From a Kilburn flat to the global stage, pianist and composer Tokio Myers reflects on his personal journey, his 2024 album, and his partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre
“I can still remember that day ever so clearly,” reflects contemporary classical musician Tokio Myers of the pivotal moment he was given his first keyboard as a nine-year-old boy. “I was the only child to two busy working-class parents, and we lived in a very poor area in a one-bedroom tower block flat. It was so small that all of us slept in the same bedroom.”
He pauses for a second, obviously choked up with emotion: “But that moment with the keyboard changed everything. It became my therapist, my temple of worship; the instrument was like a divine intervention. I never looked back.”
Look back he certainly hasn’t, with the 40-year-old musician arguably establishing himself as one of the UK’s most recognisable pianists following his victory on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent competition back in 2017. However, while the careers of other artists from the Simon Cowell stable have tended to stagnate, Myers has refreshingly taken the kind of creative leaps that suggest he’s more interested in experimentation than adhering to the status quo (in the past he’s collaborated with UK political rapper Akala as well as dance group Clean Bandit).
The creation of his new 2024 album, Awake but Dreaming, coincided with two life-changing events: the death of Myers’ father, and also the birth of his daughter, Malaya. Subsequently, the music carries a sombre yet celebratory tone – a lot like attending a memorial service where you don’t know whether to cry or smile, or even do both simultaneously. Myers also tends to play between speeds of 55 and 65 BPM, with his slow playing style giving off the feeling that no note is wasted, and that every bit of tension is properly considered.
Myers’ elemental playing style thoughtfully taps into the wind and waves for inspiration, with the loose, cleansing key structure of new song ‘Waves Étude No. 1’ replicating the movement of free-flowing water. Meanwhile, ‘Spirit in the Wind’ and its soaring harmony imagines what it would be like if a lost soul suddenly hit full flight beyond the clouds. Throughout these songs, there are little embedded voice notes of Malaya freestyling on her dad’s piano, which gives everything a hyper-personal, time-capsule feel.
“I wanted to imagine what it would sound like to interpret the spirit leaving one’s body and flying off into the next realm. I’d also spent a lot of time around water, so I got to the point where I could close my eyes and let that wave sound come through into my playing,” Myers explains. “When you spend your whole life sitting at the pedal, you get to the point where you can literally hear the piano’s strings breathing. It becomes your second voice. You’ve got 88 keys and 10 fingers, but the possibilities are endless.”
Another key inspiration for the new project was 1916’s The Planets by English composer Gustav Holst, which famously made sonic characters out of our solar system. “I grew up listening heavily to classical music,” Myers adds. “When you listen to The Planets, you really feel the energy in your stomach. Mars sounds like going to war. Jupiter is big, lush and beautiful.”
He goes on: “I also love the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. His work was very romantic and always built gradually to this big climax.” Rachmaninoff was famous for being able to span a 13th interval on the piano with just one hand. So, can Myers do this too? “I wish!” he laughs, humbly. “I can just about do a 10.”
The reason we’re speaking is due to Myers’ new collaboration with luxury watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre. It’s part of the watch brand’s ‘Made of Makers’ campaign, where artists, designers and craftsmen from outside the watchmaking world start a dialogue that aims to show the natural symbiosis between horology and art. Myers even composed an original composition for this campaign.
Keeping time is everything for a pianist, and Myers believes musicians and watchmakers are essentially kindred spirits. “The hours we spend in the studio, the meticulous attention to detail,” he explains of some of the similarities. “When the sound engineers were working at Abbey Road, they were wearing white laboratory coats. The first thing they asked me to do at the Jaeger-LeCoultre factory was to wear one! Composing for Jaeger-LeCoultre was so natural for me because we’re looking for the same thing: to reinvent the classic and find what is universal and timeless.”
Another key influence of Myers’ is Joe Hisaishi, the celebrated Japanese composer and pianist behind the scores in the Studio Ghibli anime films. Beyond producing for other artists, Myers says moving into film composing feels like the natural next step in his career. “That’s a big dream of mine! I feel like my music already fits so well with movies. Whenever I compose or write, I tend to have visuals on the screen behind me in the studio for inspiration.”
Despite tending to look forward artistically, Myers is so easy to talk to because of his penchant for nostalgia and examining his roots – it’s like reminiscing with an old friend. He says one pivotal moment in his career was being introduced to Amy Winehouse back in the mid-2000s while touring as a musician as part of the band Mr Hudson and The Library (who supported the late Back to Black singer). She taught Myers so much about the pitfalls of fame. “Amy gave me lovely big sister energy,” he remembers.
“I was only young, so she would give me a lot of supportive hugs. She taught me how to wear your heart on your sleeve and to get into that zone musically, but I also learned there’s a thin line, too. You have to find the right balance and always have the right people around you. Maybe she didn’t quite find that balance, but I will cherish our time together forever.”
As our conversation winds down, we return to Myers’ modest beginnings. An era where he and his parents were crammed into a small flat, with that keyboard providing an escape from an area where knife crime was prevalent and many of the artist’s fellow pupils at school were drawn into gang life. So, what advice would Myers give to his teenage self today? “Always follow your heart,” he concludes. “A lot of people will try to distract you and maybe even put you down, but you’ve got to listen to you! Don’t be afraid of failure or to try new things musically, because the worst thing in life is to wonder: What if?”
Real bite enters his voice as he repeats the same phrase from the start of our phone call: “Never look back!”
Photography Chieska Fortune Smith
Styling Guy Miller
Set design: Gemma Tickle
Grooming: Jinny Kim
Production: Art Engine
This article is taken from Port Issue 35. To continue reading, buy the issue or subscribe here
