The wonderful Tom Aspaul returns with new album Cabin Fever, which you can stream above. The star takes his signature pop sound and influences from the world of seventies-inspired anthems and Swedish Midsommar to create a stellar musical experience.
We caught up with Tom to dive into the hallucinogenic trip that sparked the album, the creative pull of Scandinavia, and the timeless influence of icons like Fleetwood Mac and Olivia Newton-John.
He also opens up about the emotional rollercoaster of touring, the unexpected joys of funding music through go-go dancing, and the strange secrecy of serving on the UK’s Eurovision jury.
Connect with Tom here. You can stream Cabin Fever above and read our chat with him below. Connect with Culture Fix on X, Blue Sky, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Spotify and Threads.
Cabin Fever leans into a more seventies-inspired pop sound, moving slightly further away from Life in Plastic’s Europop world. Was there a temptation to continue exploring that sound?
I still love Europop, I listen to INNA almost every day. I love Life in Plastic too, but I lived in that album’s world solidly for three years, writing, releasing and touring. By the time I’d finished the tour in Los Angeles, I was ready for something new. Touring and traveling pushed me to that place. I remember several long journeys, particularly on the Mexican and Australian legs, where I would hit play on Fleetwood Mac and fall asleep.
The album was born from a hallucinogenic Midsommar experience in Sweden. How did that experience shape the songwriting and sounds you were creating?
I returned from Sweden in bits! It wasn’t a wholly positive experience. During the trip, my friend, who is a therapist, coaxed out some pretty heavy stuff and I came away feeling quite changed as a person. I began writing almost immediately after returning and it was very cathartic. Not a lot of that early stuff remains on the album, but I’m glad I wrote it. In terms of the sounds of the album, I was listening to a lot of music from the seventies, which became the soundtrack to the weekend in Sweden. I actually made a little playlist called 70s Angels, which went on to become a song title. The white nights and beautiful tranquility of Sweden during midsommar lent itself well to the breezy, summery guitars, sweet harmonies and 70s strings. The hallucinogenic elements sort of muffled this all together. There had to be a trippy synthetic William Orbit-esque element to the music we were making too. I knew very early on how I wanted the album to sound.
Sweden’s influence is felt throughout the whole album, thematically and sonically. What is it about Sweden that lends itself to such incredible pop music?
I have visited Sweden in the depths of winter and therein lies your answer! The darkness, the cold, it creates this sense of melancholy I’ve not felt anywhere else. Contrast that with the summer, when Stockholm is the happiest place on Earth and everyone is smiling, holding the door open for you, socialising outside, making the most of the light before it disappears again. The whiplash between the two extremes creates very fertile ground for creativity. I think we have this in the UK to a lesser extent, but in Sweden it’s on overdrive. Their government invests in young musicians, provides financial support and guidance. Being a musician is seen as a viable career path as opposed to the UK where it’s limited to nepo-babies and rich kids.
The seventies influence shines throughout Cabin Fever too – especially in the lovely 70s Angels. What speaks to you about that era and its legendary pop talents?
I think the 1970s was a real pinnacle of songwriting. Beautiful chords, harmonies and melodies. Lovely instrumentation, the strings! Everyone seemingly had a 10 piece orchestra to hand. There’s a lot of care, time and love that went into those records. You had to record everything in analog, it had to be right on the recording and there was no way to edit digitally. So we’re talking about real musicianship. I don’t want to sound like a music snob though, because my previous album was a celebration of the antithesis of that! But when it came to creating an album about such a transformative experience, I felt like we had to dig deeper, with more organic, natural sounds and imperfections. Whenever I am going through something emotionally, it’s music from the 70s and early 80s I turn to.
Olivia Newton-John is one of the icons who gets a special name-check in 70s Angels. What are your favourite Olivia deep cuts?
Oh god I love Olivia Newton-John. She is really unsung in the pop pantheon. That crystal clear voice is heavenly and I am gutted I never got to see her live. I love a lot of stuff from her pre-Grease country/folk days. She did a cover of Love Song, which was originally by Elton John and it’s total bliss. I challenge anyone to listen to it on a sunny day and not feel totally blissed out. She also did a cover of Labi Siffre, Crying, Laughing, Loving around the same time and it’s insanely good.
You’ve been open about funding the album through working in the world of go-go dancing. Do you think this has been a source of inspiration for your songwriting?
I started go-go dancing in May of last year, by then the album was already written and we were in the production/recording stage of things. I’m sure I could write a book about my experiences on the podium, but it wouldn’t feel right to pair this with the other songs from Cabin Fever! That being said, I did make some decisions about the tracklisting based on danceability – Cabin Fever could have been a lot more chilled if not for the go-go dancing!
What do you think funding your album this way (and other stars using platforms like OnlyFans to do so) says about the wider state of the music industry in 2025?
I absolutely love go-go dancing. I get to hang out with fab people, in my local gay community, do a little cardio work-out, wear ridiculously skimpy outfits and get paid, knowing every penny goes towards making the album sound amazing. We (Gil Lewis, my co-producer and I) made the decision early on that we would bring in a mixing engineer. The instrumentation was becoming so complex, it was important for the sound to be spot on. I knew this would be prohibitively expensive, so I made a few calls and within weeks I was strutting my stuff. I have seen in recent months, big artists like Kate Nash turning to OnlyFans to pay for touring etc. I think more power to her. I would do OnlyFans if I didn’t live with my parents. Can you imagine making ‘content’ while they’re cooking dinner next door? As much as I enjoy dancing, it’s wild that this is the state of things. Our government just doesn’t give a shit. There are very few options for funding. You either have to be from a wealthy family or related to someone already within the industry to get a foot through the door. I don’t see myself as part of the ‘music industry’ anymore – I live in the Midlands away from the London bubble, I manage myself, I don’t go to any events. I see myself as a small business, and go-go dancing is just another income stream.
Thinking of your recent Planet Fantastic tour, how do you personally navigate the emotional and physical highs and lows of touring?
That tour inspired a lot of the subject matter on Cabin Fever. The weekend in Sweden was literally a day after I got back from the United States, and I was still processing everything, which as you say, was both physically and emotionally demanding. The UK leg was super stressful because tickets weren’t initially selling well. On top of that, I am my own tour manager, promoter, driver, sound technician, and wardrobe department – so it was a lot of pressure for one person. I think I might be a bit hyper independent. I just went into autopilot for a lot of it and went through the motions. As the tour went on, I learned to enjoy it a lot more – especially once I was doing the international dates. It was absolutely incredible to be on the other side of the planet and have a few hundred people singing W.M. with me. As an avid traveler though, it was frustrating to be in places like Guadalajara, but not actually able to enjoy the city and have a mooch. It was also really tough to have all these wonderful experiences and not be able to share it with anyone. I was very lonely at times. It all worked out very well in the end though. Once we were finished, I was like – no more, stick a pin in it, I’m done!
Thinking back from Black Country Disco to Cabin Fever, has your approach or attitude to creating music evolved or changed in that time?
I still make music because I love doing it, that hasn’t changed, but the landscape is completely different. I’m always striving for perfection and I always want to go one step further than before. Each album has had its own unique challenges, but I like to think I learned something with every new hurdle and carried that through to the next record. Black Country Disco was a very beautiful but strange time for me. I needed to make that album, there was nothing stopping me. It was the height of the pandemic, I’d moved back home after 15 years, I was going through a breakup, I was crazy! I look back with immense pride that I managed to create something that is still so cherished and loved by people – despite all of that. I think in comparison, in some ways the Cabin Fever era has been harder. The financial side of things has been tricky, in society in general, I think a lot of people are feeling the same pinch. I realise there is a lot less disposable income going around and it’s harder to grab people’s attention when they’re not locked up indoors. Also I didn’t have that urgency or deep need to put it out, there was nothing like a breakup motivating me. I wrote it for my own enjoyment, took my time with it and wrote over thirty songs. The result is a more complete, considered record with less shooting from the hip.
You’ve worked with some Culture Fix favourites such as Louise, Saara Aalto, Mae Muller, Dagny, Little Boots and Kylie. Are there any pop collaborations that never made it to release that you’re dying for the world to hear?
I think some very scratchy demos of my 2012 Sugababes sessions leaked a while ago. That is a shame because they were rough and unfinished, but I would love to hear a completed version of a couple of those tracks. The girls are such a force vocally, it was a thrill to work with them so soon after getting back together.
Eurovision week has just finished, and you’ve previously served on the UK’s jury. How would you describe that experience, and would you be up for throwing your hat in the ring as a potential UK act?
It was a strange experience due to all the secrecy and rules surrounding jury members. There were a few incidents of bribery before they tightened the rules, so that’s understandable. It was odd not being able to talk at certain points. It was also during the tail end of the pandemic, so we were doubly sequestered somewhere top secret, that was fun. I remember being very fascinated by all the adjudicators, who had to formally contact the Eurovision HQ in Rotterdam to let them know who was present etc, quite exciting to be in the thick of it all. I loved it when they announced me as a jury member during the live show and a lot of people were like, ‘who the hell is he?’. It was bizarre that no one on the UK jury liked the eventual winner (Italy) . We didn’t even mention it amongst our favourites. I guess sitting in a windowless room with four strangers skews your perspective a little – watching the live final amongst a crowd, Italy made more sense. I often get asked about doing Eurovision and I think I’m far too old now. The UK selection wants young blood, folks who are big on TikTok and I totally understand that. I would, however, represent a smaller country, perhaps somewhere in the Balkans, if they’d have me! My Mom’s heritage is Romani from around there and I really love the music/culture. In fact, I performed at Balkan Pride last year in London. That was like a precursor to my inevitable Eurovision performance.
