How To Dress Well Talks Creative Mourning (Dazed Digital Interview)

If you are familiar with Tom Krell, aka How To Dress Well, and his music, then you probably know that the emotional component plays an important role while creating his songs. Dazed Digital accompanied the singer during his recent trip to London where he explored the dynamic and creative surroundings of Shoreditch and performed at Birthdays. Krell opens up on the songs on his latest release Total Loss, the dark months following the release of Love Remains in autumn 2010 – a period of personal tragedy. His best friend and his uncle passed away, his mother became mentally ill and he entered into a long-distance relationship.

“In music and life at the time, it was like, ‘If you don’t get this shit in gear, you’re done.’ I wrote these very dark, sad songs, but I also wrote ‘Ocean Floor For Everything’ (the first single from the new LP). It stood out from everything else, so I spent the next few months putting it on the horizon, trying to write my way to that song. The album’s about developing a relationship with loss which is spiritually enriching rather than devastating. It’s more wistful and mournful. It’s challenging but also quite powerful, even liberating, when you can transform loss into hopefulness.”

Watch the visual companion, shot by Santiago Arbelaez, above and read the interview in its entirety here.