We had a chat with Drew Thomas about his cathartic and explosive new indie rock single ‘Do They Even Know You?’
On his hard-hitting and dynamic new single ‘Do They Even Know You?’, celebrated UK indie pop artist Drew Thomas continues to expand upon his thoughtful and engrossing sound, utilising an impactful, alternative rock-edged aesthetic to delve into unhealthy relationships and the liberation that comes with setting yourself free.
The track operates as something of a wake up call, a reminder to listeners that we deserve better than the bare minimum and to go find better. The dynamic feel of the sound and and Drew’s impassioned vocal delivery really does a great job of making the track feel as memorable and sobering as its message, and we had a chat with the artist to find a bit more about how it came together and the inspiration behind it.
Hey! We love your new single ‘Do They Even Know You?’, what more can you tell us about it?
Do They Even Know You? Is taken from my upcoming EP and is about cutting out toxic people from your life. I wrote it about accepting how sometimes the people you know the best and care about don’t really know you at all.
I had the first melody ideas in Bulgaria, while complaining to my partner about how I felt like an anomaly in the madness of the music industry and how I wanted to stop caring what former friends might think of how far I’d come, so far.
Lyrically, it started quite bitter but ended up just being about confronting bad friends and a celebration of self-growth.
What was the process like putting it together?
When I write songs, it goes one of two ways – I either sit on it for months (or years) and finally take it the studio, or I try and capture the idea straight away. Luckily, for this song, it was the latter and within a few weeks I had the finished mix blaring in my car on the way back from the studio.
I tracked most of the parts in a couple of hours and then my band dubbed over a few parts to give it a bigger sound sonically. Production wise, I wanted it to feel like the listener was being kicked in the face as soon as the intro came in – in the nicest way possible, ha!
There’s something so energetic about the sarky backing vocals that give it so much fire. It’s been a favourite already during my live show.
What were your biggest influences when creating it?
In general, my upcoming EP is very much a throwback to the bands I grew up with in the early noughties. I used to watch NME or Kerrang! and remember being totally blown away by bands like Weezer and Jimmy Eat World who had the coolest music videos, with choruses that hit so hard but lyrics that seemed so real.
I’m lucky to have those memories of music as a kid and I think it’s really important for me as an artist to never shortcut the music I make, even with the distraction of social media always looming
How do you feel that your sound has evolved over the last few years?
I’ve always been very much an indie rock kid at heart, although when I first became a solo artist, I very much leaned towards being a singer/songwriter and using it as a cathartic release for situations in my life.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve definitely found myself as an artist and my space in this world, in general. I’ve leaned into the rockier energy that has been sat inside me waiting to come out and fully embraced being as honest as possible lyrically. As corny as is sounds, music and life experiences always go hand-in-hand for people and if I can be the soundtrack for someone’s best or worst experiences, I’ve done my job as an artist.
What else do you have planned for the near future?
My next EP is out this April which I’ve been working on for over a year and I love more than anything I’ve ever put out. To me, it’s perfect and better than I ever imagined it sounding when I first penned the songs.
I’m also playing my biggest London headline show at a venue called The Grace on the 2nd of April which should be a really fun one.
Other than that, I plan to continue writing about love, life and everything in-between.
