Good evening listeners! Now you can pre-save my brand new EP ”Mörkret valde oss” on Spotify by clicking here

I can’t wait for you to hear it!

T

”If you are going through hell, keep going.” ~ Winston Churchill

Hi guys! An article made by reporter Erik Ottosson from Östersunds-Posten about my upcoming release ”Mörkret valde oss” got published today. I’ve translated it so you can read it here:

Recorded album – to process best friend’s passing

Pianist Tomas Grut releases delicate music in a cinematic spirit. The songs are dedicated to his friend who passed away ten years ago. – I want to tell others who are going through grief right now that there is a light further ahead, he says.

There are six songs that will premiere this autumn under the name ”Mörkret valde oss”. From the opening number ”Fåglar” to the closing ”Saknaden”, a story is told in tones with a sad ending.

Tomas Grut’s friend Danne passed away under relatively dramatic circumstances, which made the grief even more difficult to process.

– It’s said that time heals all wounds. But the scar never goes away, says Tomas Grut.

The single that precedes the EP, which will be released on September 6th, is the moving ”Där regnet faller”. The EP itself is in many ways a meditation for the musician who learned that new life can be found through conversation and piano playing.

– There has been a lot of talking. For many it is a taboo, but for me it has helped me a lot in the grieving process. To some, it might work better not to talk to people, says Tomas Grut.

According to him, the response so far has been positive with the comment that the music sounds like a soundtrack to a film, a TV series or video game – from which part of the inspiration was taken.

– I’m a big Zelda fan. I am inspired a lot by video game composers such as Akira Yamaoka and Nobuo Uematsu, both of whom I met. Film music also inspires. The first time I heard Michael Nyman’s music from The Piano, something happened in me, says Tomas Grut.

He says that in the creative process he is rarely more than satisfied with the whole – but often with the individual song.

– The difficult thing sometimes is puzzling everything together

In conjunction with the release of the EP in September, the musician is expecting a child – two major events in life that coincide. Nowadays, the musician looks at the grief for the deceased friend in a different way.

– I want to tell others who are going through grief right now that there is a light further away. Nothing is constant when it comes to crises and situations, says Tomas Grut.

Isabell Rödén, partner of Tomas Grut,
has designed the cover for the release,
which will be released on September 6th

Folks! My new single ”Där regnet faller” is now out on all platforms. The title is swedish for ”Where the rain falls”. The song is produced by Johan Arveli and the artwork by Isabell Rödén. Enjoy and stay tuned for more!

Cheers!

Tomas

”If you are going through hell, keep going.” ~ Winston Churchill

Journalist Philip Norén from Östersunds-Posten did an article/interview with me in conjunction with the release of ”The Atonement” that got published yesterday. I’ve translated it as well as I can so you can read it here:

Tomas is a perfectionist to his fingertips

Composer Tomas Grut has just released his fifth full-length album ”Chapter V: The Atonement”. He carries a lot of emotions that he gets an outlet for through his music.

– Music works almost like therapy for me, he says.

Tomas Grut himself describes his new, fifth full-length album ”Chapter V: The Atonement” as dreamy, mysterious, majestic, energetic, happy, dramatic and melancholic.

– I think it will appeal to many because it contains very different feelings and expressions, says Tomas Grut.

Disc number five is significantly brighter than his previous work. This is despite the fact that Tomas Grut during parts of the creative process, which ran for about two years, struggled with feelings and thoughts of both guilt and shame in the aftermath of a bad ending to a relationship. He himself describes these feelings as ”a new form of pain”.

Music helps Tomas Grut to handle both difficult and joyful emotions. That has always been the case, he says. The making of the album has served as a kind of therapy.

– It is important to try to disconnect the thinking. If you think too much you can often go wrong and you can get stuck in what you’re doing. I try to go by instinct and by my feelings in what I do.

I personally have a strong belief that tragedies and darkness in life breed creativity. Do you agree on that?

– I think there is a lot to it. But when I make the best music and when I’m the most creative, I am neither too deep at the bottom and do not feel too good either. Not ”submarine mode” as I call it but more slightly depressed. If I feel too bad, I can barely walk or stand, then it is difficult to make music!

In his creation, Tomas Grut tries to dedicate his entire presence to his music entirely. The fingers dance frantically over the keys and out of the piano comes heavenly piano melodies that testify to both pain and joy.

Would you say that your inner feelings are reflected in the music you create?

– Yes. However, it does not have to reflect my mood for the moment. For example, some of the most depressing pieces I have made, I have made when I have been very happy and some of my happiest pieces I have made when I have been depressed.

During the time that Tomas Grut was working on the new record, he found out, after a neuropsychiatric evaluation, that he has both autism and also ADD. He is clear that it is very important to talk about mental health – especially as a man.

– I have no problem talking about my mental health and I will continue doing so, he says.

How have the diagnoses affected you?

– I do not want to romanticize disabilities and I can almost get provoked by this ”superpower-dialogue” going on. In my case, I see it more as a gift and a curse.

Tomas Grut thinks that he has learned to accept his shortcomings as a human being and tries to live with the diagnoses rather than let them become obstacles.

– I have had a lot to process and accept. And then we have this with trying to see the positive in the seemingly negative. I think I’m pretty good at doing so.

Another approach that Tomas Grut has used to learn to accept his diagnoses has been to focus on the fact that he is in good company when it comes to creative greats with different types of diagnoses.

– Glenn Gould, who is the best pianist who has ever lived. He had both autism and tourettes. You can even hear his tics if you listen carefully to his recordings, says Tomas Grut.

– I probably have the diagnoses to thank a lot for my musicality. I almost have to believe it to be able to handle it.

Tomas Grut says that he has never worked so intensively with a record as he did when he created ”The Atonement”. In fact, he became so absorbed in the music that the piano keys eventually began to make a physical impact on his body.

– I got blisters on my fingers because I played so much haha.

Do you feel that your music must be perfect before then daring to let go of it?

– Yeah, I do, it’s also a bit of a gift and a curse. I am very picky and I have almost had to accept that I will never be 100 % completely satisfied, says Tomas Grut and at the same time says that he is satisfied with the new album.

– But I chase something that is perfect and masterful, but it feels like it will never happen

Now you are just done with a new record that has just been released. How are you feeling now?

– I feel a bit exhausted and my ”hard drive” is empty on ideas. It is a mixture of emptiness and sadness but also relief and joy of course. As it usually feels and should feel. I think it will take quite a long time before I start making new music. But I’ve said that before.

– Now I’ll probably just try to enjoy and celebrate.

Now Tomas Grut is looking forward to playing his new pieces in front of a live audience.

My 5th full-length album ”Chapter V: The Atonement” is now available on all platforms. l’ve worked very hard on it and I hope you all enjoy it for many years!

A big thanks go out to producer Johan Arveli, photoprapher Åke Remén and violinst/alto violinist Peter Roos among others.

Cheers

T

”If you are going through hell, keep going.” ~ Winston Churchill