Allday: the charismatic lyricist on his international move, a new album and a national tour
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Allday: the charismatic lyricist on his international move, a new album and a national tour

“Over here it’s a big country and no one knows who I am, so I figured if I come over it might push me into something bigger. Maybe I’ll have a bit more hunger and want to push myself a bit harder. I feel like good artists move to different places and suck that culture in and then spew it out,” says Adelaide born songwriter Tom Gaynor.

After establishing masses of fans and becoming the forefront of Australia’s rap scene, Gaynor, commonly known by his stage name of Allday, has made the move to America, now being based in L.A. for over two months and truly enjoying the cathartic experience of starting fresh.

“It is kind of weird, but in another sense it’s not weird because it’s what I knew it would be like. It’s definitely still fun for me here though. I did a gig last week to maybe like a hundred people, but playing to people over here who know my songs and are getting really into it, it’s really cool and still super fun. It’s kind of fun starting over.”

Gaynor first decided to make the international move after finishing the recording for his upcoming sophomore release Speeding. Gaynor describes Speeding as an exploration of new musical horizons for him as an artist, due to both the quality of equipment and precision put into the recording process.

“We recorded Startup Cult [his debut album] in an open room in West Footscray that was a studio but not really – there was no real sound proofing at all. We did a little bit of mixing, like I might have changed a bass sound or something with Charlie, who is my engineer. But this time [with Speeding], we recorded properly. We went through a bunch of mics and changed mics to suit particular songs, which is all just part of making music. I mean that’s how you do it, but I had never really had that experience in the past.”

Featuring the addition of collaborators Australian/South African hip-hop music producer Cam Bluff and Melbourne producer Mitch Graunke, Gaynor spent a lot of time in the studio shaping the album, ensuring all songs recorded were exactly how he wanted them.

“We would take all the sounds and then just work with them. Sometimes we would do like 15 to 20 versions of a song that didn’t even make the album. It’s just mental trying to get everything all together – there are so many different components,” he says.

“There are a lot of scraps from this album that could be made into other stuff. I’m always thinking about the ideas that I didn’t end up putting into the final product and different ways I finish them off – kind of like an extended directors cut that’ll most likely end up on YouTube one day.”

Allday will be returning to Australia for his Speeding Tour, featuring his biggest headline shows to date. According to Gaynor, the excitement and nerves of the tour are blending together in preparation.

“If they sell out or almost sell out, I’ll be pretty stoked because they are some pretty massive rooms so I am hoping that it goes well. It will be a cool tour. I played Festival Hall [Melbourne] a few years ago when I was supporting Lily Allen and I played a horrible gig, so I am hoping that maybe this time around I can have a good gig at Festival Hall – that’d be really nice!”

When & Where: Festival Hall, Melbourne – July 7 & Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay – July 21-23

Release: Speeding – out April 21 via ONETWO.

Written by Alex Callan