In 1995, D'Arcy and three high school friends formed a band called Pseudonym, which would later become The Carnations, with D'Arcy as lead singer and principal songwriter. The band played in nightclubs its members were not old enough to get into and turned their love of bands like Weezer, Supergrass, Buzzcocks and Television into a power pop sound all their own. The Carnations wrote and performed the theme song for the MuchMusic show So 90's. In 2000, John Kastner saw The Carnations play a show at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern, and invited D'Arcy to join his new band All Systems Go! D'Arcy also continued to play in The Carnations, as well as a band called Another Blue Door. The Carnations called it quits in 2004 with an announcement on their website. In 2005, D'Arcy conceived Small Sins as a self-contained solo unit. D'Arcy continued to record under the Small Sins moniker until 2011, when he opted to release solo records under his own name. In 2010, D'Arcy founded his own record label, Thomas D'Arcy Music, which released the last Small Sins record in 2010. D'Arcy was the touring bass player for rapper k-os from 2009 to 2014, performing at the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. D'Arcy created the track "You Lovely You" for a 6-month long advertising campaign for Telus in September 2012. The song was also released on iTunes, and as a 7" vinyl single with B-Side "When We Get into It". Throughout the years, D'Arcy has been commissioned to create music for Canadian advertising campaigns, including for The Home Depot, Triscuits, Dodge, Bell Canada, Scotiabank, Coca-Cola, Honda, Quaker, Alesse, Walmart, Tetley, Hyundai, Toyota, Sunchips, McDonald's and EOS. D'Arcy has also placed music in over 50 television shows and films. In 2016, D'Arcy provided the musical score for the CBC web series 'My 90 Year Old Roommate.' D'Arcy also wrote and performed the theme song for the upcoming CBC show 'Ollie: The Boy Who Became What He Ate.' In 2012, D'Arcy recorded a cover record of the entire Bad Habits album by UK band The Monks. Members of Sloan, The Pursuit of Happiness, Limblifter, The New Pornographers, Change of Heart, The Doughboys and Cursed contributed guest performances to the album, as did John Ford, an original member of the Monks.
Production career
In 2014, D'Arcy opened the studio Taurus Recording along with fellow producer/engineer Jon Drew. The studio is located in what used to be Wellesley Sound. D'Arcy has produced and engineered recordings for BROS., Lanikai, TWRP, AA Wallace, White Hot Guilt and Still Life Still. The song 'Tell Me' by BROS. is used as the theme for the CBC radio show Q. He has engineered recordings for July Talk, The Sheepdogs and Soul Stew. D'Arcy engineered the Under The Covers album by Ninja Sex Party, which reached No. 9 on the Billboard sales chart in the US. In 2017, D'Arcy received a SOCAN No. 1 song award for his contribution to the July Talk song "Push + Pull". D'Arcy engineered parts of July Talk's self-titled debut album, which won a Juno award for alternative album of the year in 2015. In 2016, D'Arcy self-recorded, wrote and produced a collaboration with Hawksley Workman called Tommy Hawkins. The result was a six-song EP called 'Amy.' In 2016, D'Arcy signed a publishing deal with Arts and Crafts records. In 2019, D'Arcy was nominated for a JUNO for Jack Richardson Producer of the Year.
Producer/engineer credits
Artist discography
The Carnations
1997: Superluminal
1998: The Carnations / The Persuasion Split single 7"
