Ten minute tea with Afternoon Tea. Spend ten minutes with Afternoon Tea. In the time it takes to boil one kettle, and let one cup of tea steep, we will have your daily art + music fix covered. Take your afternoon tea break with our Afternoon Tea curators.
Today’s tea + soundtrack + visuals curated by Tom Hanley.
Originally from Uxbridge, Ontario, Tom Hanley began his musical journey as the singer/guitarist in a slew of pop punk bands with “terrible names,” performing at high school parties. It was there he fell in love with playing in bands and writing music. In college, he started a six piece funk band, JUICE, recording and touring for eight years. After years of deliberation, countless wedding band gigs, and 60 songs written later, he’s ready to share his debut single, “Overnight.”
Together with songwriter/producer Nixon Boyd (Hollerado, Dizzy), Hanley has taken the first steps to establish his sound and production aesthetic as a solo artist. “Overnight” was written right at the beginning of the pandemic. It’s about the first few days of lockdown and how it felt like everything was changing so fast and we had no control. It’s also the title of his forthcoming EP.
Stream + share “Overnight” now:
This project has been in the works for a long time, like probably the summation of five years of work searching for what I want to sound like as a solo artist. So it also has a bit of a double meaning, calling a project that took years to get to the finish line “Overnight” makes me laugh.
My piece of music is “Do You Realize??” by the Flaming Lips. I recently had a conversation with a friend who told me how he always cries whenever he hears that song. It’s about how everything and everyone you know will be gone someday and that we need to live in the moment because we don’t have forever. I listened to it on the drive home and was blown away by how hard it hit me. Such a beautiful song with an amazing message.
This is a portrait of my partner’s late Gung Gung by artist Mykah Czarina. My partner commissioned her to paint it as a gift for her brother who was very close to her Gung Gung. She is a Toronto based artist and I love her style and colour choices. Her visuals have so much energy and life to them. I would highly recommend checking out her instagram page and seeing all of the amazing pieces she has done.
I have paired this song and portrait with a mug of jasmine green tea. It’s good for you and will give you a nice little kick to get you through your day.
Tea + Me 