Over the years, Kyle Thomas has learned to be patient.
It’s a lesson that rears its head every few years as he readies a new album.
The most recent lesson was with his sixth studio album, “Smalltown Stardust,” which was released on Jan. 27.
“I had written about half the songs in 2019 and worked on the rest in 2020,” Thomas says. “It was recorded in 2021 and completed in December of that year. Honestly, I hate the waiting process. It’s excruciating and by the time the album comes out, you’re in a different place. It would be nice if it could come a little quicker but I understand all the setbacks the pandemic has hit the industry with.”
Thomas performs under the stage name King Tuff and his current tour will make a stop at Meow Wolf on Wednesday, April 5.
“(This is) an album about love and nature and youth,” Thomas says. “There are times in our life when we feel magic in the air. When new love arrives, or we find ourselves lost in a moment of creation with others who share our vision. A sense that: this is who I want to be. This is what I want to share.”
Thomas grew up in Brattleboro, Vermont, and he wanted to write a love letter to the moments of inspiration, as well as the small town that formed him.
“I wanted to make an album to remind myself that life is magical,” he says.
When it came to recording, Thomas wanted to have a collaborative effort in the studio.
His Los Angeles home in 2020 formed a micro-scene, with housemates Meg Duffy and Sasami Ashworth recording their own albums at the same time.
A shared spirit dominated an era spent largely on the premises, with Thomas serving as engineer and contributor to both records, and Ashworth working as co-producer on “Smalltown Stardust.”
“I’ve always thrived around other people making things. You want to bloom with each other,” Thomas says.
Thomas took some time to look back at his more than a decade performing and writing songs.
“I’ve definitely grown as a songwriter and singer,” he says. “I wrote a lot of the new songs on piano, which is a new development for me. I’ve learned about producing and recording that has helped me become a better artist all around.”
For the tour, he’s planning to play the majority of “Smalltown Stardust.”
“When I play live, it’s exciting for me,” he says “We’ve had a good response to the new songs. I’ll always throw in a couple from the older albums because they are all part of me. There are some now that I can’t physically sing. I want to play the new material because I do think that this is my most personal album to date.”
