Feeling Beautifully Ordinary with Tones And I.
Image: Press.
In 2019 singer, songwriter and producer Tones and I released the song that was to turn the street busker into a global star: “Dance Monkey”, a multi-platinum single in her native Australia which also made her the first female artist to achieve over three billion streams for a single song on Spotify. This month she releases her second album, Beautifully Ordinary.
Her 2021 debut album, Welcome to the Madhouse, was written in just three weeks under pressure to capitalize on her new-found fame. “I was not giving any of myself: no stories, no vulnerabilities. It’s always going to be a part of my journey, but it didn’t reflect me as an artist or a songwriter at all.” The sudden transition from private individual to public property had taken its toll. “I wasn’t prepared, and I shut off. I didn’t really think I had fans – I just thought I had people that liked the song. I have progressed over the last four years with my self-worth, but it definitely closed me up to anything. I even struggled with ten-minute radio interviews; I would give the bare minimum.” With Beautifully Ordinary, she was determined to be more open. “I wanted to really make sure this one was who I was, and maybe the Tones I never showed anyone. I don’t think this is as vulnerable as I get, but I think this is a really good stepping stone for me.”
The number of ballads on the album is a mark of her new self-confidence. “I never really leant into singing and working on proper compositions [before], even though that’s something I’d always loved.” As she explains, writing slower songs is inherent to her method. “Every song I’ve ever released starts as a ballad. And because I’m a looper – out on the street I used to loop and build the tracks – they turn into either really upbeat pop or they can turn into something different. But every song will start as a ballad, and then I’ll figure out where I want it to go.” The first two songs she wrote for Beautifully Ordinary kept their original gentler pace, setting the direction of the album: “Lose Someone Like Me” is about two old friends, while she describes “Figure It Out” as “very reflective and nostalgic, which is a theme for my music from since I started.”
“Labrinth as a producer has so much depth and is an incredible singer-producer-songwriter, so emotive. I’ve actually reached out and we’ve had a few chats about maybe working together. We’ll see what happens there”
That emotional honesty is carried over into the more upbeat tracks as well. “Every song that I write is about something – I never write for the sake of writing a song,” she says. “Dance with Me”, Tones and I’s latest single, evokes the desperation of trying to rekindle a dying relationship. “You’re there just waiting and waiting with no self-respect.” One of the most personal songs on the album is “Sorrento”, about her grandfather who died earlier this year. “When my Papa was getting sick, I asked him to write me his life story. I wanted to put it in a song for Nana. It wasn’t meant to be on the album, but then I just fell in love with it.” Although his photo had featured on the cover of 2020 single “Fly Away”, she needed to pay a more lasting and meaningful tribute. “I really wanted to keep that memory of him alive. I really made sure that I told a story about the character that he was, and where he grew up, the memories that I have with him.”
Among the songs that didn’t make it onto the album was the one that started the project off, “Beautifully Ordinary”, co-written with Rick Nowels. “Because I wrote it three and a half years ago, it was very self-deprecating in the verses; it doesn’t reflect who I am now, and I’m proud of that. I didn’t want to pull such self-hatred back into my current space and have people think that this is who I am now.” More work needs to be done to make it fit with the artist – and the person – that Tones and I is today. “The chorus is beautiful, but I need to find a way to make the verses more triumphant, and less sad. I do still want to bring that song back.”
Image: Press.
Asked who inspires her most at the moment, she picks three British artists. “RAYE is incredible – to release ‘Genesis’, which is a seven-minute song, and genre-hop through that whole song, but make it really cool. I think everyone has realized how strong she is vocally as well. I saw Little Simz play a festival in Australia last year, Splendour in the Grass. It was my favourite show that I’ve seen in the last few years. It wasn’t a massive production, just them on stage, a lot of use of silhouettes and lighting. I thought it was so impactful, and so clean. Labrinth as a producer has so much depth and is an incredible singer-producer-songwriter, so emotive. I’ve actually reached out and we’ve had a few chats about maybe working together. We’ll see what happens there.”
For a while, the phenomenal success of “Dance Monkey” was in danger of defining Tones and I, but she is now emerging from its long shadow. “Professionally, it feels I’m on a path to slowly becoming an artist, as opposed to a song.” Her recent performance at The Garage, returning to London after four years to play for true fans rather than festival or corporate audiences, confirmed that Tones and I has entered a new phase. “It was such a beautiful show. There’s a very big difference between people that listen to the song and people that listen to my catalogue. The people that listen to your music and support you as an artist, they’re your safety net to catch you if you fall. I think playing the slower game for me, coming back and playing these venues that I’ve heard every man and their dog play when they’re coming up, is where I feel most comfortable. I think good relationships are built over time, whether it’s with people and my music, or if it’s me and a friend, or a new tour manager. I think that the respect and the love really happen over time, and that’s what I’m kind of here to do now. I feel I’m going at my own pace, and I’m really enjoying it.”
Beautifully Ordinary is available 2nd August.
Author: Rachel Goodyear