FAWM Demo 1: Waiting for the World to Fall Apart Tom Slatter 2022-02-03 | My first song for February Album Writing Month where you have to write 14 brand new songs in February. This one was in part inspired by a picture a fan/follower submitted of some 'fairy wings' in a frying pan. No idea what the lyrics are about. Lyrics:Flying on fairy wingsfleeing the darkest thingsOut of the night and into the fire even the darkness sings, it does. On fairy wingsYou'll tremble if you get too coldRemember: never get oldYou wait for the truth, but nobody saysEventually time just stops If you get too oldShout and the spinning world will scream back at you. So loud and there's no-one listeningSo climb up here with me, Climb where it's safe And wait for the world to fall apartWe've pleaded and we've begged, But how'd you stop the tide?We'll wait for the world to fall apartTelegram from the deadRemember they all lost their headsPick up you wings, strap them back onThere's a light just up aheadAnd they're still deadShout and the spinning world will scream back at you. So loud and there's no-one listeningSo climb up here with me, Climb where it's safe And wait for the world to fall apartWe've pleaded and we've begged, But how'd you stop the tide?We'll wait for the world to fall apartAll we areAll we were
Tracking Bass for the new album #newmusic #rock Tom Slatter 2026-05-04 | The final bit has a bar of 9/8, a bar of 4/4, a bar of 6/8, then a bar of 4. So 31 if you going toput it all in one time signature. Which would be silly.
Too Many Secrets (2026 remix) | Lyric video Tom Slatter 2026-04-29 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.bandcamp.com
Lets Pretend (2026 remix) | Visualiser Tom Slatter 2026-04-22 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.bandcamp.com
Collateral (2026 remix) | Visualiser Tom Slatter 2026-04-22 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.bandcamp.com
Time Stands Still (2026 remix) | Visualiser Tom Slatter 2026-04-22 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.bandcamp.com
Rats (2026 remix) | Visualiser Tom Slatter 2026-04-22 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.bandcamp.com
FAWM 26 Demo | Running Through My Head Tom Slatter 2026-02-14 | This will probably be the only new song I write for FAWM this year - I am busy! A first draft demo, but not a bad one I reckon. I enjoyed writing and recording this.
High Wire Act | Darker Fall The Days (Lyric video) Tom Slatter 2025-12-11 | More music here: http://www.highwireactmusic.comDarker Fall The Days is the fifth track from the first High Wire Act album, To Risk Your Heart
High Wire Act - 1st album nearly finished! Tom Slatter 2025-11-25 | Recording an album remotely, mostly in home studios in the stolen bits of time between work and, well, life, isn't the ideal way of making music. But we got there! To Risk Your Heart will be out on Dec 5th. This is the big riff from the second track Sacred Waste Ground #riff
Composing a 20 minute prog epic part 2 Tom Slatter 2025-09-22 | I'm writing a new 20 minute song because why not? I've got a first draft demo completed so far. this is me telling you about that.
Composing a 20 minute prog epic part 1 Tom Slatter 2025-09-15 | I'm writing a new 20 minute song because why not? Here's me trying to write the whole thing in one day.This is a collection of the social media vlogs I shared on social media during the day. Next week I'll share some details about the whole song, which now exists in demo form. Here's a couple of the other (overly)long songs I've written before.Ironbark: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/track/ironbark-2020-2Seven Bells Redeemed: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/track/seven-bells-redeemed
High Wire Act | When The Lights Go Out (Lyric Video) Tom Slatter 2025-09-11 | A lyric video for our song about riffs and psychopaths. More music here: highwireactmusic.com
High Wire Act | When The Lights Go Out (visualiser) Tom Slatter 2025-08-29 | A song about riffs and psychopaths. More music here: highwireactmusic.com
High Wire Act | Bilge Rats Tom Slatter 2025-08-26 | Bandcamp: highwireact.bandcamp.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DMAb...Drums - Mike OrvisAll the other noise - Tom SlatterThis is the third High Wire Act song, first released back in Jan 2025.
High Wire Act | These Ghouls Wont Leave Me Alone Tom Slatter 2025-08-19 | Bandcamp: highwireact.bandcamp.comSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4DMAb...Drums - Mike OrvisAll the other noise - Tom SlatterThis is the second song by High Wire Act, first released in November 2024
High Wire Act | Lifeline (visualiser) Tom Slatter 2025-08-13 | Bandcamp: highwireact.bandcamp.comSpotify: open.spotify.com/artist/4DMAbTczzv1gj43HCyElNr?si=m4Er4rEBQnS1HlM_3D6pcQDrums - Mike OrvisAll the other noise - Tom SlatterThis is the first track from High Wire Act, first released in October 2024.
Tom Slatter - Flow My Tears (Live at the Bedford) Tom Slatter 2024-10-02 | A bootleg ripped from the venue livestream. This is me and Gareth Cole playing Flow My Tears, The Policemen Said for the first time in about 5 years.
Simon Godfreys old bands Tom Slatter 2024-08-24 | As I'm playing a gig in London supporting Simon Godfrey in about a month's time it seemed sensible to revisit this conversation I had with him for my old podcast, the Sunday Bootleg."Simon," I said, "What I'm going to do now is just say some made up band names. Please pretend you were in these bands, and tell me what it was like".And so here we learn about Mr Godfrey's tenure in Gazpacho Hammer, Fartplex 5000, The Doncaster Kazoo Septet, and many more...The gig is 26/09/2024 at the Bedford, Balham, doors at 7pm.Tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/612402
Sally - FAWM 24 demo 6 Tom Slatter 2024-02-17 | Another new FAWM song. No idea what the lyrics are about - it's mostly nonsense but it sort of sounds like it means something if you don't pay attention. I like what's going on in the chorus on this one. Might keep that and reuse it for something else later on.
What Youre Aiming For - FAWM 24 Demo 5 Tom Slatter 2024-02-12 | Song 5. Happy with this one, although I still need to write a second verse for it. Is this our world ending?We've been here beforeHere so longWe're where the sun's long set and words are flying Blood's been spilled, the truth is lyingHelplessOur world crashing into realitySuddenly we're where the knives are outSparks are flyingEvery promise at risk of dying nowI don't know how you're supposed to shoot with your eyes shutThat arrow's aiming right for my heartIs that where you're aimingI don't know how we're supposed to fight with our hands tiedThat last strike was right to the heartIs that what you're aiming for?It could have been different.
Corpse Candle - FAWM 24 Demo 4 Tom Slatter 2024-02-06 | Kinda ambient, kinda creepy. Think of this one as a musical momento mori.
Which Ways Tommorow - FAWM 24 Demo 3 Tom Slatter 2024-02-04 | The third rough demo version of a new song for this February Album Writing Month. A bit of a pop song, but it's about time travel and the end of the world so I guess the poppiness is balanced out by the oddness of the subject matter? Or something?There's a tunnel to to last yearSwim through to a time before life crackedSteel yourself for what's comingYour mistakes, the spite that you'd take backWhich way's tomorrow?Which way is now?Cos there's a tidal wave that's comingI can see the water's edgeWhich way's tomorrow now?and if we just ignore the warningif you all just carry oneWhich way's tomorrow now?I've been down, got tangledGot stuck trying to make a perfect pastStruggling to the surfaceGot lost trying to make the good times lastWhich way's tomorrow?Which way is now?Cos there's a tidal wave that's comingI can see the water's edgeWhich way's tomorrow now?and if we just ignore the warningif you all just carry oneWhich way's tomorrow now?
Sacred Waste Ground - FAWM 24 Demo 2 Tom Slatter 2024-02-03 | A second grungey song for February Album Writing MonthA blueprint for an ordinary dayOne foot in front the otherand remember to smileand ask 'how's you day?'The walls might just cave inWe might burst into flamesSacred waste groundmemories buriedbreathing carries ona different kind of light hereon the wrong side of the dawnWake upThey're not coming around anymoreLast year, or was it yesterday?We had plans so amazingBut time kind of stoppedOr the months raced awayI remember your face thoughI remember your name
Confidence Trick - FAWM 24 demo 1 Tom Slatter 2024-02-03 | A demo of a new song for February Album Writing Month 2024I'm a man you can trust with you lifeWith your cash and your kidsI'm a man who can sell you sweet liesWho can sell anythingAnd I got an offer for youtoo good to be trueConfidence, is that I need?Believe these lies, you'll have everythingAsk me how I get to sleep at nightAsk how I look you in the eye
Something Like The Devil (lyric video) Tom Slatter 2023-07-23 | This is the lyric video to Something Like The Devil, a track from 2022's subscribers EP (more info on that here: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/immoral-supporters ). It follows on the story in my song The Beast and Mr Knock. Right now (July 2023) I'm working on the next EP. Which will sound nothing like this one!
Tom Slatter - Something Like The Devil - Live at the Face Bar Tom Slatter 2023-04-14 | A live recording from a recent gig in Reading. You can download the audio from the gig here: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/album/three-songs-from-the-face-bar
Tom Slatter - The Beast and Mr Knock - Live at the Face Bar Tom Slatter 2023-04-13 | A live recording from a recent gig in Reading. You can download the audio from the gig here: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/album/three-songs-from-the-face-bar
We can be anything - FAWM demo Tom Slatter 2023-02-03 | First song for February Album Writing Month 2023. I'm away for half of February, so I won't be writing the full 14 songs this year. But that doesn't mean I won't write any! Here's the first new song demo of the month:Lyrics:One more round,before they bring the hammer downOne more try before the bad men comeOne more lie to tellOne spin of the wheelOne more round and I'll be doneBut here we can be anything, we can be anyone we needOne more day, Just like these last one hundred daysEvery move pre-planned and heaven sentHell is empty they sayAll the demons came to playTo spin us round through the next one hundred daysBut here we can be anything, we can be anyone we need One more round and you'll figure it outI promise you, you willOne more round and you'll rise from the ground, I promise you willFar away, far away from hereYour day will come. Your day will come my dearHere we can be anything, we can be anyone we need
Theres Nothing You Cant Buy - Live Tom Slatter 2022-12-03 | The first performance of a brand new acoustic song, There's Nothing You Can't Buy. First go at it and only one mistake. What are the chances?This song will be on a new acoustic project I'm working on that will hopefully be released in 2023.
The Beast And Mr Knock - Lyric Video Tom Slatter 2022-08-04 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukA lyric video for new song The Beast and Mr Knock. Lyrics:Someone has to want what they’re sellingSomeone has the money to buySomeone has to pay for the things that were doneAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?Feed them in and drown out the cryingDrain them all and throw out the wasteAppetite sated, belly all fullAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?We know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they’re toldNo-one’s gonna speak till we make themNo-one came to answer our prayersNo-one’s gonna squeal but the fires will burnAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?Spit them out when nobody’s lookingEmpty husks eaten and chewedYes we were scared, and yes we’re still frightenedAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?We know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they’re toldStopping to taste the flowers, A rough beast waits to be calledStopping to sharpen clawsEverybody says they’re protectedEverybody says we can’t winEveryone says we’re already deadWell this is the beastThis is the lights onWe know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren aren’t quietChildren won’t do as they’re told
The Beast And Mr Knock (Acoustic) Tom Slatter 2022-07-08 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukThis is the single from my subscribers only EP 'The Beast And Mr Knock'. Recorded live at London Road Studios, Herts. You can find out more about my bandcamp subscriptions here: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/immoral-supportersLyrics:Someone has to want what they’re sellingSomeone has the money to buySomeone has to pay for the things that were doneAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?Feed them in and drown out the cryingDrain them all and throw out the wasteAppetite sated, belly all fullAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?We know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they’re toldNo-one’s gonna speak till we make themNo-one came to answer our prayersNo-one’s gonna squeal but the fires will burnAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?Spit them out when nobody’s lookingEmpty husks eaten and chewedYes we were scared, and yes we’re still frightenedAre you Mr Knock?Are you Mr Lights-out?We know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they’re toldStopping to taste the flowers, A rough beast waits to be calledStopping to sharpen clawsEverybody says they’re protectedEverybody says we can’t winEveryone says we’re already deadWell this is the beastThis is the lights onWe know you wellWe’ve seen your soulChildren aren’t quietChildren won’t do as they’re told
Tom Slatter Wizards of This Town (Live in Balham) Tom Slatter 2022-05-14 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukThis is a live acoustic rendition of my song Wizards of this Town from September 2021 at the Balham, Bedford.
FAWM 22 Demo 4: Where is your heart? Tom Slatter 2022-02-20 | Should I have put more effort into framing a decent shot of me singing? Arguably yes, but it's February Album Writing Month! Turning out a good video is really not the point, writing a new song is. I was going for a sort of 90s grunge feel. I particularly like the middle instrumental section which I can definitely imagine making its way onto a 'proper' release at some point in the future.
FAWM 22 demo 3: The Beast and Mr Knock Tom Slatter 2022-02-18 | Inspired by various pictures of scared houses/institutions, plus a creepy mask hanging on a door that I decided was called 'Mr Knock', this is the third demo of a new song for February Album Writing Month. Someone has to want what they're sellingSomeone has the money to buySomeone has to pay for the things that they've doneAre you Mr Knock, are your Mr Lights out?Feed them in and drown out the cryingDrain them all and throw out the wasteAppetite sated belly all fullAre you Mr Knock, are your Mr Lights out?We know you wellWe've seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they're toldNo-one's going to speak will we make themNo-one came to answer our prayersNo-one wants to squeal but the fires will burnAre you Mr Knock, are your Mr Lights out?Spit them out when nobody's listeningEmpty husks eaten and chewedYes we were scared and yes we're still frightenedAre you Mr Knock, are your Mr Lights out?We know you wellWe've seen your soulChildren should be quietChildren should do as they're toldStopping to taste the flowerA rough beast waits to be calledStopping to sharpen clawsEveryone says they're protectedEveryone says we can't winEveryone says we're already deadWell this is the beast, this is the lights onWe know you wellWe've seen your soulChildren aren't quiet quietChildren won't do as they're told
FAWM 22 demo 2: Internet Angry Man Tom Slatter 2022-02-08 | This is my second rough demo for February Album Writing Month. Inspired by a couple of fan/friend/follower submitted pictures. Andrew sent me a picture of a sideways Edinburgh and Pete sent me a picture telling me I needed to revolt. From this I got to the notion of the world turned upside down, and this is the resulting song.Internet angry man's fallen in the click trap againBored simian lobster explains it all to the web camAlgorithmic thinkpiece and dumbscrolling memesAsk the Russian porn bots they know what it meansCold fruit with fur on, unsolicitor of your dreamsA number with 100 zeroesRemember the promise it held?The whole world turned upside. Time two point three point four oh well I think you'll findLarping gone wrong or a truth bomb that could blow your mindExtracting ephemeral oil through your thumbs, Push notified well it goes and it comesThe end of all things or the endorphins rush til you're numbA number with 100 zeroesRemember the promise it held?The whole world turned upside. A digital detox, a self helpful moment of meA mindful reminder there's barely a mind leftAnd it's, oh a glorious looping of me. Remember the promise it held?The whole world turned upside. A question no-one thought to ask.
FAWM 2022 - Wanna help out? Tom Slatter 2022-01-27 | I'm doing February Album Writing Month for the thirteenth time (or is it the fourteenth?). Do you want to help out?Here's the link: https://forms.gle/5VHQftGbVSgmxuTm7As I say in the video, I'm on the look out for pictures that could inspire a song. Particularly pictures that are weird, creepy, unusual or surreal. Could be a picture you've found, or a picture you've taken. Not looking for perfect photography skills necessarily, just pictures that might inspire a song. Loads of people helped out last year. I'm hoping this year will be just as good.
Watermens Square (Acoustic) Tom Slatter 2021-11-28 | Another song from this week's rehearsals - Watermen's Square from my album Ironbark. An acoustic song about a load of watermen pulling a twisty metal skeleton from the thames, only to have someone come and take it from them. Took me forever to get the intro right. But I cut all that out. And didn't need to tell you that.
Tom Slatter - Too Many Secrets (acoustic) Tom Slatter 2021-11-23 | Rehearsing in the Nightmare Shed, I decided to see if my new song Too Many Secrets works on acoustic. It does! (Providing I skip the guitar solo in the middle). Studio version is here: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/track/too-many-secretsLyrics:This band of brothersThese hard fighting menAre just flesh and blood and boneOff they all rip In their rocket shipsTo engage in the nearest warzoneThey've a captain with scarsAnd medals on his chestSoldiers to throw at the enemy nestsAnd they'll all die cold and aloneKeeping too many secretsI'll be down here buryingI'll be down here burying your bonesAbsolutely zero Shrapnel wounds You're a man now and you've got the proofThe bones of heroesOrbital dustIn the cold they can all see the truthCos the captain with medals has been vaporizedAnd death comes to find you in glory disguisedAnd we'll all die cold and aloneKeeping too many secretsI'll be down here buryingI'll be down here burying your bonesThe dust might settleThe fires subsideA brief pause till it all starts againAnd again and againAttack ships on fireOn repeat like there's no-one to blameWe can't tell them that flash in the sky is their lotWe can't tell them the millions of names we forgotThey're just more names to add to the listKeeping too many secretsI'll be down here buryingI'll be down here burying your bones
Time Stands Still (acoustic) Tom Slatter 2021-10-20 | Here's the studio version: tomslatter.bandcamp.com/album/escapeTime Stands Still is the 13 minute guitar-fest that opens my new album. There is no possible way it will work as a solo voice-and-acoustic-guitar performance. Completely impossible. But I did it anyway. I reckon this came out pretty well. Taken from A Sunday In September my first gig since the before times.
Hyperbole - FAWM 2021 song 11 Tom Slatter 2021-02-28 | This will probably be my last song for FAWM 2021. Technically there's a day left but I'm not feeling it at the moment. I could force out some random stuff just to hit the 14 song mark, but I'm not really into that. I've already got lots of discarded ideas on the cutting room floor as it is. Inspiration for this? I was listening to a BBC political programme and a government minister mispronounced the word 'hyperbole' to rhyme with 'hyper bowl'. Twice. And I found myself thinking, beyond the ideological madness of the class of people who have been in power in the UK since 1979, the current lot are just so unacceptably stupid. Not my usually subject, but there you go. I was also listening to Therapy?. Remember them? I think I ripped them off a bit for this too.
So Lucky - FAWM 2021 song 10 Tom Slatter 2021-02-25 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukHere's the 10th demo song for this month. As with every February Album Writing Month, I end up turning out at least one song that's good but not very me. This one reminds me vaguely of various 90s indie rock songs I would have half heard when I was mostly being a teenage metal head. It's a bit straight, a bit 4/4 and a bit breezy to sit alongside my other songs, but I still think it works as a song.
Ghost Stories - FAWM2021 song 9 Tom Slatter 2021-02-24 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukThis is the 9th song for February Album Writing Month 2021. Live vocal take in the video, apart from a couple of over dubbed lines where I had a couple of duff notes. So it'll look like the vid's out of sync at a couple of places. It isn't, I re-recorded those lines. This song is sort of a study in mixing/switching between triplet and straight feel. I do loads of time signature stuff that is basically adding different numbers of the same small note value together, but I do very little stuff that's all about dividing the beat differently. Cos it's more difficult. Think of this as a study in doing just that.
Lifeline - FAWM 2021 Song 8 Tom Slatter 2021-02-21 | I finally wrote the song with the big riff!That big riff has been sitting there for a week, waiting for me to get round to it. This song is a bit metal. Guitars tuned down a tone and everything. Scrappy solo, all one take and so one. Might tidy this one up once February is out of the way.
Tom Slatter - Faceless Men Tom Slatter 2021-02-21 | Here's my first new song of 2021. Written and recorded in a weekend in January in response to a weird picture sent in by fan 'Barry'. Still under lockdown so the video is a homemade webcam affair. You can download the song (and lots of others) over on bandcamp: http://tomslatter.bandcamp.com
Traitor Thoughts - FAWM 2021 Demo 7 Tom Slatter 2021-02-20 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukHere's FAWM song number 7. It's all about imposter syndrome, and full of guitars and drums and stuff. bit Radiohead places, but that's true of everything I write.
Where are we now? FAWM21 demo 6 Tom Slatter 2021-02-14 | Are you gonna finish writing the song before you hit record, Tom? Mah mate, there are some lyrics on the screen and I've got it half written. I'll wing it. Lyrics done mostly via random means. Not sure what they're about but they feel right.
50 Million - FAWM demo 5 Tom Slatter 2021-02-14 | More music here: http://www.tomslatter.co.ukI accidentally used several more time signatures than planned - they sort of turn up. Basically it's verse in alternating 9 and 8, chorus in 4 and 3. Except when it isn't. Not sure on the lyrics, they might need to change. The rest is sound I reckon.
