Stunflower

the sound

Stunflower ... psychedelic folk reggae based in London from Trinidad & Canada. Blending a cool collision of sound ... heartfelt, rhythmic, thought-provoking, transformational music... soothes your soul and moves your feet.

Stunflower fuses elements from their rich history of influences - reggae, folk, psychedelic rock, Kirtan, funk, country ... a distinctly retro sound with high emotionality and groove. They draw influences from Sly & the Family Stone, Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Joni Mitchel, Jon Anderson (Yes).....

The band

Music veterans, international performing artists & life-partners Thomas Thomas (composer, guitars, vocals, loops) & Devaki Thomas (vocals, drums, percussion) create, record and perform original music (with a few cover-songs, made their own) across the UK, Canada and beyond.

Formed in Sept 2017, after Devaki & Thomas recorded their first music video 'A Million Years' a tribute to all women who have walked the hard road.

The making of this video was the catalyst that rekindled their love for writing and performing music. They released their first single,  'Modavader',  followed by a debut 9 track album 'Turnaround' in 2018. They spent the next 2 years promoting the album, sharing their live experience across the UK's music and festival scene.

In 2021 through the lockdown they recorded their follow up album, Dub Side of the Tracks, a 14-track collection of songs exploring their love of dub production. 

Performance highlights so far include:

Beautiful Days Festival / Medicine Festival / Tropical Pressure / Into the Wild Festival / Bournemouth Reggae Festival /  Yukon African Festival / Songs for Healing / The Village Festival / Royal Society of Arts London / Live Radio Set, Resonance FM / Dingwalls, Camden  / Fairfield Hall / Sydenham Arts Festival / Croydon Mela / Mr Wolf's, Bristol / Hackney Picture House  / Dublin Castle / CroCroLand Festival / Folklore, Hackney / The Old Church, Stoke Newington 

the story

Thomas was born in Trinidad & Tobago, the youngest of a 7-sibling family; a Syrian Christian father from Kerala and a French African mother.  Mixed heritage was rare in the 70's in the Caribbean and it caused him to search deeper for belonging...exploring music from a wide spectrum ... from Pink Floyd, Genesis, Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, The Mighty Sparrow to Rush & Yes. He started  writing and performing at age 12 in various rock bands around the island. Leaving his home at 16, he travelled the globe on a spiritual quest, ending up in London in the 80’s as a Hare Krishna monk. From there he followed his Guru to Vancouver, Canada's Hare Krishna commune, where he met his wife and soul mate, Devaki.   

Devaki, eldest daughter of a 7-sibling family, was raised in the ‘music centric’ Hare Krishna commune in Vancouver.  Her father was a Krishna leader and notable musician in the 60s, 70s and 80s who performed his original brand of ‘Mantra Rock’ internationally gaining notoriety as a pioneer of the genre world-wide. Meeting Thomas at their commune in the late 80’s, led the pair to explore music, helping with the painful transition of leaving the tight-knit commune behind and starting a new life on the ‘outside’.  

Devaki’s spiritual upbringing and musical ability found fresh life with Thomas’ impassioned song-writing and rock, reggae influences and the two have been writing and performing music together ever since. Thomas spearheaded their musical partnership with a band called Samsara, a frenzied mash-up of soca, reggae, rock, funk & soul. The couple toured for 10 years across Canada and internationally, writing, recording and selling thousands of albums – gaining recognition as leading musicians and cultural pioneers. Together they co-founded and directed a renowned gathering, the Komasket Music Festival, for 10 years, winning awards and presenting leading international artists.  Thomas has written/recorded 7 albums, over 150 songs and worked with legends in the music industry including Jon Anderson (Yes), Arrested Development and The Wailers.  

The couple relocated to London UK in 2008 for a new adventure and a strong urge to give more focus and stability to their now 4 grown-up sons’ education and home life.  Balancing work and raising their sons, the couple took a break from their music for a while, although writing and playing music at home and with friends and family never stopped.

Their combined love of music and strong community spirit,  joined with hard earned wisdom and an expanded heart brings Stunflower to life.