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I've Seen You In Town

by Tom Emlyn

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  • Cassette + Digital Album

    Professionally printed cassette tape of my second album, with a lovely vintage bronze colour.
    Limited to an edition of 50.
    Released on R.E.P.E.A.T. Records

    Includes unlimited streaming of I've Seen You In Town via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 4 days
    edition of 50 

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    CDR of 'I've Seen You In Town', limited to 30 copies

    Includes unlimited streaming of I've Seen You In Town via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 5 days
    edition of 30  5 remaining

      £10 GBP or more 

     

  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
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  • Full Digital Discography

    14
    releases

    Get all 14 Tom Emlyn releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of It Came Back To Me, Hall of Mirrors, Kafka, Stained Glass Eyes (Elliott Smith tribute), Three Covers, Scaredycat Vol. 1 Bsides, Return Journey Revisited: Scaredycat Vol.1, Scrounger EP, and 6 more. , and , .

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1.
Leaving Tomorrow 03:20
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The wind blows along Gower Road tearing at falling leaves and snow got a rucksack and a student loan and a hollow heart of stone You lied to me but there's nothing I can say I lied to you, too it's the same old cliche I'm leaving you tomorrow I'm leaving you today what difference does it make? I'm leaving anyway I remember Oystermouth Road where that pivotal moment hangs haunted by nothing through lamp-posts and sand if it was me that you wanted why was it me you tried to change? Sincerity is in If you can fake it, you're king I'm leaving you tomorrow I'm leaving you today what difference does it make? I'm leaving anyway the shadows in the park were taller yesterday we tricked each other, nothing more to say the winter sun's an apple hanging on the ceiling blue before it falls I'll try to forget you I'm leaving you tomorrow I'm leaving you today what difference does it make? I'm leaving anyway
2.
We Know Who You Are 02:47
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when I was young I went to school fell into an underground land of tubes factory lizards kept the score and the crowd called out again for more we know who you are we know who you are and there's nothing you can do I escaped, I can't remember how and made it to school by the final bell where I was set upon by thieves and conmen intent on fooling me we know who you are we know who you are and there's nothing you can say the answer's in the rowan tree the tarmac street, the air you breathe these chains will set your spirit free calling from internal seas we know who you are we know who you are and there's nothing you can do
3.
Strange Days 02:48
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I had a strange day today as I went out on my own late night hanging in the clouds and on the telephone the shops were all shut and boarded up the trees stood around in the wind I walked down a familiar street and something wasn't the same I had a strange day yesterday drifted down by the sea when I found myself home again something caught up with me then suddenly a hole appeared in my shoe my tie came undone my scarf unravelled and fell to the ground swallowed by the tide I'll have a strange day tomorrow go down to catch the sun and if anybody talks to me I'll say I'm on the run I'll search for strange days wherever I can in landscapes twisted and bare but there's nobody left that cares they've all gone upstairs
4.
Peredur 03:59
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In search of the present I have come far from the past forgetting a version of future events I cannot outlast Peredur, he traveled far his sight obscured gold in his eyes When spring was wound in the mining town I was hours gone Winter's digit stopped all the clocks you called me your tatterdemalion Peredur, you had to know what lay beyond the coal and sheep the mountains steep Deep in the woods I stumbled on to a nameless place a shrouded glade where creatures played in unearthly piece Peredur, a vision came and called your name the apparatus performed its synthesis it's a broken feeling this dreaming of leaving it's me I'm deceiving but it's your time that I'm stealing Peredur, you traveled far you had to hold your precious gold.
5.
Reminder 02:55
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She puts her lips up to the glass you look away, a bubble bursts I could whisper all my fears to you but what would you do? Who would you tell? Would you tell me yours as well? Your mask is hanging askew held together by paper and glue the part of the animal they always throw away that's how you feel half real (oh, sorry, I just forgot what I was saying) Slipping through my fingers slipping through my fingers again I could drink you for a month or two when things get empty you can see right through but it's easier to just look away the woman in the bottle sinks to the bottom a reminder of something I've already forgotten.
6.
Puppets On Strings 02:23
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Seren, where have you been? where do you come from and where are you going? Saw you on the edge of a dream It's the little things like puppets on strings herbal tea and peaceful afternoons I'd like to take you out but I can't afford it and I have no doubt and I can't ignore it Seren, where have you been? where do you come from and where are you going? Saw you on the edge of a dream it's the little things like puppets on strings the tiny yorkshire terrier in your eye I'd like to take you out but I can't afford it and I have no doubt which makes a change it can be arranged
7.
The Lucky Ones 02:53
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I can see the lucky ones frozen in glass with eyes like the sun famous people I never want to meet though I'm just hanging around no appointments to keep pockets full of time I grew up in all the right schools but when I was done there was no work to do so I picked at the bones that washed up with the foam on a barren beach burning a hole in the dusk Crushed beneath the wheel As the engine squeals Ground beneath your heel This always was the deal we keep turning tricks rolling for a six but we're not the lucky ones no we're not the lucky ones. all i have is a star-crossed voice it doesn't have a price and I didn't have a choice small change chord change streetcorner strummer rearranged his mind and died in the summer that tired old summer and i can't help but notice the purple sky at dawn the raindrops freeze but the snow never sticks I've seen you in town where the sun sinks down I've had a look around and they're not the lucky ones no they're not the lucky ones
8.
Under the Weather 04:25
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Walking in Uplands feeling low the clouds are hanging down the autumn air is lovely and I would quote Keats if I could remember any coughing up remnants of yesterday's songs high and dry and don't let me down don't wanna live in a memory museum ragged and dirty and lost and found under the weather, under the weather clouds hanging over my face under the weather, under the weather drop a penny into my case the mouth of the river opens and closes in Wind St rooms the temperature rises there is no beauty that's not worth admiring there is no taste that's not worth acquiring running in circles and chasing my tail for too long on the streets of this seabitten town no-one is born with a waterproof mind and Swansea people are made of rain under the weather, under the weather clouds hanging over my face under the weather, under the weather drop a penny into my case ambition is pitiful when you're gone, when you're gone, when you're gone just one more riddle to solve now you're gone, now you're gone, now you're gone and I'm still here under the weather, under the weather
9.
Out of Season 02:45
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The rain falls quietly on a rusty old pier an emerald bay on a misty day tourist ghosts appear promenading on the sand they take the autumn air foghorns on container ships chant in corporate prayer It's no Blackpool, no Southend no Costa Del Soul always out of season did you hear the doorbell ring? door slam shut in hollow cafes and claws hang empty in penny arcades when I was a young man they came from miles around from Manchester and Liverpool to walk the golden sands no-one ever visits no-one ever comes always out of season did you hear the doorbell ring?
10.
Where's It Going To End? 02:44
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There's a horseman knocking on your door interrupting our quiet desolation well, when he's gone we can have some more and me and my tribute band will steal away to some quiet corner before the break of day crushes our expectations where's it going to end, my friend? where's it going to end, my friend? you say the plague is coming you saw it on the BBC don't listen to the weathermen don't believe what you see on TV when your engine stalls and the circus unfurls will you smile into the sun? as the silence falls upon your curls where's it going to end, my friend? where's it going to end, my friend?
11.
The Ballad of Tea Cosy Pete 04:31
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Gather round your glowing screens and I'll tell you all a tale of a Swansea boy who walked the streets in the rain and in the hail they said you were a millionaire when they saw you on the street woollen hat on your matted hair and bin bags on your feet maybe that made them all feel better inside their warm and lucky lives or maybe you chose to live that way but you're not around anymore, so who can say? don't forget about Tea Cosy Pete mythical gentleman of the street I saw him shaking like a leaf in the record-breaking heat Now the archbishop is in the Evening Post with grammar-school recollections of something that you wrote a melancholy poem of crowds and loneliness the boys all laughed but now he can see what was expressed maybe he regrets the way your life turned out did he think that God would sort it out? and maybe he wishes he'd done more with all his earthly power to help the lost and poor don't forget about Tea Cosy Pete enlightened gentleman of the street I can still see him standing in Castle Square watching the lights dance upon the funeral don't forget about Tea Cosy Pete mythical gentleman of the street I always meant to talk to him but I never did how does it feel?
12.
Waunarlwydd 02:14
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about

This album is a collection of songs I'd been meaning to get around to recording for years - a concept and feeling that I've had for quite a while. Some of them actually go back to when I first started writing songs at the age of 17. It took a pandemic and a few lockdowns for me to finally get around to recording them. As a whole, the tracks lean heavily into exploring the myths and ghosts of Swansea. The cover art is a picture of my great-grandfather William George Thomas (third from left), who worked as a carpenter on the railways. It was taken at Swansea docks (that's Kilvey Hill in the background), sometime in the second decade of the twentieth century, when Dylan Thomas was just a small child in the western suburbs of town.
The tracks were mostly recorded during 2021, but some of them were started at some murky point before that in the mists of time and had been hanging around for a while on the forgotten street corners of my mind, misbehaving and generally making a nuisance of themselves. It's a humble home-recorded bunch of tunes. Hope you enjoy!

'Leaving Tomorrow' is one of the first songs I ever wrote, it probably started as a Dylan pastiche and remains an ironic attempt to move forward through phases of life, while being aware that it's much easier to do that in a song than in your actual relationships. A kiss-off that tries to be older than its years, with a catchy hook. Not as bitter as it thinks it is.

'We Know Who You Are' is about childhood memories and social expectations. The surrealism of remembering the environments that shaped you and how misleading those memories can be. All existence mapped out in a square mile.

'Strange Days' is another very early one, and an early attempt at a surrealist, observational walking song. A flaneur-ish dreamscape; feeling alone, wandering, adolescent loneliness and long days with nothing to do. It's a stripped back acoustic performance, but I added some chaotic, swirling keys on my Korg monotron delay, which produces an atonal cacophony of noise. I auto-tuned it to the song, so it jumps randomly between the notes of the key. It reminds me of my work experience as a teenager at a library in Gower - the library went on strike while I was there, so I only ended up working for a couple of days. I spent the rest of the time walking around Swansea with my mp3 player. An experience that foreshadowed a good chunk of my working life.

'Peredur' is loosely based on an Arthurian story from the Mabinogion. Very loosely - Peredur is one of King Arthur's knights, I took his name and transplanted him to a bizarre landscape that's partly industrial South Wales and partly somewhere harder to define, an alchemical magic realist dream-place. It's still a 'quest' of sorts. I think I was trying to write about the idea of searching for something, and the things you sacrifice on that journey.

'Reminder' was written a few years later, and is a tune I tried to record a few times. In the end I used this take, which was only meant to be a demo but had a better performance than the times I tried to do it "properly". it's about two people on a disappointing date, getting drunker and drunker to deal with the awkwardness - obviously that doesn't work. It was originally inspired by a friend's tattoo of a woman inside a bottle.

'Puppets on Strings' was written for my girlfriend, who is a puppeteer. This is another one where I used the demo, which I played on the piano at my mum's house. I layered more tracks on top of the demo this time. It was a bit tricky to get it all in time but was worth it in the end. I think it's a sweet song.

'The Lucky Ones' is a fairly recent tune. It's got a bit of a poppier country feel, similar to 'Leaving Tomorrow'. I put a slapback delay on the master track of both tunes, trying to get a bit of that 50s' Sun Studios sort of feel. The drums were recorded in a big hall at Cathays Community Centre in Cardiff, which accidentally gave them a big reverby sound that ended up working well. This is one where I put the keyboards into my broken tape recorder and back out again, something I did on a few songs on the album. I really like the flangey, muddy lo-fi sound of it, like the broken memory of a mellotron. It's a song about outsiders in society, comparing yourself to other people, and appreciating what you have.

'Under the Weather' was originally recorded years ago with some students in BBC studios, Swansea, and includes a beautiful harmonium/pump organ that was lying around the studio.
The organ was a half-step out of tune, in between D and C#. I did the guitars in a different room - so I had to tune the guitar to the organ downstairs, then rush back upstairs and hope the guitar stayed in tune with the phantom note! It was abandoned for ages, appropriately for the subject matter, then pieced back together with a new vocal. It's another walking song of the Swansea streets. It obviously began as a play on the idea of being under the weather in the sense of being ill - but we're all under the weather in another sense, exposed under the huge skies; vulnerable to the changing seasons, money, work, relationships, expectations.

'Out of Season' is a song about a made-up declining seaside resort that nobody visits anymore. I think I got the idea originally when I was a student in Bangor, North Wales, so it's a Northwalian landcsape this time. I remember looking out from the train as it passed miles of caravans and desolate, wide-open stretches of sand. I imagine it as being like Llandudno or Rhyl, but a bit more rundown and haunted; ghostly Victorian promenades, Georgian arcades, piers and cheap hotels. It was a good opportunity to play around with some creepy haunted-carnival type imagery. This is one of the ones where I used my bunch of keys as a percussion track.

'Where's It Going To End?' is another very early one which is about a doomed relationship. I came back to the song during the covid pandemic, changed some lines and completely rearranged the guitar parts.

'The Ballad of Tea Cosy Pete' is a song about Tea Cosy Pete, a well known Swansea figure who died a few years ago. He was a homeless man that everyone in town has a story about talking to - he was very articulate and well-spoken, and was usually reading a book whenever you saw him. I thought if anyone deserved a tribute, it was him. The lyrics also try to critique the relationship of our society to the homeless; people would say he chose to live like that - unburdened by society - but I always wondered if that was just a story we told ourselves so we'd feel less guilty. Maybe he had transcended the selfish, material world in some kind of free, enlightened way, though. Who knows? It's impossible to say - he's not around any more to ask. So it's an elegy, but it's also about hypocrisy.

'Waunarlwydd' was an instrumental I had lying around which I thought would make a good, cinematic ending to the album - like the closing credits of a film. It's got quite a layered sound - lap steel, mandolin, synthesised strings.

credits

released September 30, 2022

Tom Emlyn - Guitar, vox, keys, piano, bass, found sounds, mandolin, bunch of keys, percussion, harmonium, lap steel
Billy Stillman - Drums on 'Leaving Tomorrow', 'Peredur' and 'The Lucky Ones'
Rhys Underdown - clarinet on 'Out of Season'

Thanks to Cam for mixing advice
'The Ballad of Tea Cosy Pete' engineered by Randell Denning at BBC studios, Swansea
Mixed by Tom Emlyn

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Tom Emlyn Swansea, UK

"peripatetic musical genius" - Adam Walton, BBC Radio Wales

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