"As We Do In Dreams" live video! - August 22, 2011
A video from the gig at Moriskan, Malmö back in July. The song, As We Do In Dreams, was released on a limited CD-R back in 2005 and has remained a live favourite among fans ever since.
A video from the gig at Moriskan, Malmö back in July. The song, As We Do In Dreams, was released on a limited CD-R back in 2005 and has remained a live favourite among fans ever since.
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! The new album 'Bringing Down the Sky' is here! Go to the 'shopping page' to order directly from me, $15 to anywhere in the world, postage included.
Release gig tonight at Vinylbaren, Malmö, Sweden. The upcoming UK tour starts on Saturday the 16th at The Basement in Brighton, where I open for Carrie Elkin. Cheers!
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! Only two weeks left, here's a little taste of the new album!
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! I've put up a batch of live videos from a gig in Malmö a couple of weeks ago on YouTube. They were shot in HD, and what you hear is a rough blend of soundboard mix and audience recording.
Go to http://www.youtube.com/user/TightGrain
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! Don't miss the Old Lost John live session for Songs From The Ark in Brighton this Friday (3rd Sept) at 6 PM on Radio Reverb 97.2FM. Streaming LIVE on www.radioreverb.com
NOTE! This event is streaming LIVE at 6 PM in Britain, so times differ depending on where in the world you are. In Sweden, for instance, it's 19:00. Cheers!
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! I'm going to the UK for a handful of gigs again and kick off at The Basement in Brighton on Friday 3rd September. Emily Jane White headlines, and Matt Bauer & Dana Falconberry perform as well, so there are several good reasons to check it out if you're anywhere nearby. Tickets are £ 9, but that's a bargain considering the talent gathered.
Tickets here: http://www.wegottickets.com/event/88378
Venue website: http://www.thebasement.uk.com
Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=143878835638686
There are still a couple of question marks about the following gigs, so I'll get back to you when everything's been confirmed.
Cheers,
Tomas
The Swedish summer has been pretty hot and exhausting this year. Nevertheless, recordings for the next album is underway, and this week I've had lovely Brightonian Val Aviv in the studio, adding harmonies to three of my songs as well as nailing some of her own material. The results are very promising, though it's a long way to go before the final mixes.
The working title for the next album is "Bringing Down the Sky", which is a line from one of the songs. No final decision made regarding which songs will be on the album as yet, though five or six of about twenty or so seem pretty much on the safe side. Release date? No promises, but hopefully some time in October.
I'll keep you updated. Cheers!
Fans, friends, fairies and fools!
Old Lost John is going to the UK! These are the dates:
22 May - Tudor House, Wigan
23 May - The Orange Tree, Nottingham
24 May - The Grapes, Sheffield
26 May - The Sheepwalk, London (supporting DADDY)
27 May - The Green Note, London (supporting David Olney)
30 May - Stag's Head, London (supporting Southern Tenant Folk Union)
Check the Gigs page for more details!
Cheers,
Tomas
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! I've created a page for Old Lost John on Facebook, so please join in and become fans. An easy way to follow what's going on, interact in discussions and comment on updates, check out who your fellow fans are and connect ahead of gigs in your area.
The link is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Lost-John/255462416082
Hope to see you all there, cheers!
Tomas
Fans, friends, fairies and fools, thanks to all of you who supported Old Lost John during 2009, and everybody I've had the pleasure to work with on stage and in the studio, as well as those of you who were otherwise involved in the creation of the Faceless album. Let's see... Olof Jennfors, Göran Abelli, Ida Gustafsson, Frida Ekerlund, Frida Åstrand, Thomas Denver Jonsson, Johan Malmberg, Jan Hellman, Mattias Ljungren, Paul Ström, Anton Axelsson... Apologies if there's someone I forget to mention!
The reviews for the album have been quite stunning, and I'm looking forward to start working on the next one. I won't hurry things though, so don't expect to hear the first tracks until the spring or summer. UK residents may look forward to my next tour in May, with seven or eight gigs already confirmed.
In the meantime, check out the new video for Come Saturday, made by my friend Joel Nevrup, by clicking on 'Video' in the navigation bar above!
Stay humble, and best wishes for 2010!
Tomas of Old Lost John
Merry Christmas to everyone concerned and Midwinter Greetings to you all, fans, friends, fairies and fools!
A UK tour is scheduled for May, most dates already in place, and new songs are continuously written, waiting to be recorded. Some video works are also waiting in the wings. Well, as most anyone, I'm rather busy at this time of year, but I'll update you further as we enter 2010!
Take care and stay humble!
Tomas
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! Here's another excellent review of the new album, this one from the renowned Americana UK website!
"Swedish folk noir that manages to sound fresh and new
Swedish, moody, and wrapped up in that American folk-noir vibe seemingly de rigueur in his homeland, Tomas Thunberg AKA Old Lost John however has an altogether wider sphere of influence on which he draws for his work. Alongside the obvious nods to the roots tradition there are elements of the carnival-esque roguishness of Waits mixed with winsome orchestrated, down-played grandness of, say, a stripped down Willard Grant Conspiracy. It all adds up to an excellent album of strong, absorbing songwriting and simplistic yet novel musical accompaniment.
Introspective tales of love lost, gone but not forgotten, is the order of the day here all supported tellingly by intermittent bursts of accompaniment from lone horns, waifish harmonies, or dark, distant mandolins. It makes for a wonderful un-hurried listen that gets even more appealing with repeated plays. Fellow ertwhistle Swede Thomas Denver Jonsson is on hand to keep stoking that lo-fi fire which, in these parts, is always most welcome. A noticeably different take on the traditional singer-songwriter approach so common place these days, Faceless is an altogether more intriguing proposition and a record well worth searching out."
Date review added: Monday, October 05, 2009
Reviewer: Del Day
Reviewers Rating: 8/10
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! Here's a fantastic review from the Terrascope website:
"Having released a handful of CD-R’s, Tomas Thunberg now graces our ears with his first official CD album, the beautiful and delicate “Faceless”, a collection of songs that are filled with a sadness and acceptance, not depressing but awash with wistfulness and wisdom. Opening track “Broken” finds the spirits of Towne Van Zandt and Leonard Cohen, walking across a desolate coastline, a mournful trombone adding gravity to the picked guitar phrases. On “Fairies and Fools”, a bowed saw and delicate backing vocals from Frida Astrand, create the perfect sonic landscape for the inherent sadness, some fine guitar fills completing the songs beauty.
More upbeat, “Come Saturday” has a sparkling guitar motif, simple and effective, the trombone again adding atmosphere, the lyrics not as cheerful as the bright tune would suggest. As with the rest of the tunes, the instrumentation on this song is pitched perfectly, allowing the listener to get lost within the small sketches and sad tales. After the graceful “In from the Cold”, complete with mandolin fills, things are slowed down for the droning “Tremble”, a pump organ and the sound of wine glasses used to devastating effect, an atmospheric delight that sounds better every time.
Consistent in its sound yet varied enough to hold the attention , this album maintains the quality throughout, with “Railway Car” reminding me of Iron and Wine with its hypnotic rhythm, whilst the bleakness of “Nothing Good” is an icy breath of surrender, lost love and memories, the line containing the word “elephant” bringing a surreal smile to your lips!
To close the album, the wyrdness of “Dagger Dagger” will make you listen, as memorable a song as I have heard this year, the eerie atmosphere drawing a veil of mist around your ears, sounding like Kevin Ayers at his most atmospheric.
Low-key and personal, this is fast becoming one of this year’s favourites, try it and see for yourself. (Simon Lewis)"
Fans, friends, fairies and fools! To buy the new album, Faceless, click the button below and pay via Paypal, and I will personally handle your order and send the album to you immediately. This is the quickest way, and also lets me keep most of the money myself!
OLD LOST JOHN Faceless CD - $15 (world wide, shipping included) So, get it now, and enjoy! Cheers, Tomas

Fans, friends, fairies and fools! The time has come to proudly present the new Old Lost John album! Launching my own label, Tight Grain Recordings, "Faceless" will in fact be my first properly manufactured album after a string of demos and limited CD-R releases.
At the core of it all is my voice and quiet fingerpicking, embellished by occassional other instruments in a purely acoustic setting. The album was recorded during late nights at my private home studio, and features inspired performances from a small cast of musicians. There are Göran Abelli's exquisite trombone fills, the eerie spells of Frida Åstrand's bowed saw, mandolin by Olof Jennfors and four various backup singers: Ida Gustafsson, Frida Ekerlund, Frida Åstrand and critically praised songwriter and fellow Swede Thomas Denver Jonsson. There's also a vast array of various acoustic instruments, like guitars, mandolin, mandola, melodeon, pump organ, tremelo harmonica and tin whistle, that I took care of myself.
The track list goes like this: 01 Broken, 02 Fairies And Fools, 03 Come Saturday, 04 In From The Cold, 05 Tremble, 06 She Won't Listen (remastered), 07 Railway Car (remastered), 08 Nothing Good, 09 And She Looked Down, 10 Dagger Dagger (remastered).
The album will have its full release on the 17th of September through CDBaby and their digital partners Itunes, Rhapsody, Napster etc. However, it will be exclusively available already to those attending my upcoming UK shows between September the 7th and 10th (see Calendar). The official release gig in my home town of Malmo, Sweden, will not take place until October the 7th, when hopefully all or most of the people performing on the album will be able to take part.
I'll get back to you with links and more detailed info about how to order the album when I'm back home again after my UK trip!
Stay humble! Cheers,
Tomas of Old Lost John