SCOOP MONTY (real name Tom Bellis) is a twenty-year-old songwriter-producer from Brighton who returns with a second single “River”.
We discovered SCOOP MONTY last year after the release of a stunning debut single “Only Once Or Twice”. The song spent 10 weeks on the Indie Top 39, managed to climb to number four and was featured on the end of year list 99 best songs of 2018 at number sixteen. As you can imagine, we were looking forward to a follow up single and here we are. “River” was released yesterday and we are honoured that Tom decided to talk more about the song.
How would you describe your sound?
The sound of ?Scoop Monty? has gradually moved into a more woozy neo-soul bracket, and this can be seen when the songs are played live. This bridging of genres is hopefully heard in “River”.
Tell us about the journey until the release of “River”
As the writer, producer and mix engineer of my own songs I?ve delved into the production side of things quite a lot, experimenting with sounds and different production and mixing techniques.
Comparing the two singles, you might notice a change sonically with “River” and this is the route my music in the future will head down. Since the first single ?Only Once Or Twice? the band and I have been gigging around Brighton and London. Recently, we?ve done a couple of Sofar Sounds sessions and a radio session for Trickstar Radio which was good fun.
Do you feel any different releasing a second single?
I felt more pressure this time. “River” is weirder. I really didn?t know how people would react. I spent a lot more time on this track than the previous single, so I think the whole process built up the pressure for me and I was a lot more nervous for the release.
What does “River” mean to you?
The song is very metaphorical and very open to interpretation. But I wrote the song using the metaphor of water/river to represent one’s mind filled with stress and worries.
The drying of the River is the elimination of stress.
SCOOP MONTY
That?s all I?m gonna say, so I?ll let the listeners work the rest out!
What was the inspiration behind the song?
At the time of writing the song, I was a big fan of Glass Animals, Alt J and Jordan Rakei, whose album “Wallflower” definitely inspired me in terms of the production on the track. The album made me realise that every small detail is necessary.
Let’s talk about the idea behind the artwork for the single.
Most of my songs are about the mind, so I thought, why not put a huge brain on the cover! The other components of the cover will make sense in the future?.
If you really want to try to figure it out, zooming into the brain on the cover might give you another clue.
SCOOP MONTY
What you got planned for the rest of 2019?
The plan is to release more music and play more gigs. I?ll be using this summer as a break for writing and producing new material.
Where can we see you perform live?
Our next gig will be on the 27th May at The Hope and Ruin, Brighton.
