Jay Thomas writes sensual music with beats and string arrangements that evoke fantasy and escapism, while addressing grief, trauma, and self-actualization. His androgynous voice travels from gentle and soothing to coarse and raw in primal chants. Thomas’ lyrics are influenced by his studies in poetry and philosophy, as well as the cultural commentary in Horror, Science Fiction, and Comedy. 

Thomas comes from a multinational family of performers who encouraged artistic development and provided discipline that led him to teach teach himself guitar and songwriting. In England, his grandfather was a comedian and author, well-known at the time as “Cardew the Cad”. His mother was an actress and singer known for her appearances on the Benny Hill Show before emigrating to Miami in the 1980s. His Scottish father is a classic rock tribute singer. His sister Zjolie is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His cousin Wrekonize is a Billboard chart-topping hip hop artist and producer.

His childhood was ideal until his parents separated and started a chain reaction of trauma that has informed his work. His mother passed away when he was twelve and his sister was ten. Years later, in 2012, he released the song “Burnin’ Soul” that lyrically guides his mother’s soul to Jamaica where they spent time as kids. She loved reggae music and Jamaican culture.

Thomas’ music is also informed by the difficulties of coming out as gay in high school. His 2012 album Mercury features a sonic diptych chronicling the experience of being true to one’s self. The song “Loving Girls and Loving Boys” is about pining for acceptance in a world before marriage equality was legal. The song “Batty Boy” repurposes a derogatory slang into a message of hope to ease the trauma of being discriminated against, and to offer encouragement to the LGBT+ community. 

Jay Thomas strives to evolve and meet the moment through songwriting. In 2019, his album Fantasma Tropical gave gravitas to the often-superficial expectations of tropical places that he observed after moving back to Miami from rural Tallahassee where he went to college. The song “Rocket Ship” calls for peace in a relationship that has become pathologically hostile. 

At the onset of the Covid pandemic, Thomas collaborated with his partner and sister on a mini-album, Concierta Quarantina, inspired by the humanitarian impact of corona virus. Rather than exuding false hope or clichés, their shared emotions were faced unabashedly. The lyrics are about involuntary abandonment in “Orphans”, physical loneliness in “Walls”, and the alienation of social distancing in “Outside”. The music and lyrics are direct and unapologetic. He filmed and directed a music video for “Walls” that yearns for a physical sense of community (in a digital world) through virtual appearances from our loved ones.

The current cultural climate and divided state of the world compels Thomas now more than ever to focus on bringing people together on an emotional level in his work.