have often thought about writing a song about my time at Leavesden Studios – I haven’t got round to it yet but love the idea. Plenty of inspiring times to write about! That gets me thinking…
From @Estrella89San: How long does he need on an average for a song? From the first thought up to the completion.
Tom: I think the best songs are created from scratch in about an hour, any longer melodies start to deviate and lyrics tend to get too complicated. I love doing them on the spot and having fun with it. So on average they don’t take me long they just come from downtime I have in the day.
The chorus of “Hawaii” was written in about 20 minutes – the verses took a bit longer!
From @lostgirl23: Does he prefer writing love songs or break up songs? Which does he thinks have more emotion behind them?
Tom: I think anything that has emotion behind it is worth writing about. However I can only write from experience, and so they are mainly ‘love’ songs as such. My only type of break up was very young, so young that it seems trivial now to what you experience when you are a lot wiser and older and have an ‘adult’ relationship.
From @lostgirl23: Are all the songs from Tom’s own personal experiences or were their ones that he thought anyone can relate to?
Tom: A bit of both really, I like to write from experience but I also try to write lyrics that please the ear. I think and hope most people can relate to them as I think they are about normal things that people feel / think or do.
From @___aishaaa__: Does Tom have any allergies that make playing his guitar difficult? LOL.. Do you remember someone asking that question from before?
Tom: Why do people keep asking that?! 🙂 Not that I know of! How would that be possible?! String allergies?!
From @KKarllie: I hope you have a great time [in the USA]! Welcome to Obama’s land!
Tom: Thank you. The hospitality of the Americans has been amazing! Love it here.
