Tom Rosenthal - Denis Was a Bird (2021)

Tom Rosenthal has announced his brand new album Denis Was A Bird out via Tinpot Records / Universal Music on August 20th and available to pre-order here. Marking the announcement Tom has released the lead single and album opener ‘Now You Know’.

Denis Was A Bird is a hugely moving record written by Tom as a reflection on the recent death of his father. The emotive album captures the weight of sadness and mourning, yet also celebrates moments of clarity with fond contemplation on happiness and the joys of life that make existence beautiful.

The album opens with the touching piano ballad and lead single ‘Now You Know’, which explores the feelings encountered in the last few hours before his father’s passing.

Regarding the single Tom says, “A lot of artists when talking about their forthcoming work will typically say "this song is more most personal work to date etc", but I can safely say my work will never get more intimate than this song. It recalls the hours/days before and after my dad’s death, when obviously emotions were at their most intense. I can't image writing a song that means more to me and I hope it touches anyone who has lost someone close to them. It's a gentle yet intense piano song, which still manages the odd light touch.”

Denis Was A Bird has been produced by Fryars (Mark Ronson, Lily Allen, Mika) and the record quickly progresses into big, bright and uplifting songs bolstered by a 25-piece choir, who feature throughout the album adding a stunning delicate vocal backing, yet make their boldest moments on the majestic anthems ‘Walking Up The Hill’, ‘Uncontrollably’ and ‘Little Joys’.

The grandiose album continues to expand further and is awash with magnificent strings, perfectly complimenting Tom’s exquisite songwriting and piano playing as found on ‘Letter Song’ and the title-track, which closes the album. Tom also captures the most upbeat moments on the record with jubilant folk-pop such as the celebration of unconditional love on ‘I Went To Bed And I Loved You’.

Continuing about the album Tom says, “Denis Was A Bird is an album of songs reflecting on the death of my father, who died from Parkinson’s disease two years ago. I very much didn't want this record to be a doom album, but rather I wanted it to be a reflection of the process of grief, which has many euphoric and uplifting moments too. So the album starts with a very intimate song telling the story of the day my dad died, and it ends with a more ethereal concept of him being a bird. In between it journeys through a range of emotions, the album getting brighter and more celebratory (helped along by a 25-strong choir) as it progresses.”

Denis Was A Bird is Tom’s sixth album and first in three years. The London singer/songwriter has enjoyed phenomenal success releasing music on his own label Tinpot Records, achieving over 323 million streams for his music on Spotify (with over 2.3 million current monthly listeners), 46 million on Apple Music, 150 million views on YouTube and over 75 million views on TikTok.

Tom’s songs have also featured on a number of TV soundtracks (HBO's Hard Knocks, Netflix's Kid Poker and Virgin River and Channel 4's Skins), Global ad campaigns (Vodafone, Visa, Facebook and Renault), and a number of major film trailers including Comet, Anesthesia and The Odyssey.

As a family man, Tom was a late adopter to touring due to not wanting to leave his two small daughters, however since hitting the road in 2019 he has sold out major venues across Europe and prestigious London venues including Union Chapel and Islington Assembly Hall.

In early 2020, Tom and his daughter Fenn co-wrote 'Dinosaurs in Love', which became a global viral hit overnight amassing tens of millions of views on TikTok and was even covered by Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show. It has now been transformed into a picture book published by Hachette selling tens of thousands of copies globally.

Later that year Tom had another viral hit, this time his cover of Edward Sharpe's 'Home' (released under the pseudonym 'Edith Whiskers'), which has become one of the most used songs on TikTok and amassed over 70 million Spotify streams to date.

Most recently Tom has co-founded the charity Grand Plan with Marina Diamandis and Siddharth Kahjuria. The registered UK charity (no: 1193497) awards four £1000 grants a month to young artists of colour looking to realise a creative project. A panel of independent judges who are all established non-white artist and creatives themselves, including April Brown, Travis Alabanza, Nikesh Shukla and Bolanle Tajudeen, award the grants. Notable ambassadors including Sir Richard Curtis, Sir Nicholas Hytner, Alan Yentob, Tom Odell, Simon Amstell, Dodie and many more support the charity.

Tom Rosenthal is a champion example of the powers of an independent artist in 2021, an entrepreneurial and creative figure who holds no bounds. His impassioned new album Denis Was A Bird is a deeply honest body of work, which plays with an emotive potency to capture the hearts and minds of millions more fans worldwide.

Tom is an artist true to himself in every form. His work through music and beyond is here to provoke positive thoughts, conversations and change throughout all generations and walks of life, which is set to make a lasting impact for many more years to come.