For a while now, Black Summer has been serving as one of the most promising producers in Australia.
First rising to fame back in 2015 when he made headlines as one of the youngest producers on triple j Unearthed, it wasn’t long before Black Summer was scoring triple j airplay, and joining festival lineups like Groovin The Moo.
Having recently released his latest single, ‘Double Edge’, there’s no doubting that the future is looking incredibly bright for 16-year-old Rhys Toms. With a penchant for crafting emotive electronic bangers, you’re never left wanting when it comes to Black Summer.
To celebrate the release of his newest tune, we had a chat with Black Summer to learn more about this stunning artist, and getting to know more about the person behind the musical persona.
Check out ‘Double Edge (feat. Aston)’ by Black Summer:
How did your artist name come about?
My name came about when I was 11 and used to go to car shows with my dad. One year we were at Summernats and we were cruising down Tuff Street in my dad’s modified car which was named ‘Black Betty’. It came to me when I was uploading my very first tracks to triple j Unearthed’.
It was simply a combination of Black Betty and Summernats which I thought made a pretty cool artist name and it’s cool because it always reminds me of that experience.
How would you describe your music to your grandma?
Hold onto your pacemaker, haha. It can be pretty full on, full of energy just like I was when I was younger and a bit of a handful for my grandma at times.
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Tell us about a few of your tracks; their titles and what they’re about?
My newest single ‘Double Edge’ is a song about a toxic relationship and how it’s like a double-edged sword in the way that while it’s exciting and feels great, depending on the person you’re with it can sometimes not be very good for you.
My first single ‘Young Like Me’ was about being young and free, having ambitions and goals for the future. But at the same time having all those battles and heart breaks ahead of me yet to come.
Another single ‘Big Dreams’ featuring Skrizzy from my EP Big Dreams is about me being real about my music and career.
It talks about how I have been showing on my livestreams that I am working on my music. How I have grown. I have been making live streams to show how I come up with my ideas for tracks and how they come together. It’s a bit of a middle finger to the haters as well.
What do you love about your hometown?
The fact that Canberra is so quiet and easy to get around. It feels easy and not hectic like bigger cities in Australia. But big enough that there is always something to do.
It’s not far from Sydney or the coast, but doesn’t feel like too big a city. I love being close to family and friends and of course I LOVE my home studio. I am lucky enough to have a great creative space.
Check out Black Summer’s ‘Young Like Me’:
What’s your biggest career highlight so far?
My career highlight would have to be my first ever performance, it was when I was just 11 years old and was in front of over ten thousand people at Groovin The Moo. I couldn’t wrap my head around what was happening at the time and if I had realised I would have probably crapped myself, haha.
But it was the best feeling, even though just before I went on stage I wanted to vomit, once I was out there performing it was amazing and so much fun. I knew then that it was something I wanted to do again and again.
Fave non-music hobby?
My favourite non music hobby would be playing video games. I loooooooooove video games to the point where I even make my own. It’s something I’ve been doing probably longer than my music in terms of when I started!
Creative activities in general like drawing, making boardgames and videos are some other things I am really drawn to. Even if I’m just having friends hang out at my house we usually end up making music. It’s really cool to get my friends who might not even think they are musical to have a go it’s lots of fun.
What’s on your dream rider?
My dream rider would have to be a buffet of Hot Cheetos, Doctor Pepper, and mini tropical Starbursts. I also reckon having a possum called Greg would be pretty sick to see, haha.
Dream music collaboration?
I’d have to say someone like Flume or Skrillex who have been my idols from the start, they would be my dream collaborations they got me into EDM. As for singers I would love to work with Swae Lee.
I would love to work him because he’s one of the best at coming up with unique melodies and I think combined with style of music we could rock some pretty insane stuff.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see myself traveling the world, performing in some cool places and working with amazing people. I’d like to produce more for other people too.
I can see myself exploring other creative adventures such as designing my own clothing line (I already have this idea in the works). I want to express myself creatively in many different ways and can see lots of avenues to do this in the future.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
‘Africa’ by Toto. That song has me screaming the chorus lol.
What’s on the cards for the future?
New singles, EPs, albums and just more music in general. I really want to push out as much music as I can I have so much to show!
I would say I would have at least a couple of EP’s worth of material that I need to get out in the world. I can’t wait to get out there and do more live shows too, I love performing and meeting people.
Check out Black Summer’s ‘Big Dreams’:
