Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party Release New Single ‘Slowly Sinking’
Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party make their mark on Cardiff’s music scene with debut single Slowly Sinking.
“Music’s been my whole life. My drive for over 10 years”.
Before moving to University, Tom ‘Pilks’ Pilkington had been a solo, mostly folk artist and had also performed in a punk band. After coming to Cardiff, he put together his latest band ‘Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party.’
Tom’s love for music first started when he was a child, after a classmate introduced him to The Beatles. Over the years his music taste grew, as he got into rock, pop, punk, grunge, and more. At age 18, Tom began performing live.
“Arriving at Cardiff Uni I found a whole other scene which felt like home very quickly. I think Uni has that effect where you’re destined to find someone who is into what you’re into”.
Arriving at University, Tom joined the Live Music Society, and in his second-year, he became the President, where he met a wide range of people.
“All of a sudden, I was friends with people who were making music that I would love to listen to. I wasn’t just admiring people from afar. They were significant parts of my life now, and I’m in one of those bands now!”
Moving to Cardiff and Wales opened up a new side of music that Tom described not knowing much about beforehand.
“Welsh music, and Welsh language music. I’m learning Welsh now because not only have I lived there for a while but also because I started listening to so many Welsh bands and I want to know what they’re singing about.”
Being English, he said he felt like he was entering a new space entirely. One of the bands that he enjoys listening to is Pys Melyn, an alternative/indie band that has been performing since 2014.
“We had a really cool, full-circle moment because my band, The Pyjama Party supported them last year.”
Despite not being Welsh himself, Tom said, especially as he has lived in Wales for three years, he believes it is important to make an effort with the language. He told me there are words in Welsh that only exist in relation to Wales. Such as the word ‘Hiraeth’ which has no English translation, and means a kind of homesickness, but with a deeper, more complex meaning that is tied only to Wales, and Welsh as a cultural identity. Terms like homesickness, or longing lack the depth of the word.
It was after Tom moved to Wales that he created ‘Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party’, describing it as a different experience to his previous solo work.
“My solo songs wrap you in a cosy blanket and they’re sad in that way. Whereas The Pyjama Party songs are sad, but we’re going to dance the pain away.”
The band was formed as Tom wanted to play “Bombastic” live shows where everyone dances, and has the opportunity to get their problems and their emotions out. Having always written sad songs, he wanted to write music that had a different purpose.
Tom enlisted electric guitarist Noah Maskrey, who he was already performing with in another band, as well as drummer John Human, and later bassist Max Dixon and pianist/vocalist Rosie Jones from the Live Music Society. He met saxophone player Nathan Mielczarek in a bar by pure chance. Tom described their saxophone player as bringing a different edge to the band, making them stand out to other bands on the scene.
“It’s great to have extra instruments like the piano and saxophone which gives it that uplifting vibe that I wanted.”
Performing all over the city, one of Tom’s favourite venues is Porter’s, which they headlined in May. Additionally, he has performed in various bands at Fuel, Paradise Gardens, and the recently closed The Moon. However, he said that music venues in Cardiff are struggling, and need extra support.
“Cardiff Council seem to be pushing that we’re a music city, but that seems to be bringing in Oasis and Kendrick Lamar and we’ll have these massive gigs at the castle and the Principality Stadium which are great, but in order to keep Cardiff as a true music city, it needs come from the underground up and support for these venues is important. We need to band together a bit more. When it’s good, it’s really good.”
“There’s something about Cardiff that sparks magic.”
Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party released their first single, ‘Slowly Sinking’ on the 31st July. This song was inspired first by Tom wanting his band to not feel like an entity with just a name, but to also have a presence. He always knew ‘Slowly Sinking’ would be the first song to come out under the Pyjama Party.
“I wrote it over two years ago now, in 2023. I’d seen something online which made me feel really bad about myself physically. I’d seen a photo of a guy and wondered why I didn’t look like that.”
“It made me feel not good enough, and the song just poured out. I had just been to see the Barbie movie and was like, I’m just Ken, nothing defines me, I’m all good. Then I saw this thing and my emotions completely flipped. I started running 10k every day because I was convinced I had to change myself. You know, physically it was healthy for me, but it was coming from a very dark place mentally. The song is about literally running away from your problems but you’re actually slowly sinking into them.”
After their latest release, Tom and the band have more singles planned, and they are laying the groundwork down for them. With more performances and gigs also in the pipeline, Tom Pilks & The Pyjama Party are going to carry on thriving!
