Thomas McConnell
Since graduating from Abbey Road Institute, Thomas McConnell has become a self-employed musician. He spends most of his time working on recordings, gigs, art, videos and anything else required for his project, Novelty Island.
Thomas records mostly out of his own home but has done several sessions for the Abbey Road Institute since leaving the course. Those recordings have ended up on Novelty Island records alongside many others that he’s worked on with course-leader Carlos Lellis – who he says has been a great support to him.
Right now Thomas is studying a degree at the University Of Liverpool on Music Theory and Music History. Developing Novelty Island whilst studying at Abbey Road Institute opened many doors for the alumni. He later went onto perform a range of gigs in London in 2020. In 2021, he wrote and released an album titled ‘How Are You Coping With This Century?’ This album went onto receive support by BBC Radio 6 and others.
As we emerged from the pandemic, Novelty Island live-band re-emerged and within a year toured the UK supporting The Pale White. In addition to opening the Acoustic Stage at Glastonbury 2022.
As for what’s next, Thomas is gearing up for the release of his forthcoming EP ‘Taped Over.’ Out via 9X9 Records on vinyl, cd, cassette and streaming.
Stay tuned for more future Novelty Island plans…