Allday, otherwise known as Tom Gaynor, has earned a reputation for his no-bullshit, self-deprecating sense of humour, a trait that earned him runner-up at the 2011’s Raw Comedy final, and a place in the hearts and heads of hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide. “If you take time to read my Facebook comments I think that my worst critic is in there somewhere,” he jokes. “I know that being unsure is healthy, but my artistic process is full of super agonising doubt – but I’ll get there someday.”
Speeding is a dreamy mix of Allday’s signature soft grunge love rap, ambient beats (with thanks to Unearthed alum Japanese Wallpaper), and a slew of fresh collaborations, courtesy of Nyne, Gracelands and Mallrat.
“I met Mallrat because she would always come to my shows, but I didn’t even know her name. She was just someone who was on my Facebook and she was always really kind and supportive,” Allday says. “When she started making music she would send it to a guy I used to live with who also played keyboards with me, and he started producing her.
“I remember hearing the rough demo of her first song and thinking ‘Oh wow. This is really good,’ but I think anybody would be able to tell that. From there we started to hang out,” he says. “I think we will always be making music together.”
It’s no secret Allday prefers to work with people he admires, and the multi-talented Japanese Wallpaper is no exception. “We sat there and played in his studio – it was a little room above a real estate agent or something, in Caulfield. It wasn’t meant to be a studio, but it’s in the suburbs and it’s really quiet. The weird thing is that because the walls are so thin, he has to make music really quietly, and I think that contributes to the super gentle, magic sound he has – he’s super calm, so it was really nice.”
Despite living his dream in LA, Allday says he hasn’t forgotten where he came from – and the call centre that helped keep food on the table when he first moved to Melbourne. “Occasionally I think back to my call centre days, because I used to drive past the building all the time. When I’d go past there I’d think ‘Oh shit. That was horrible.” he laughs. “But I’ve had lots of terrible jobs.
“With this album in particular,” he adds. “The immediate pressure was to do a good job. If I started worrying about album sales or Spotify plays then I might as well just do a pop song and get it over with. I want to be known as a good songwriter.”
By Natalie Rogers