Tom Aspaul knows pop music. With an extensive song-writing resume that includes the one-and-only Kylie Minogue, he has had tremendous success. Having performed his first-ever Irish gig in the iconic Mother in 2022, the West Midlands singer-songwriter is returning to Ireland with his latest audio treat, Cabin Fever.

We had the pleasure of sitting down with Aspaul ahead of his show in The Workman’s Club on Saturday, October 18, to discuss the stories behind the album, musical inspirations, vulnerability, and working as a queer musician.

While previous albums have been inspired by a break-up, or in the case of Life in Plastic, an album filled with more standalone situation-specific tracks that play across several genres, this latest endeavour has a slightly different inspiration.

“I, basically, did acid for the first time. For the first and last time, in Sweden, during Midsommar, their midsummer festival. It was horrendous, basically. It was just absolutely horrible, and I would never ever do it again. I had complete… ego death, is what they call it.

“I’ve kind of had some distance from the album now, and it feels like a diary, specifically of that time when I was on tour.”

Being inspired by a moment as vulnerable as an unwieldy acid trip could lead to hearing some incredibly personal feelings in these lyrics, and indeed it does. Aspaul discussed his experience with being vulnerable in previous records and how his feelings toward each album have changed over time.

“I wrote about 35 songs for the album. A lot of the earlier ones would probably be the most exposing, raw, detailed. The ones that are on the album are probably the last 10 to 12 that I wrote. In comparison, they’re like a walk in the park. It [the earlier material] wasn’t necessarily something that I would want to release to the public. I think in doing that, it made me brave to then put some things and some details in other songs.

“With my first album, Black Country Disco, which was about a breakup, I have to live with that being out in the world and some of the thoughts that I had within months of that happening, I wouldn’t think necessarily now – but that’s it. It’s out there.”

Aspaul is an independent artist, which comes with a lot of challenges, but also brings a degree of creative control not afforded elsewhere.

“I worked with a producer called Gil Lewis. He’s a really good producer, which I don’t claim to be.”

Aspaul’s music videos are an absolute visual feast, playing with unabashedly queer aesthetics and drawing on many influences, often brought to life by his own hands.

“I’m quite a controlling Virgo. We’ll work with other directors, but I’ll do the editing. Especially this album being so personal, lyrically… everything else has to have my fingerprints all over it. It’s a lot of work. I’ve just kind of picked it up as I’ve gone.”

On the inspiration for the album, Aspaul was highly influenced by the music of the seventies.

“On tour, I was listening to Fleetwood Mac, Olivia Newton-John, and just all this very middle-of-the-road, guitar, seventies, easy listening music just to help me relax on tour. I think that was a starting point for the sound of the album. Listened to a lot of ABBA in Sweden. And then I think it just became an amalgamation of lots of things. It started off pretty acoustic-sounding, which would’ve been weird for me. Then it grew over time and I worked with Gil and we added lots of different things to it. So it was a real, I hate to say ‘journey’, but it was.”

Aspaul has previously stated he is influenced by the likes of ELO, ELectric Light Orchestra, and this album features some musical concepts familiar to ELO fans, such as a number of songs that stand alone but come together to create a transformed musical experience, like ELO’s Concerto for a Rainy Day. This is mirrored in Aspaul’s album, one example being ‘Sauna’ and the titular ‘Cabin Fever’. We asked how intentional this homage was.

“You’ve picked up on that. Not many people have, so I’m pleased. I love ELO and I have that record on vinyl, and they’re a big inspiration. It’s a huge influence for sure.”

For Aspaul, as a queer man of part Romanichal descent who grew up on a council estate in the Black Country, identity plays into his experiences and is apparent in his art. We asked how conscious this decision is and what the experience has been so far in his career.

“When I first started, it was like in 2012, I had this manager and they were like: ‘We don’t wanna put your image in anything, and we don’t want anyone to know, don’t want you to sing to men or women.’ That was very early on, and I did away with that person for that reason. Just because it felt like I wasn’t able to be myself. I’ve never thought twice about it, really. I think I write songs as a way of getting things off my chest and therapy. I think if I didn’t do that, then it wouldn’t be real.

“I think as I go on, the more it becomes important to me… It’s not something I’ve picked up on until recently. I think obviously, going forward, that will continue. It definitely differentiates and there’s so much music where that is not apparent. It makes it that much more relatable and personal. I hope so. I really do.

“I also think this is an element of, and I find I feel this as well, as a gay man and as a queer person, when you see yourself represented, it is really important. But also… Because it’s so real and it’s so close to your experience, you almost cringe a little bit. I think that actually can be a barrier to people listening to my music because it’s not something that you can just put on and not think about, potentially.”

We asked Aspaul if there is anything from the album he hopes the audience takes away from their listening.

“I think ‘don’t take acid’ would be like the first one”, he laughs.

“I think I may have over-conceptualised this album a little bit, so it may not be as instantly gratifying to listen to as some of my past releases, but I would say it’s my favorite of everything that I’ve done and to just sit with it for a while because I think the songs are brilliant and they tell a story, but they can all be individually listened to as well.

“It took two years to write and produce. I’m really, really proud of it. I’m so excited to perform the songs because they have such a live element to them. I’m excited to move on to the next thing, but I’m looking forward to this tour.”

Tom Aspaul will bring the Cabin Fever Live tour to The Workman’s Club on Saturday, October 18, and we can’t wait to see what he does in the future.