Above: Tom, Heidi & Simon, before Phonica’s opening, September 2003.
We at Phonica are devastated to learn of the loss of Tom Relleen who passed away on Sunday…. an original founder of the store, a great friend, an inspiring colleague and a musical genius. We send our sincere condolences to all his loved ones.
Tom, Heidi and myself founded Phonica Records back in 2003. We all met working at Koobla a few years before, a fun place to work where we learned how to run a record shop. The 3 of us worked as a small team for years side by side and created something special & close to our hearts that we were really proud of. Tom played a key role in bringing the more experimental records into the shop: electronica, dub, drone, shoegaze/post-rock and much more – introducing us both to loads of amazing music we would never have listened to, usually over copious amounts of red wine with friends at his flat. As Heidi says, “Tom was usually in the back office sifting through weird electronica albums. He didn’t like being too exposed. He was quite happy being the mysterious tall stranger behind the scenes.”
He worked with us for 6 years before leaving to pursue what he really wanted to do: to be in a band and make music, but always remained a dear friend and loyal supporter of Phonica. He played a very important role in its early days which shouldn’t be forgotten. As a member of Tomaga, The Oscillation and, recently, Autotelia, his musical legacy is huge. But we will never forget this warm, intelligent, gifted man who played such an important role in our (and Phonica’s) lives.
As Heidi says “My heart is broken. He was one of a kind & the brother I never had. Taken from this earth too soon and too quick. He didn’t have one bad bone in his body & was warm, funny, inviting. He made you feel like you were the only person in the room when you spoke to him. We spent so many days & nights together going to gigs or sitting in his flat talking and usually drinking red wine with a spliff on the side and just gabbed about love, life and our favourite subject….music. He was a true friend. Even when we both left Phonica to pursue our other passions in music we always remained in contact and made a point to get together to keep the bond strong between us”.
Tom, our beautiful bohemian friend, colleague, flatmate, drinking buddy, gig comrade, our confident, wonderful mate Tom Relleen. You will be sorely missed.
With love to Marta, his family and friends.
TOMAGA 'Days Like They Were Before' from JULIAN HAND on Vimeo.
