Alternative-R&B Singer Tomás Doncker to Release New EP “Hard Is Hard” on July 4th, 2025 | WATCH NEW VIDEO! Announces Tour Dates for 2025
Tomás Doncker releases music video for new single ‘Ace of Spades’ taken from upcoming EP ‘Hard Is Hard’ and announces extensive tour with Fun Lovin’ Criminals
NYC-based alternative-R&B producer, singer, songwriter and indie label CEO Tomás Doncker is pleased to reveal that his upcoming EP ‘Hard Is Hard’ is set for release July 4th 2025 via his label True Groove Records to DSPs and limited edition double EP vinyl, with an unreleased ‘soft side’.
Tomás Doncker has long been a prime mover on the New York music, arts and culture scenes. From the early 1980s, as a member of groundbreaking No Wave and Punk Funk bands The Contortions and Defunkt, international touring, recording and songwriting collaborations with luminaries such as Bootsy Collins, Meshell Ndegeocello, Ivan Neville, The Specials and the legendary Ms. Patti Smith, to helming his own band, The True Groove All-Stars, Tomás has established himself as a cross-genre innovator without peer.
Doncker’s previous works have seen praise from the likes of BBC, CNN, Huff Post, MOJO, Spin, Brooklyn Vegan, NPR’s ‘All Songs Considered’, Guitar World, Wonderland Magazine, All About Jazz, Paste, Rolling Stone and Blues Matters Magazine where he was a recent main cover feature.
His upcoming EP ‘Hard Is Hard’ was produced with James Dellatacoma (Bill Laswell, Herbie Hancock) and mastered by Michael Fossenkemper (Paul Weller, LL Cool J, Miles Davis) and includes guest instrumentation from Frank Benbini (UB40, Fun Lovin’ Criminals), Adriano Rossetti-Bonell (UB40) and The Specials Horns. With elements of soul, blues, funk, rock and some jazz thrown in for good measure, ‘Hard Is Hard’ is a five-track masterclass in Doncker’s innate knack for genre fluidity. The EP lyrically explores themes of racial inequality, social injustice and keeping a positive mental attitude through hard times.
On the EP, Doncker says, “Things are difficult for everyone right about now. As a songwriter I’m very fortunate to be able to have so many songs to sing, to hopefully strike a match in the darkness of these uncertain times. This music has been blessed by the contributions of some dear friends – true legends, and we’re grateful to share it now, with you…join us!”
Ahead of the release of the EP came its next single, a soulful reworking of Motörhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’, out on June 13th 2025.
Discussing his decision to cover the single, he explains, “Motörhead…Lemmy…Ace of Spades. Who doesn’t love this song? I have since I first heard it many lifetimes ago. A few years back, I was in a car, and it came on the radio – and it spoke to me in a very different way than it ever had before. This was the moment when the idea of covering it popped into my head. When I read the lyrics, it became clear to me what it was that was tugging at me…The Blues. I realised that Motörhead had changed the spirit of Son House, Robert Johnson, Muddy Waters, and the Delta Blues storytelling tradition and sped it up to create one of the quintessential rock and roll anthems of all time. It became obvious that I had to sing this song. I saw myself in it.”
Doncker was recently invited to support Fun Lovin’ Criminals on their extensive tour throughout the UK and Europe alongside his band, The True Groove All-Stars, which include members of The Specials Horns.
On the tour, he says, “I’m so honoured and excited to have been invited to be a part of the upcoming Fun Lovin’ Criminals fall UK/EU tour. They’ve really made me feel welcome as a member of the international / UK music community, and I am forever grateful for this opportunity. It’s gonna be a lot of fun for sure!”
ONLINE:
Website: https://tomasdoncker.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TomasDonckerMusic
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tomasdonckerofficial
LIVE DATES:
July 12th 2025 – Cosmopolitan Arts Festival, Leicester
July 25th 2025 – Barefoot Festival, Leicester
July 27th 2025 – High Tide Festival, Twickenham
August 1st 2025 – Le Pub, Newport
August 6th 2025 – Peggy’s Skylight, Nottingham
September 4th 2025 – Sub 89, Reading (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 5th 2025 – Waterfront, Norwich (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 6th 2025 – The Garage, London (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 7th 2025 – Concorde 2, Brighton (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 18th 2025 – Arena, Torquay (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 19th 2025 – Thekla, Bristol (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
September 28th 2025 – Wedgewood Rooms, Portsmouth (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 2nd – La Madeleine, Brussels (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 5th 2025 – Werk2, Leipzig (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 6th 2025 – Hole44, Berlin (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 7th 2025 – Hirsch, Nurnberg (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 8th 2025 – Backstage Halle, Munchen (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 10th 2025 – Das Rind, Russelsheim (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 11th 2025 – Opderschmeltz, Dudelange (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 12th 2025 – Patronaat, Haarlem (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 14th 2025 – La Salle des Fêtes, Bordeaux (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
October 30th 2025 – Lucerna Music Bar, Prague (Supporting Fun Lovin’ Criminals)
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