Thomston is back and he's ready to go big. The budding Kiwi superstar kicked some serious goals with his debut album Topograph but this time around he's reaching even bigger. His first new single of this new era Acid Rain is a bold ballad that exposes his voice and songwriting more than ever before to glorious effect.

We spoke to Thomston about this transformation and a few of his favourite things including Frank Ocean, Ariana Grande and Julia Michaels.

What’s changed since your last album? Are you living somewhere different? Working with new people? 

A lot has changed since Topograph, right now I’m based in LA, but I’ve worked on most the new music by myself. I really took it upon myself to become self sufficient as a writer and a producer which has been so liberating. I did that for a couple years and now I feel like I’m ready to be in rooms with other people again!

‘Acid Rain’ is a pretty bold step for you because it’s quite minimal production-wise. Do you think you’re taking more risks as a songwriter?

Oh, thank you! Working on my own has been interesting in the way that it’s highlighted my limitations. Like, for example, I suck at guitar. So for this current single I could only play it in the key of G, coz I know about 5 chords. That lack of skill meant I was leaning more on my songwriting ability, instead of the production or the instrumentation.

Did you learn more about yourself as a songwriter from touring your last record?

Well, funnily enough, I learnt that I can’t tour a sad record. I played a very small handful of shows for Topograph and each one would leave me in a weird, broken state. So I then went to the studio and thought; “What do I want to play possibly every night for months”. 

If you had to pick one major influence of your new music what would it be?

Frank Ocean always and forever. 

You have always had a strong visual and the cover for ‘Acid Rain’ is great. Are you enjoying overseeing the next phase of Thomston? 

I’m very glad you like the cover, that was a shitload of work. Early meetings around the aesthetic of this record had me throwing around words like “minimal”. But then fast forward a couple months and I’m jumping on a rusty trampoline we found on the side of the road in South Australia, then I printed out the photos we took, set them on fire, scanned them, had a custom font created that we warped using said scanner and superimposing it onto the image. And this was like the 15th iteration of the artwork. Being the first single, I felt a lot of pressure to have this set the tone for all the visuals to follow and I’m super pleased with the result.

Random one: What are your thoughts on Ariana Grande’s ‘No Tears Left To Cry’?

Ariana has my heart. It took me about 3 listens to fully grasp it, which many would argue is 2 too many for a pop song. But when you’re a giant pop star you’re given a pass to be a lil more subversive, experimental and genre blurring. I love it. I love her. I can’t wait to see what else she has on this upcoming record. 

Is there a new song apart from ‘Acid Rain’ you’re aching to release? 

I have a handful I’m so excited about, especially one called “Los Angeles”, it’s got this really brash, vibrant summer guitar chorus and it’s my first earnestly happy song about falling in love. Pretty disgusting stuff. 

What’s a difference you want fans to notice about your new music? 

I let a lot go, I’m really happy now and you can really hear it. 

Apart from yourself, who is the best songwriter in the world right now? 

You’re funny. Julia Michaels is doing some incredible things. Kendrick is still lyrically unrivalled in my opinion. Frank, I repeat, always and forever.