Vaughan
Vaughan is the pseudonym for Thomas Harvey, an English singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has just released his debut single 'I AM'.
Blending electronic sounds and alt-pop, his sound has been likened to that of Lorde and Banks and stands out for its eloquent lyrical themes and truthful narrative.
Course Studied: BA (Hons) Music (Popular)
Year of Graduation: 2018
Vaughan (Tom) is one of five exciting and upcoming alumni who have been selected to play at the Alternative Great Escape festival.
The Great Escape is renowned as one of the UK’s top festivals for new music, showcasing hundreds of emerging artists.
We caught up with him ahead of the festival to find out a bit more about his journey to date and newly released debut-single, 'I AM'.
Tell us a bit about your journey so far?
I grew up in a small countryside town in the South East of England called Cranbrook and was naturally drawn to music from a very early age. As a child, music was always a way for me to cope with my internalised feelings of being different. I was never sure how to communicate or acknowledge how I was feeling, so I would express myself through my songwriting like a lot of us do as musicians.
All I ever wanted to do was play music so school was difficult, until I found my way to Leeds Conservatoire where I spent three years soaking up everything and anything that I could. It was an amazing and intense period of my life, as I was also trying to navigate who I was as a person, as well as an artist. My hard work paid off and I was fortunate enough to win the Conservatoire Prize, reassuring me that I was on the right path. Afterwards I made the swift move to London, where I’m now based, to continue developing my artistry.
The past few months have been especially exciting, now having built a team around me and setting up for these releases. My debut single ‘I AM’ just came out on May 1st and it’s the first of four songs that make up my EP that will be out later this summer.
You’ve just released your debut single ‘I AM’ and have described it as introducing who you really are to the world – how does it feel to have it out?
It feels wonderful! I’ve been sitting on these songs for so long so it feels great to finally have other people starting to listen to them. ‘I AM’ is a very personal song and it’s about how growing up I always felt like I wouldn’t be accepted for who I really was, so I hid my identity and repressed my sexuality. This song is about me overcoming that and finally learning to accept who I am. I hope it can inspire you to do the same.
How would you describe your own sound?
I love to tell stories so my songs are definitely narrative driven, and my sound is pop, but left of centre. I produced the songs as well and really enjoyed developed soundscapes using layers of my voice to create depth in the song.
What can people expect from your Alternate Escape Showcase set?
Well, I’ll be playing with a full band so that’s exciting. We’ll have some full arrangements and then I’ll do some stripped back solo tracks. You may even get to see some dancing, but I don’t want to give too much away :)
How does it feel to be playing at the festival?
The Great Escape is so well respected for championing and supporting upcoming artists so I’m feeling honoured to be showcasing amongst so many other incredibly talented artists. I’ve got a lot of friends who will be playing the Leeds Conservatoire show so sharing a lineup with them just makes it that much more fun and exciting!
What do you have lined up for the summer?
This summer I’ll be playing a number of shows across the UK, playing as part of an Southbank Festival as well as hosting an EP launch event.
