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by anna jane begley
If Toby Watson were a poster, he’d be one filled with inspirational quotes. At our interview one evening in February, every answer he gives is littered with affirmations: “It only takes one moment to create a pathway to something in the past and that’s the beauty of art”; “Creativity and quirkiness should be relabelled as authenticity”; and “Every hurtful experience we have in our lives adds to who we are” were merely some of his many insights.
If you think I’m saying this to mock, you’re sorely mistaken: Toby is a young man with big dreams – and the ideas and drive to match. Barely halfway through university, he has released four singles, filmed one music video and performed at various jazz clubs in London.
Look him up on Spotify and you may find yourself transported back to the early 2000s: Toby’s world is one of moody piano chord sequences, a heavy use of synth and futuristic sound effects, but you don’t even need to listen to his songs to know what I’m on about – the cover for his single Warzone evokes Rihanna’s Rated R album with a saturated Purple Rain-esque colour palette, while the photography for A Demon Within is either a conscious or subconscious nod to Adele’s 21.
Yet despite this modern influence, the 22-year-old seems like someone born in the wrong decade. “Elton John was a huge inspiration for me,” he says. “And the aesthetic of the ‘Piano Man’ throughout time, like Billy Joel and artists like that.”
When I meet Toby at a hotel lounge near London Tower Hill, he is indeed dressed like an old-school crooner, donning a black polo neck and a Ribena purple blazer with matching socks and leather brogues. Music’s influence on his fashion sense is unquestionable, though he maintains his image isn’t dictated by his art form.
“I dress how I dress, but I’ve never tried to change the way I am to fit a song,” he tells me. So not like Beyonce, for example, currently going through her country phase? “No, no, no, or Taylor Swift going through her…” He racks his brain for Swiftie knowledge. “The reason I bring her up is because my partner is a big fan and she’ll kill me for not knowing this, but Swift went through some sort of phase that the Swifties got very excited about.” (Upon further research, it transpires there are multiple phases, depending on the album released.)
There is one rule he abides by though: “The artwork for my songs, and to a large extent my clothes – the only colours allowed are black, white or purple. Purple is my colour.” (On the topic of favourite film musicals, it’s little surprise he picks Wonka.)
There’s no doubt aesthetics matter to Toby – in fact he recently spent two years working at a reputable tailoring brand on the infamously fashionable Jermyn Street in Piccadilly. “I was taking measurements, I would write little notes that the tailor would use. It’s sort of a fun party trick, I can tell men’s measurements by looking at them.” He guesses our photographer’s chest and waist size in less than five seconds. He’s spot on.
Why the tailoring job? “You know, school had finished, I was 19 and I was living in London on my own. I just wanted to work, pay bills, be out of student accommodation [he has been studying popular music performance at The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance] and all that sort of stuff.
“It gave me a lot of clarity and a lot of purpose. You get up, you know what you’re doing every day, I had good people around me and it was a really happy period of my life. I learned a lot from it.”
In September 2024, Toby gave up work and continued his studies, and he also performs at various jazz clubs, predominantly in Soho. He has released some singles between 2022-23, which he wrote and performed. “But where I am right now is mainly a session musician. I perform in jazz bars, mainly covers to please the crowds”.
Toby’s relationship with music began as a toddler, having taken piano lessons from the age of three. When he was four years old, he got the part “that sets one child apart from the masses – the Once in Royal David’s City solo.” From there, he joined the school choir.
His love for jazz comes largely from his dad (“he had a record player and I remember his Stevie Ray Vaughan Pride and Joy record”), though is trained in classical singing. “I started taking singing lessons at 13 because I thought it would be easy to go through the grades and pick up some UCAS points for university. I never was much of an academic.
“At secondary school, I could choose [my own style of] music and I discovered I love a 12-bar blues. Then came my love for jazz, though I didn’t enjoy jazz piano until I heard the lyrics and the singing part of it.”
His most recent single, however, marks a determined shift from jazz – Smoke and Mirrors has a confidence to it that signals a musician eager to showcase his own style of melodies to the world. There’s a jazz element for sure, but it’s definitely a transition to something more classic pop, akin to Tom Odell’s transition to the dance scene in 2016’s Wrong Crowd.
In a similar vein, Smoke and Mirrors (co-written and produced with his friend and fellow musician Will Moore) is a statement on Toby’s intended “sound”, even if that sound at the moment is more an amalgamation of his favourite artists. “I was inspired by Space Eighties and Imagine Dragons as well. I’m a huge fan of them, they were the first concert I went to when I was 15. They are huge inspirations of mine in the way they use their sound and their soundscape, especially in their Evolve album. I also went through a George Ezra phase when I was 16.”
I point out that his songs tend to have a pessimistic view on life – “This world was never meant to last, life’s a blast it’s gone so fast” is one of many depressing lines in Smoke and Mirrors. At first listen, I smirked a little at that lyric, reflecting on the fact that he was barely past 18 years old when he wrote it. But it’s easy to forget Toby is one of millions of “Covid babies” who’ve grown up during the pandemic.
“The things I write are quite sad, but I’m not a sad person. The lyrics are very much reflective of someone I was when I was young. Those weren’t particularly happy times, but now I’m much more comfortable and happy in myself.”
Did the state of the world at that time – the pandemic, a decade’s worth of Tories in power – impact his music or was it more personal? “You can mean whatever you want it to mean,” he laughs. “In all seriousness though, I did feel very betrayed. I remember Partygate and my grandfather passed during Covid and [my siblings and I] couldn’t go to the funeral. I was heartbroken at the state of the world and its affairs. So my lyrics are a mix of that and also a personal note.”
Toby’s currently working on an EP with four songs lined up, “one exploring drama and gossip culture and the effects of that. And also a song for a friend who was going through problems with their mental health so the lyrics are what I wanted them to hear.”
For now, it’s back to university and jazz bars. Before we part ways however, our photographer Ash points out Toby’s uncanny resemblance to a young Richard Armitage. Could acting be in his future? “Currently I wouldn’t say so, but life is longer than we give it credit for and at my age, it feels like everything has to happen immediately. That would be something to figure out.” Given how much he’s figured out emotionally and artistically aged only 22, there’s little doubt Toby knows which direction he’s headed.
pictures by ash hussain
video kindly provided by toby watson
