No Mono‘s Tom Snowdon knows how to cover a song. From his gorgeous take on FKA twigs’ ‘Two Weeks’ with #1 Dads for Like a Version back in 2015, to No Mono’s rendition of ‘Unchained Melody’ in 2018, Snowdon has more than demonstrated he’s adept as taking a song and transforming it into his own.
It’s fitting, then, that the Mparntwe/Alice Springs artist will release his first collection of solo material with new EP Channel. Inspired by his childhood love of covers album Messenger by Yorta Yorta artist Jimmy Little, Channel will see him pay homage to the artists who’ve influenced him, as well as stepping outside his lane.
“They’re mesmerising for me because they take listeners on a journey with their voices,” Snowdon explains, referencing sings like Björk, Nina Simone, Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser and Mark Hollis of Talk Talk. “They’re deeply instrumental and rich with emotion, so the words they sing take on weight and power.”
Which leads us to the EP’s first taste, a cover of Kylie Minogue‘s iconic ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’. It’s a haunting, sparse take that puts Snowdon’s vocals forefront above understated piano and percussion.
“I wanted to push myself to explore spaces I’d not normally work in and also to have fun with the arrangements. That Kylie track is such an Australian classic but is probably a bit outside the space in which I usually work,” Snowdon says.
“But everyone knows that song. The challenge putting it together, as with any cover, was keeping the soul of what’s special about the original but also freely interpreting it.”
Listen to Snowdon’s take on ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head’ below. Channel is out Wednesday, 7th October via Pieater.
