Rod Thomas is experiencing something he has only dreamed
about. The dream, to make music and entertain people from all walks of life
from all around the globe, is coming true. Thomas, who goes by the stage name,
Bright Light Bright Light, is a musician, producer, DJ, beatmaker and
personality that fuses 80’s synth and today’s EDM and brings forth a party and
emotion within every song.
“Music has the power to get into people’s lives. The power
of communicating and connecting is incredible. The power of the connecting is
far beyond what I could understand,” Thomas told me as we met in a SoHo, New
York, bar. Thomas, who was in town to play a slew of gigs as Bright Light
Bright Light and make DJ appearances, to promote his debut record, Make Me
Believe in Hope. His debut, which was done totally DIY and out of his own
pocket, has received much acclaim around the world, the British artist is a
buzz artist all over the U.K. and has even gained comparisons to Robyn and has
been praised by Elton John. Thomas, who was proud of his praise from Sir Elton,
said, “It’s surreal. It’s impressive that someone at his level took time to
hear my music. It’s amazing to get someone’s seal of approval from someone you
have admired for as long as you have been alive.”
Make Me Believe in Hope is a record that hears his 80’s new
wave influence and 90’s electronica sound come together, while maintaining
something very fresh and new that you would hear his colleagues create today.
“I am influenced by Kate Bush, Bjork, Depeche Mode, Pet Shop Boys, people and
artists with strong personalities. Not trying to be something you are not. Bush
and Bjork were never something they were not, they just followed what they
felt,” he said. The records bold title and command is how people connect with each
other. Thomas explained that, “I am fascinated by life as a person-to-person
connection. How a situation can make you feel about yourself, whether its
power, helplessness, and disappointment. But, Make Me Believe in Hope is a
statement about the people around you that help you and how you help yourself.
That is hope. Hope is not necessarily a positive, its what you give is the best
you have.”
While his influences have inspired his sound and style, it
is his life these days that has him soaking up every moment. Thomas grew up in
a coal-mining town in Wales and currently resides in London and is creating his
passion. While his friends and family are still trying to understand his
lifestyle, he is not questioning it. “I grew up in the middle of nowhere, with
no ‘in’ into the music industry. When I think about what I have done properly,
it is absurd. It is absurd because I am so fortunate and I am not taking that
fortune for granted and I am enjoying it,” he said.
For all of the travel, acclaim and self-releasing his debut
record, it is the people from around the world that contact Thomas and thank
him for his music and request him to play in their town or city that really
brings a smile to his face. While it brings joy and affirmation that this is
his calling, it also goes back to his fascination of people connecting with
each other. He said, “I get e-mails from people from all over asking for
remixes and telling me they love the record. That makes it all worth it.” Like
nearly every artist of today, he uses the Internet to give away mixtapes,
remixes and some of his music and encourages interaction between his fans. The
fruits of his labor are now blossoming and being spread from person to person,
for all of the hard work and worry that Thomas had, his dream is finally
realized. “Wherever it goes from here is exciting. I grew up in a coal mine and
there was fuck all there. So anything from there is exciting,” he said.
