Drew Thomas has released his new single ‘Somebody You Needed’.
The new track is taken from Drew’s forthcoming EP, due out in August.
Speaking of the single, Drew said: “Sometimes you write a song which ends up having a much greater and more important meaning than ever originally expected when first putting pen to paper. ‘Somebody You Needed’ was a song about feeling isolated after the honeymoon stage of a relationship and now has connected with people in my live shows and live streams as a reflection of being secluded and missing loved ones.”
To celebrate his single release, we caught up with Drew to discover 5 tracks that influenced ‘Somebody You Needed’.
FINNEAS – I Lost A Friend | Listen via Spotify
Finneas has an amazing knack for writing super emotional and simple tunes. ‘Somebody You Needed’ is a song about reflecting on a broken relationship and during the writing process, I wanted to try and sum up that feeling in the most straight forward way possible. The chorus line in ‘Somebody You Needed’; “Now I’m just some guy you’ve deleted” really reminded me of Finneas when I first wrote it and ‘I Lost A Friend’ is definitely my favourite track he’s written or produced.
Bon Iver – 8 (circle) | Listen via Spotify
Until last year, I don’t think my head had really clicked to the genius of Justin Vernon and the magic of Bon Iver. I saw their headline set at All Points East in the summer and that set alone single-handedly changed my view on songwriting and music in general. I think I actually penned the first lyrics and synth arrangements to ‘Somebody You Needed’ the day after as well. This track is a great example to any artist of how to develop your sound musically but keep all the best bits that your listener fell in love with.
Flyte – Victoria Falls | Listen via Spotify
I’m gonna say that I think Flyte are probably one of, if not the most underrated band in the world. I had their debut album on repeat for months and one of the tracks from it is actually referenced in a song I wrote a couple of years ago. Any song on that album could have inspired ‘Somebody You Needed’ but the rhythms and melodies in Victoria Falls really captivated me when I first heard it.
Imogen Heap – Hide and Seek | Listen via Spotify
Since I’ve begun co-producing some of my music, I’ve fallen in love with vocoders (probably a bit too much) and ‘Hide and Seek’ is a perfect example of classic songwriting at it’s finest. It’s simple, emotive and a generally all-round modern classic that never gets tiring to listen to.
Matt Corby – Miracle Love | Listen via Spotify
Matt Corby has one of the smoothest, passionate and coolest voices. It’s really important to listen to artists that make you want to constantly improve yourself and ‘Miracle Love’ is an example of great songwriting and romantic lyricism. As an artist, I want my music to really connect with people in the same way that artists I love have for me. ‘Somebody You Needed’ felt like the obvious choice of a song to put out now, especially whilst everyone is feeling isolated and away from people they love. I really hope it provides some refuge to anyone who needs it.
You can stream Drew Thomas ‘Somebody You Needed’ below via Spotify: