New Talent: Tim Preston

Growing up in a sleepy British village, there wasn’t much for Tim Preston to do besides get into music. The bright lights and big sounds of London soon lured him away and Tim set his sights on the ad industry. Specifically he took aim at MassiveMusic, a company that inspired him enough to write an essay about it while still at university. 

That’s where he finds himself today. Since finishing his studies he has interned at the company and released music on MassiveTalent, the MassiveMusic platform that pairs undiscovered artists with global brands. Nowadays he’s a MassiveMusic producer, and he also heads up the A&R department for MassiveTalent UK. He also plays at industry events under his musical alias, Everlone. LBB’s Addison Capper caught up with him to find out more. 

LBB> Where did you grow up and what kind of kid were you?

TP> I grew up in Dorset, UK, in a little village called Bridport. It’s really chilled out but has always had a really thriving music scene. You have people like PJ Harvey and a load of great young bands all coming out the same area. I was a pretty regular Dorset kid, into skateboarding, guitar playing and chasing cows around fields.  

LBB> Where did you learn your craft? 

TP> I started playing in various bands as a teenager and then slowly started gigging and touring. I was mainly playing guitar or vocals back then, but I started moving into more of an electronic way of writing. I started playing in bands when I was 15, so it’s always been a constant in that sense. Touring across Europe with nine guys in one van can get pretty stressful (not to mention smelly…) so I wouldn’t necessarily want to do it fulltime!

LBB> You’re currently at MassiveTalent – can you tell us a bit about your role there?

TP> I head up the A&R side of things in the UK. MassiveTalent is well established in Amsterdam, so it’s fantastic to have a UK base and to be a part of that. With sync being such a valuable tool for younger artists, the UK office is proving to be really important for them. We’re really pushing to get these artists out there, trying to gain exposure for them across different platforms in different ways. The business is structured in such a way that it really benefits both the artist and the client.

LBB> Was it always your aim to work in advertising? Or was it a bit of a happy accident?

TP> I had a very romanticised idea about what I wanted to do and that was being a composer for advertising. But I quickly realised that I was much more suited to being a producer. 

LBB> You began life there as an intern – how long ago was that and when did you take the leap to full-time employment? 

TP> I started two years ago. I initially interned for a couple of months and then moved across to MassiveTalent. I was actually working in film – as an assistant director – before I started at MassiveTalent, in addition to my music.  I’d always wanted to work at MassiveMusic though. It was my long-term goal. I even wrote a piece on the company whilst I was at uni!

LBB> How do you find the culture at the company? And how closely do you work with the other MassiveMusic offices?

TP> We work really closely with all MassiveMusic offices, it’s a truly global reach. They’re all just a phone call away. Everyone works very closely and it’s a really nice working atmosphere in that sense. It’s great having people around that you trust and respect, particularly across countries. 

LBB> Where does your passion for music come from?

TP> The first instrument I played was, unfortunately, the recorder at primary school. I then moved on to playing the violin. I think I only played the violin because it was almost a guitar. It’s quite hard to play Black Sabbath on a violin so as soon as I could I switched to guitar! Neither of my parents are musical (as much as my mum may think she can sing!). I think the passion came from being a teenager and wanting to play in bands with my friends. Being in a small place like Bridport doesn’t give you much to do unless you’re really into fishing and farming so it was fortunate that we had a good music scene to take influence from.

LBB> Nowadays you’re musician under the alias Everlone. Can you tell us a bit about your sound and why you enjoy working that way? What inspired the name?

TP> It’s something I’ve been sitting on for a long time. It was about four years ago now, I signed some tracks to MassiveTalent, played at an MT event and took it from there. It’s one of those things I’ve always had going on in the background and I enjoy doing it in my spare time. I think it’s important to make that differentiation between music and work, so it’s not something I would exploit in that sense. It’s more of a therapeutic tool! It pushes you to do other things, taking you out of your comfort zone by playing live. Throwing yourself into something is a good thing too.

Within the music there are elements of minimal house, elements of garage and some piano. It’s a bit of everything, a mish-mash of genres. 

As for the name, I think I liked the sound of Everlone, it just felt right. I’d written a few tracks, stuck them on SoundCloud and thought that it was about time I had a name! 

LBB> How do you channel your work as Everlone into your job at MassiveTalent?

TP> I think that being a part of MT as an artist before working here, gives me a good idea of what an artist needs and wants. I have a solid understanding of what you can really do for an artist to help them. It works the other way too, as a producer I understand what MassiveTalent needs from a client perspective.

LBB> What does 2015 hold for you?

TP> Lots! Although If I told you I’d have to kill you! We’ve got lots of stuff coming up with MassiveTalent which is exciting. We’ll be staging some showcases, they’ll be kicking off later in the year and we have some really cool artists coming up. Keep those ears peeled!