Denuo - denuology.com

If you search mentions of the word “denuo” on Twitter you’ll notice they fall into three categories: people talking about our agency, those raving about a band called Denuo, and a surprising number of people who do their tweeting in Latin. That third group is an intriguing set to look into further at a later date but it was Denuo, the band,that first grabbed my attention. They were already camped out at when we formed our group and it all seemed too good to be true: their band logo is and the influences section of their MySpace page is basically a perfect combination of Denuo’s annual Top 100 song review and my personal record collection. Topping it all, the music is actually quite good – moody acoustic meditations for rainy days and mellow nights.

I finally decided it was time to track down the guy who was valiantly using the name for rock star purposes. It turned out to be Tom Mason, a college student living in Wales. We spent a bit of time IMing back and forth to figure out just how similar these two Denuos were. It was like meeting up with the long lost Denuologist we didn’t know existed. Here is a somewhat edited transcript:

Me: I’m actually listening to your MySpace page right now. What’s the significance of the song “Boston”? That seems awfully far from where you are.

Tom: Ahh Boston…when I first started writing songs (about 4 or 5 years ago) I had a slight obsession with American culture and always wanted to visit Massachusetts. I didn’t go to college straight away.. I worked for a year and it got to the point where I just thought “what’s stopping me?”. So I flew over by myself, explored and loved it so I’ve been going back and forth quite a lot.

Me: I love that you chose Boston from that far away as your American city. I was actually born there but moved when I was young.

Tom: Really? Do you go back to visit? Cape Cod, etc?

Me: Oh yeah. We’ve done family vacations there. I was convinced when i was younger that I’d grow up to sell salt water taffy along the boardwalk in Cape Cod. Not sure Dad would have been happy with that career choice.

Tom: That would be such a fun job though!

Me: Absolutely. Speaking of jobs, is music a full time thing for you or a side gig?

Tom: Well, I’m in college at the moment so I try to juggle both.

Me: I had no idea you’re only in college. Impressive! What are you studying?

Tom: Haha yeah. I’m 21. I’m studying music technology: audio engineering, studio work, etc

Me: Makes sense. So how long has Denuo existed?

Tom:  Denuo was originally a band in high school, but it was still growing up in a sense. I started the Denuo you hear now in 2008.

Me: And is the current version just you or are there other members?

Tom: For the past few years it was just me. but, I’ve started to introduce other musicians. I don’t really have a line-up that is set in stone. It’s flexible. Hopefully I will have a permanent line-up eventually. But at the moment, it switches around. Sometimes it’ll be just me and a drummer, sometimes a whole band.

Me: But you’re the songwriter?

Tom: Yeah

Me: And you came up with the name Denuo?

Tom: Yup!

Me: So what I’m dying to know is how on earth did a high school student come up with the name Denuo??

Tom: Haha right! Well, I played in a LOT of bands in high school (usually drums) and there was a band called Solace…who needed to change their name because ‘Solace’ wasn’t exactly an uncommon name. So we were throwing ideas around and I spent a lot of time looking around the internet for ideas. I started looking at online translators and found an English-Latin one and because we were starting afresh with this new name, i thought “denuo” worked quite well! BUT they didn’t like it… so I kept it for myself  I also loved the word visually. It just looked nice when typed… especially lower case.

Me: It is uncanny how similar our logos are. It seems fate demanded the name “denuo” be designed that way.

Tom: Yeah,, i think you’re right!

Me: So, i found out about Denuo through Twitter and, back in the day, MySpace. Not sure if you know but social media is a big part of what we do in our version of Denuo. How important is social media for you with the band?

Tom: It’s been so important since day one, really. I wasn’t very confident to begin with so things like MySpace and PureVolume allowed me to share my music with friends. Most Denuo listeners found my music online.

Me: How much time do you spend corresponding with people across social media?

Tom: I try to communicate with people through Twitter and the Facebook page. It’s so cool that people from all over the world can get in touch with you and access your music instantly. It’s also a good way to hear about gig opportunities from venues/promoters sending out last minute tweets – just things like that have made it a lot easier to get your music “out there”.

Me: Right. So it has led to gigs for you?

Tom: Yeah, it’s also put me in touch with people in the local music scene that i may not have known about.

Me: I can see that. It has led to business and connections for us too. Although judging by your MySpace page, you attract a different looking set than we do

Tom:

Me: So what’s next? Any plans to play stateside?

Tom: Well, as soon as I get back to Cardiff I’m going to try and get as many shows with the band as possible. I’ve played at a few open mics in MA, but I would love to play some proper shows there and I’m actually going to apply for SXSW.

Me: One more thing if you’ll indulge me. We call ourselves Denuologists and given you are in a Denuo of some sort it makes you an Honorary Denuologist. That means we need you to chime in on some longstanding debates we’ve had brewing around the office.  First one: who’s better: Goggle or Apple?

Tom: Ohh, that’s a tough choice. i have a Macbook Pro, but if i had to choose.. it would be Google. I think Apple tend to get ahead of themselves and release things too quickly.

Me: Wii or XBox?

Tom: Wii. I love Nintendo

Me: Who’s gonna last longer: Kanye or Gaga?

Tom: Kanye

Me: Not on the Gaga train?

Tom: Definitely not

Me: Your music isn’t exactly similar

Tom: Haha true

Me: Last thing- how about a few recommendations of what we should be listening to now around the Denuo offices?

Tom: Bombay Bicycle Club’s acoustic album “Flaws” is pretty great. Also, fellow Welsh band The Joy Formidable. They’re awesome! And if anyone in the office was a fan of Goldeneye on the N64.. you need to check out “Gold N’ Fly” rap remixes of the old level background music. It’s hilarious, but really well done!

Me: Thanks so much Tom. Best of luck and let us know when you come to America.