MF Tomlinson
London-based, Brisbane/Meanjin-born singer-songwriter MF Tomlinson shares news of his signing to PRAH Recordings and releases new single A Cloud the first track to be taken from from his second album, which will come out on PRAH early 2023.
Photo credit: Andrea Zvadova
The album’s lead single and opening track "A Cloud" is accompanied by the first part of a theatre, dance, and film work conceived, directed and choreographed by MF’s collaborator Daisy JT Smith. The album, and the film, will be unveiled piece by piece throughout the year.
A curious, dream-like snapshot into Tomlinson's psyche; "A Cloud is about how painful it is to live without your innermost desires," MF Tomlinson explains. "It is, in the same breath, about how beautiful life is despite all of its sadness, and how even the smallest moments can satisfy your spirit. It begins where Strange Time leaves off. In my apartment, from my window we move through scenes of the street, through memories and hallucinations."
Though it would seem we have come back down to earth by the song’s close, it is not the same world - drifting out of sync with reality, we find ourselves on a new trajectory that could be transcendence or a descent into madness.
This is brought to life in part one of the film by Daisy JT Smith, a sister work to the upcoming album, Smith’s goal was “to create a living breathing embodiment of the the album, taking sounds and themes of the album as its inspiration using the language of dance and theatre.” with Smith going on to explain: “The album is about liberation of the spirit, a catharsis but not without a lot of pain. We find Michael searching the sky, depressed out of his mind, before hearing a call to dig and dive into the earth - into the void. I had such clear vision of what I wanted for this - I needed to get that moment that MF disappears down that hole exactly right.”
While Tomlinson remarks, “We joke that we were actually shooting ‘The Revenant’. It was February and the forecast all weekend was for rain. I am wearing some light thermals under that summery suit but it was COLD. We of course had to shoot the dig scene at night, digging with my bare hands in the freezing earth and climbing head first in and out of that hole, we ended up wrapping a 2:30am and in bed by 5am - a 24 hour day of being filthy and freezing! All absolutely worth it to see what Daisy has created.”
