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Cask J. Thomson

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Cask J. Thomson
OriginFalkirk, Scotland
GenresProgressive rock, Grunge, Contemporary
Occupation(s)Musician
Songwriter
Producer
author
Instrument(s)Vocals, Guitar, Bass Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizers,
Years active2005–present
Websitecaskthomson.com

Cask J. Thomson is a Scottish musician, audio engineer, composer, graphic designer and author[1] best known as the founder of the progressive rock project Cursed Legacy. The band started in 2008, releasing Death of a Hero which was written, recorded and produced by himself. The band remained a solo project for several years, often featuring various guests. It has since developed into a project for which he performs guitarist and synthesizers, and for which he is the principal songwriter. Cursed Legacy have released five albums and Cask has released two solo albums. Thomson is also a professional graphic designer and runs a publishing company.[2][3]

Biography

Born in Falkirk, Scotland and currently living in Queensland, Australia, he started performing as a teenager and taught himself guitar, keyboards, drums and how to produce music. Initially focusing on analog recording, Thomson wrote and recorded the debut Cursed Legacy after performing for Hillsong United and having, as he describes, "second thoughts about the two years of Christianity and what [he] truly believed in."[4][5] The album was recorded using a mixer connected to a Sony DTC-700 DAT Recorder and a reel-to-reel system. As a result, the album features hiss and audible tape glitches that were left in during mastering. It was produced by Jeff Cripps in Sydney. The album was distributed in Australia by Festival Mushroom Records[6] and released independently.[7]

In 2010 Thomson performed as a session guitarist for Sydney band Operator Please and Australian Idol winner Stan Walker during his From the Inside Out promotional tour.

Thomson is an extraterrestrial abduction enthusiast who was behind the publication of books Taken and Into the Fringe by Dr. Karla Turner.[8] He has been announced as a speaker at alien abduction conferences in 2019.[9][10] The Cursed Legacy album The Encounter I: Bound for Nonexistence, a concept album about alien abduction, features lyrical content that was examined by panel guests at MUFON Conference of whom the concept was inspired by.

In 2016 Cursed Legacy announced their next album would be a rock musical titled Lunar Isolation and would feature a full band lineup with special guests Lord Tim and Alex Smith of Moving Pictures.

In 2017 he released his first solo album Play it Over and Start Again under the name Cask. The album features predominantly piano-driven contemporary music but does not stray from the gloomy lyrical and musical content Cursed Legacy features. The first single, "Bedridden (Move Forward)", premiered on Reverbnation where he reached 4th in the Independent Charts[11][12] followed by a music video for "The Murder".

On December 6, 2017 he announced the writing and recording of an upcoming rock musical titled The Haunting of Arkaig.[13][14] In May 2018 he revealed that he would be re-recording earlier Cursed Legacy tracks for the follow up to his solo release.[15]

In July 2018, Cask released "See What Tomorrow Brings".[16][17] On August 1, 2018 he released his second album, Life is a Terminal Illness.[18]The album received critical acclaim and was released in high resolution Direct Stream Digital[19][20]

Guitar style and gear

Thomson is renowned for his slow blues arpeggio phrasing which has been compared to that of fellow Scot Mark Knopfler and U2 guitarist The Edge.[21] He has endorsed ESP guitars[22] and Steve Clayton accessories[2] as well as Dimarzio hardware.[23] Thomson both masters and produces music[24] and has been the mastering engineer on various classical music compilations.[25] His musical style has been compared to Katatonia, Anathema and Porcupine Tree.[17]

Personal life

Thomson was born in Falkirk, Scotland and immigrated to Australia with his family. He is a supporter of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and majored in Computer Science.[26]

Discography

Cask

Studio albums

Compilations

Cursed Legacy

See Cursed Legacy Discography

References

  1. ^ "Amazon.com: Cask J. Thomson: Books". www.amazon.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Cask Thomson - Steve Clayton Official Blog". www.steveclayton.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  3. ^ "Cask J. Thomson (@Cask_Thomson) - Twitter". twitter.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  4. ^ liner notes
  5. ^ "Hillsong Music". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Festival Mushroom Records". Discogs. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ^ Giffin, Brian (4 May 2015). "Encyclopaedia of Australian Heavy Metal". Lulu.com. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ PhD, Dr Karla Turner; Thomson, Cask J. (13 September 2013). "Taken: Inside the Alien-Human Abduction Agenda". CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via Amazon.
  9. ^ "closeencountersconf - Mary Shaw". closeencountersconf. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  10. ^ "afterlifeexplorers". afterlifeexplorers. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "Cask hits the indie charts in Australia"". Instagram. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  12. ^ Cask J. Thomson (3 May 2018). "Cask - Bedridden (Move Forward) Official Music Video". Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "The Haunting of Arkaig, a musical project I've been indulging in for the last 16 months is finally coming along. Overdubs being recorded…"". Instagram. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  14. ^ "Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "Well, well, well. The recording and mixing of my spooky musical THE HAUNTING OF ARKAIG is complete with just a few small tweaks needed…"". Instagram. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  15. ^ "Cask J. Thomson on Instagram: "There's something really sweet about recording and mixing a song you wrote over a decade ago with actually decent equipment this time…"". Instagram. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  16. ^ Cask J. Thomson (29 June 2018). "Cask - See What Tomorrow Brings (OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO)". Retrieved 11 September 2018 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ a b Vidani, Peter. "(Cask - See What Tomorrow Brings Born in Scotland,...)". thebandcampdiaries. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  18. ^ "Cask (3) - Life Is A Terminal Illness". Discogs. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  19. ^ www.tunedloud.com/2018/12/17/cask-life-is-a-terminal-illness-totally-addictive-listening/
  20. ^ https://audiodefine.nativedsd.com/albums/ADCLIATI-life-is-a-terminal-illness
  21. ^ 2015 - John Garrity of Capital Times – "It's not just a wealth of musical styles or his smooth and expressive voice that have made Thomson such a fine artist. His songs, which range from thoughtful to heavy to poetic, show that he knows exactly what he wants to achieve in this world. His playing style is like Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler infused with the ghostly delays of The Edge. Whilst Cask J. Thomson is not a ridiculously fast shredder by any means, he possesses a certain charm to his style of playing that is very distinctive throughout the recordings."
  22. ^ "Cask J. Thomson". Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  23. ^ Inc., Equipboard. "Cask J. Thomson's Equipboard". Equipboard. Retrieved 11 September 2018. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  24. ^ "Music". 6 January 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  25. ^ "Gioacchino Rossini, Richard Strauss, Johann Sebastian Bach, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Jean Sibelius, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Magnum Opus: A Selection of The Greatest Classical Pieces from 1725 to 1901". Discogs. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  26. ^ https://www.amazon.com/C-Programming-Cask-J-Thomson/dp/147835139X
  27. ^ "Cask: A Collection of Cask - Music Streaming - Listen on Deezer". 28 July 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
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