Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
My name is Tom de Wit and I have been making music under the name of TDW ever since I was 14 years old, so that's 19 years of making progressive music that borrows from metal, progrock, classical music and everything else that I think fits the songs well.
I write all the music and lyrics myself. I do the lead vocals, play the rhythm guitars and keys in the studio and program the basis for all the other instruments I hear first.
Then I record and produce the material as well from the ground up. Once I have the songs written and arranged, I look for musicians that are able to contribute to these songs by for example playing drums, bass, violins, cello's etc.
I also look into finding people to provide guest solo's, choir singing and anything else I think fits the songs. Basically this is the template by which I have made multiple albums over the years and built my career from.
And next to my own music with TDW I am the frontman and main writer for the symphonic, progressive metal band Dreamwalkers Inc in which provide the lead vocals and am the creative driving force.

How would you describe your style? Which bands influenced your music?
The music of TDW can be described as Progressive Metal which balances out the technical and heavy elements with a lot of emotion. Symphonic influences and instruments have been a part of the music ever since the beginning, giving it a cinematic feel.
However, within the framework of the music a lot is possible. So you should be surprised if influences like industrial, electronic music, different vocal styles, jazzy bits or pop music are introduced up as well.
My basic idea is that my music can go to many different places as long as the core of the songs stands up and has a clear goal. But around that goal, many things are possible!
The list of influences is long and diverse, but to give an impression:
Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, Toto, X Japan, Between The Buried And Me, Queen, Metallica, Napalm Death, Protest The Hero, Porcupine Tree, Genesis, Pain of Salvation, Threshold, Tool, Symphony X, Ark, Dream Theater,  Rachmaninov and a lot more.

Why should a metalhead buy your demos/albums?
Metalheads are often free thinkers and free spirits that like to be challenged. That is why they like metal. My music basically takes the basic idea of metal that is thinking for yourself and daring to confront genuine emotion and intense thoughts and I put those to music.
I have had many experiences that metalheads who never listen to prog heard my music and like it because it spoke to them. So that strengthens my idea that my music has a lot to offer to metalheads who dare to think beyond the conservative limits of music.

What have you released so far and how were your releases received by the public/media?
I am now working towards the release of my fifth solo record under the TDW name entitled The Days The Clock Stopped which is slated for release on the 4th of December 2020 through Layered Reality Productions.
My career started in 2008 with the album The Haunts, then in 2011 I released Scrapbook, in 2014 I released Music To Stand Around and Feel Awkward To and in 2017 I release The Antithetic Affiliation.
In the meantime, while releasing those albums I also released albums with bands I was a part of and side projects, so the actual release count is a lot higher, but purely from the TDW perspective, this is album number five.
From the beginning I noticed that the press that actually took the time to listen and analyse the music, always gave my records high grades, with the lowest grades often hanging around 7.5 out of 10s.
However, it was noticeable that even with some metal reviewers that didn't 'get' the music, they would still give the records a 7 out of 10 because they couldn't really find a reason not to.
So overall the track record in terms of media reception has been rather favourable over the years.

Do you play live as well? How's your live activity so far?
Actually in 2016 I formed the band Dreamwalkers Inc to perform the TDW music live and that has happened for a few years. However, as time went on, it became clear that Dreamwalkers Inc was becoming more of a band in itself.
So now in 2020, I can actually say that Dreamwalkers Inc will be playing different music then what I wrote with TDW, because we are writing music together. So technically speaking TDW is a studio solo project with guest musicians again.
But I would not rule out live performances of TDW material in the future. I like doing that if the demand is there and if the timing is right. But right now, TDW is a studio thing again and Dreamwalkers Inc will now be it's own band with which we will write new music in 2021 and work on an album with.

What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
After releasing multiple albums and building this thing I have built, I dare to say that the music I make (now and in the future) and the way I do that is not something that is done by hundreds of others.
I have my own sound and ideas that I am putting out there and I think that you could do worse then to listen to it. I don't make the kind of metal that you can easily put in a neat little genre box and that is both interesting
and scary for a lot of reviewers and promoters. However, I would like to dare promoters, reviewers and labels to actually LISTEN and take the time to digest it. If you don't like it then it's perfectly fine.
But I am willing to make the bet that you might feel something while listening to my music.

What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Right now obviously I am fully focusing on promoting and spreading the word about the upcoming record on the 4th of December and promoting the pre-order campaign that is a part of that.
And that pre-order campaign also dictates my future, as one of the pre-order perks is writing a song based on a concept or idea that someone brought in if they pledged enough and multiple people have done that.
So basically in 2021, I will be working on writing the immediate followup album to feature all those songs on! It's gonna be great fun!
And with Dreamwalkers Inc we will ALSO be writing music in 2021 which will be used for an album release in late 2021/early 2022. So there's a lot of creativity going around and it feels great!

Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?    
You can preorder the new album at: https://www.tdwmusic.com/shop

And you can find TDW on the socials at:

https://www.facebook.com/tdwmusic
https://www.twitter.com/tdwprog
https://www.instagram.com/tdwprog

November 2020