He quit his job as a banker to pursue his art nearly two years ago, and now Tom Cooney has just released his debut album, Presque Vu.
The acoustic folkie feel to Cooney's music resembles Iron and Wine. Something of a grass roots entrepreneur, Cooney, together with Denny Ryan and Helen Franzmann, have started their own music label El Nino El Nino.
"We started [El Nino El Nino] because there is a fair bit of good music going on and not much representation of the music in a commercial sense," began Cooney.
"We just thought we had to find a way of getting the music from the chest of the person that's writing it, up through their vocal chords, through the microphone, through the speakers, into the person's ear who wants to hear it."
When it came time to record his own album Tom turned to Jamie Trevaskis.
"Jamie's got this beautiful home studio. It's full of nice rugs and lamps and it's really conducive to more subtle music and [to] really getting in the mood to access where you were when you wrote the song. So you feel really comfortable in there when you play."
Jamie and Corinna Scanlon (who supplies backing vocals) run The Troubadour, which is where Tom will be launching the album.
The process of making Presque Vu seems to revolve around friends making beautiful art together. Alongside Jamie and Corinna, James O'Brian [The Boat People], Whitley, Tony Dupe, and many more contributed on the album.
"There was a little bit of experimentation in the studio," continues Tom, "but mostly it was all thought out and a lot of it was in my head before I got in there. [Sometimes] I recorded the barebones of a song and [then] we'd discuss it."
"You can have really strict parameters and come out with something that you know is going to happen. That can be really good, but seeing as I'm new to the whole thing I wanted to do a bit of a combination of both."
Tom wrote a swag of songs for the album, all with "the same thread running through them".
"Culling back wasn't really hurting what the album was going to be, it was more [a case of] giving the album a bit more solidarity, or giving it a bit more clarity in its purpose," he explains.
There is a raw poetic quality to the album in the lyrics, and backed up by the original melodies.
"That's the idea of art to me because anyone can describe an object or situation in direct terms. There's something different about trying to describe an indescribable thing. But, in the effort to try and describe the ineffable, stuff happens that opens you up a little bit."
"You just keep working until maybe one day your music gets to a place where you do play exactly what you feel and it does come across on the record exactly how it's supposed to and it gets to people and they actually feel it."
Presque Vu is out now through El Nino El Nino/Remote Control.
Tom Cooney plays The Troubadour Thursday 16 October, The Sound Lounge Friday 23 October, and The Sol Bar Friday 24 October 2008. Check the gig guide for details.
