Get To Know GOMME: The Jazz-House Trio Soundtracking London’s Summer
GOMME in conversation with TOPNOTE on their debut EP release. Image credit: Fran Gomez de Villaboa
‘We wanted to write about all different kinds of relationships… BUT make sure that none of those moments were so introspective that you couldn't dance – so much therapy happens on the dance floor.’
In between the omnipresent repetitions of Three Lions’ song, Oasis, and ‘Hey Jude’, GOMME’s brand new EP is a burst of sultry, silky tunes perfect to slip straight into your summer playlists, garden parties, and city rooftop bars.
Firmly rooted in London’s jazz, soul and house music scenes as individual musicians, the trio melded together in 2024 to form GOMME. With an organic sound that mixes jazz foundations with ‘fall to the floor’ beats, GOMME’s ethos is a cocktail of fluid, euphoric and shapeshifting music that won’t keep you in the same place for long.
Singer-songwriter Bella, whose vocals have already accommodated August Charles, jev. and Flo Naegeli, joins APW, a grooving ‘R&B powerhouse’ per the BBC’s description, who’s previously toured with Jamie Woon in their solo ventures. Behind the pedals, Cam Ward lends his piano and production skills, which have placed him on Royal Albert Hall, Love Supreme and Glastonbury stages.
GOMME are fresh, flirty and fun – and we got to know them ahead of their debut release ‘Evenings & Weekends’. Find the full interview below.
GOMME, ‘Evenings & Weekends’ EP artwork. Image credit: Fran Gomez de Villaboa
This interview has been edited for clarity.
TOPNOTE: How did you all meet?
APW: We were both gigging separately with our solo projects. I was on my own and Bella and Cam were together doing a gig in Haggerston. I was waiting to do my slot and filming going oh my God, this girl’s amazing. We met after that set.
Bella: And then a couple months later I did [backing vocals] for APW at Birmingham Pride. And then a little bit after that we ended up doing a writing session.
APW: And literally our first writing session is how the first single came about.
Bella: Cam and I went to university together. We met in our first year of our jazz degree. We made a lot of music together, that started in lockdown with my solo project.
What is your background in jazz, and how are you bringing that forward in GOMME?
Bella: We both studied Jazz Performance at Leeds, it started off very traditional swing. But in the degree we did, they did push more original, contemporary jazz which was fun to explore. But especially in the live set-up, definitely the harmony is quite Jazzy throughout the EP. I came down to London and studied Masters in Jazz at Guildhall as well, which was maybe even more traditional. Not really what I do anymore, but it’s a good ‘in’ to that kind of jazz-leaning, pop, house kind of music.
Cam: I was doing piano. My dad never really got out of Frank Sinatra… in my house it was always big band music. I listened to that a lot growing up. I don't listen to that music loads now but that was my intro into the jazz world.
How do you bring those influences into the music?
Cam: It will definitely be through the harmony… the extended chords. A lot of the progressions are very Jazz at their core, with a slightly more modern instrumentation.
Bella: The Jazz chords with the dancy instrumentation and beat and production I feel is what brings it into more of a contemporary sound.
APW: Choppy harms with fall to the floor beats. And then suddenly we're a lot closer to Jungle and Kaytranada than Ella Fitzgerald.
Bella: But big up Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald.
You said your EP ‘Evenings & Weekends’ was written about relationships, whether with lovers, friends or yourselves. Which did you find the hardest to write about?
Bella: I think non-romantic relationships are the hardest to write about. They're the least troublesome.
APW: Or they can be really troublesome but it's hard to put it into words. There's a track on the EP called ‘RYM’...
Bella: I had come from a new job, and I spent a whole day with this person. They just spoke about themselves the whole time, like for seven hours, no questions. Not even a beat for me to be like, oh, by the way, I'm also here. So I was at this writing session, saying how it's so annoying when people don't let you speak or ask you questions, then we ended up writing about that. Which is funny because I feel like that's not a situation where you would automatically be like, let me write a note on my phone and start writing lyrics about this.
APW: Love… you kind of know the boundaries of it or, you think you do. Everybody's been heartbroken, or they will be at some point. But friendship is a bit more ambiguous.
“They all came really easy, actually. There was never a moment where we were really racking our brains.”
Do you each have a favourite personal track on the EP?
Bella: I think my favourite is ‘Not Around’.
Cam: I think they’re all perfect [laughing], it depends on how I feel. Today… ‘Neutral Space’?
APW: One of my favourites is ‘RYM’, Running Your Mouth. It's just one of the little interludes but it gets so dirty at the end. I love. But also ‘Debut’. It was our first song we wrote together and it came the easiest. I mean, they all came really easy, actually. There was never a moment where we were really racking our brains. It's just joyful and sexy and fun. That's the vibe we want to have, that's our summer.
How are you feeling about putting out your first EP?
APW: I'm really excited. It came together really naturally. I feel like it's the first step in terms of meeting fans and hopefully people who want to share the energy and come to gigs. We've been carving out what our show is, making sure it's interactive. We just want people to dance. Have a night where people can let loose and enjoy.
Bella: Maybe moving slightly away from a conventional gig and more into a gig-club night performance hybrid. So there's not a gap between what we do and where the DJ takes over.
‘Evenings & Weekends’ is out now.