In the Chair is a regular feature on Eventalaide, highlighting artists from across Australia and occasionally overseas. Everyone gets the same questions. It is just meant to be a bit of fun so please treat it as such.
Questions by Geoff Jenke
Tasting instant success at the age of 11 when he was Unearthed by triple J, Rhys Toms breakout 2017 hit Young Like Me debuted on national television for Channel 9’s Children’s Hospital Telethon, with the track going on to rack up over three million streams across multiple platforms. But while Rhys, under the moniker Black Summer, undeniably proved to be one of the country’s most exciting young producers, he actively didn’t rest on his laurels, creating the unidentifiable project Kyotoclan to explore whether his music could stand up anonymously without the surrounding hype; and it did. Alongside developing his new Black Summer chapter, Rhys also recently co-produced Illy’s current single Like You, a track that was added to Spotify’s New Music Friday editorial playlist and instantly scored commercial radio love. And once again flexing his creative dexterity, Rhys also branched beyond his usual stylistic territory, co-producing the track Habibi by Pakistani singer-songwriter Asim Azhar, which snagged eight million views on YouTube within the first month of release, 300K fan videos made on TikTok and trended at #1 on TikTok (Asia).
Name: Rhys Toms
Alias: Black Summer
Band: Black Summer
In less than 50 words describe your music, your band (if applicable) and yourself.
I would describe my music as, experimental, alluring, uncanny and lavish. Like a murderous hug.
What was the first record you bought with your own money and where from?
Skrillex’s “Bangerang” album when I was like 9 years old for my iPod shuffle, I loved it so much I had that on repeat haha
80’s or 90’s Music: I love Tool and Alice in Chains, so a bit of both.
What music are you currently listening to?
Really a mix of everything, hip hop like JPEGMAFIA, Denzel Curry and Spaceghostpurpp. But also jazz music like Piero Umiliani and Hareton Salvanini.
The Best live artist/band you’ve seen:
Easily Tool, their stage presence and performance was insane, it inspired me so much and was a real work of art in itself!
Your “In the mood for love” song:
That’s a hard one but I’d probably say anything by SZA or Scott James, if I had to pick one though, it’d be Cake by Scott James
Your favourite Saturday night party record? Ricky by Denzel Curry
Your favourite Sunday morning chill out record?
Sometimes is hurts by Dojo Cuts. Such an amazing song and they deserve so much more recognition!
Which song do you wish you had written?
Probably No Company by Don Toliver, that song is a melodic masterpiece
Roger Daltry once said, “Rock N Roll has no future”. Do you agree with him?
Rock and Roll will never die, nothing ever does, music recycles and repeats itself over generations in new forms so I highly believe there will always be rock and roll in one form or another
Vinyl, CD or Streaming?
Streaming is the most accessible but when it comes to experience, vinyl will always win. Nothing will ever beat playing a vinyl record in your house with some incense going.
If you could record or play live with any artist (dead or alive), who would it be?
David Bowie. He was one of the most important musicians of all time and it would’ve been a dream come true to create something with him. He is a true innovator.
What is the most useless talent you have?
Probably being good at fighting games, Tekken is my favourite video game and I go crazy in online matches but it’s not really a skill that I’m ever gonna use lol
Your finest recorded moment?
My finest recorded moment is either my first live performance at Groovin The Moo when I was 11 years old or the studio sessions for my new album ‘Channel Horror’ that we recorded on video
Who is your musical hero and what one question would you ask them?
David Bowie. My question would definitely be “what was a struggle you didn’t figure out until later in life”. I’d wanna ask that because I feel with his philosophy and outlook on life, I could have learnt a lot from him.
Dying, peacefully on your deathbed, what song would you like to hear?
Caps Lock by M.I.A , I wanna go out tripping out.
Stuck on a desert island for a year and can only take three albums. What would they be?
Ice Pickin’ by Albert Collins
Lifa by Heilung
B4.DA.$$ by Joey Badass
Favourite all time movie;
Interstellar, that movie had my mind blown the first time I saw it and I could watch it 1000 more times and still love it
If you drove an ice cream van, what music would you play?
Hard death metal and free form jazz, complete chaos.
Best show you have ever played in your career;
Definitely The Wall in Sydney. It was only a couple hundred people but the energy was unmatched, everyone was going crazy and it was all good vibes, I still think about that show years later.
Any backstage incident that makes you laugh?
I got arrested once. I was running to the toilet before a performance and didn’t have my AAA pass on, so the security guards thought I was a fence jumper and all ran to tackle me. It was a pretty horrible experience at the time, and I had to perform minutes after sitting in a police tent, but it was kinda funny looking back now haha.
Neil Young or Paul McCartney?
I’d have to say Paul McCartney, they’re both legends but the Beatles are too iconic for me to say no.
Who is the nicest person in Rock n Roll at the moment?
I’m not sure but I’d say Dave Grohl is one of them!
What do you hope the next 12 months holds for you?
More music, more performing and travelling. Hopefully living in the states working full time in studios and collaborating with heaps more talented artists!
Dark, lavish and impossibly hypnotic, Australian EDM maverick Black Summer, aka Rhys Toms, unveils an exciting new artistic chapter via his latest single Cernunnos. A dazzling new track, entirely written, performed and produced by Black Summer, Cernunnos also paves the way for the young artist’s impending new album Channel Horror, with the deliciously macabre-inspired full-length due out on Monday December 12.
Innovative, entrancing and a gnarly take on the hip hop realm, Cernunnos oozes with glossy beats, woozy synths and the sharp vocals of Rhys himself, calling to mind the smooth stylings of JPEGMafia, Denzel Curry, Iglooghost and SpaceGhostPurrp. And while the track confidently flows with effortless ease, Cernunnos ultimately marks a significant turning point in the Black Summer creative journey; and also the first time the world has witnessed Rhys’ vocals in full swing.
Rhys reveals, “I felt like it was time to step to a new level, I always wanted to do vocals but never had the confidence, I’ve been working on my voice for a long time because I always saw myself as an all-around artist and not just a producer. The ideas I had were so specific for this album that I felt the only way I could get the vision I had was to step out of my comfort zone and be the vocalist too. This single represents almost a rebirth of myself as an artist, it’s about dealing with problems in my personal life – like toxic relationships, trust issues, and becoming numb to the way I got treated by people. I took all of that and channeled it into something creative. The song itself is named after an ancient Celtic deity called Cernunnos, a god of fertility, life, and resurrection. To me It represents a neutrality and being in harmony with what’s around you, I felt like it was symbolic of the stage I’m in with my music at the moment with how connected I feel to this new stage of my sound.”
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