Using vintage and modern synthesizers, electric and lap steel guitars, fretted and fretless basses, myriad sonic sculpting devices, field recordings, and a signature ambient piano, I make what Ambient Music Guide calls “lush, shadowed, emotional music that’s rich in harmonies and oceanic layers and…so deliciously slow.”
The spatial and dynamic aesthetic of the classic Hearts of Space, Windham Hill, and Private Music albums resonates through my work, described by Hypnagogue as “breathtaking…rich, complex and beautifully structured.”
My work has been featured on NPR's Echoes, Hearts of Space, Star’s End, SiriusXM, NPR, and many other programs, and my 2021 album Brothers with Will Ackerman and Jeff Oster was nominated for the Best New Age GRAMMY® award.
"Lushly and intricately produced, beautifully meditative and highly vulnerable…
Eaton reveals himself to be an incredible storyteller."
The JW Vibe
"Whatever separation there is between nature and the technologies used to assemble his
material dissolves when the music floods the listening space."
Textura
"Tom Eaton’s piano playing is a revelation"
Wind and Wire
"A piano sound to lust after, immersed in a suggestive, gauzy world of beautifully
wrought electronics and guitar loops"
Tim Story
"A beautiful, shimmering, and colorful emotional experience, with strong melodic content
morphing slowly like waves as each piece slowly progresses"
Expose
The loft at Sounds & Substance. Favorite instruments and tools are close at hand: from left to right there's my Yamaha EX5 over an Access Virus TI, and an ASM Hydrasynth over an Expressive E Osmose. The Rhodes (made by Roland in the 80s) MK80, sits above the racks where a Fractal AXE-FXii, the Cranesong Avocet, and MOTU interfaces are racked. A Modal Cobalt 8 and Korg opSix are above the racked Novation Supernova, Yamaha TX802, and Roland D550. The Waldorf Quantum is below, and then there's a Roland JD800 sitting on my suitcase Rhodes. Not seen is the Seaboard ROLI tucked under the Quantum, and the Yamaha CP70 which is in the right corner with the Korg Labda on top. Most of my music starts on the CP70. Music Man and G&L basses and DBZ guitars are in the foreground. The lap steel is hanging on the rack by the opSix.
Most recording work is done in ProTools, while drone and looping work is done in Digital Performer's POLAR. Monitors are Genelec 8351b and Hales Design Concept 3 with stereo NHT subs, with the Avocet Quantum handling the D/A, level control, and switching.
