Matt Ryder ist ein direkter Geheimtipp an euch. Aus England und erst 17 Jahre alt macht Matt alles rund um Lo-Fi-Electronica undhat mich vor allem mit seinen neuen Releases sehr geflasht. Ich konnte mir auch nicht ganz zu viel unter diesem Genre Namen vorstellen, aber zusammengefasst ist es einfach nur mega schöne Musik. Ein Verlieren in melancholische, stimmungsvolle selbstproduzierte elektronische Musik von einem 17-Jährigen aus Birmingham –was das Internet nicht alles möglich macht. Nach Not The Same kam vor ein paar Wochen (bin ein bisschen spät dran hiermit, verzeiht) die zweite Single Soundless Motion raus, und erst gestern die brandneue Single Feel! Alle drei sind Auskopplungen aus seiner neuen, in diesem Jahr noch erscheinenden EP und ich hatte die Ehre, Matts allererstes Interviewzu sein! Es geht um die Struggles des Erwachsenwerden (wer kennt sie nicht) und seine musikalische Weiterentwicklung.
Anna: Hey! Really cool that it worked out online-meeting you! How are you?
Matt: I’m good, thank you (smiles). Yeah, it’s such a weird dynamic to meet people over zoom still, but I’m good, thank you.
Anna: You’re a 17 y/o newcomer from England. How would you describe your music, what are the sounds that inspire you and what stories do you want to tell?
Matt: It’s all kind of an experience for me. Obviously cause I’m so young, I’m still experiencing a lot of things that tend to develop people as who they are. And it’s quite nice for me to have music as a way to express and kind of process the experiences that I have as I move through childhood and into adulthood in such a confirmative time in life. So yeah, my music is constantly changing because I’m constantly changing. Being 17, every few months there’s a new thing for you to like get your head around. My music is a big reflection of that.
Anna: When did you start getting into music and when did you decide that it’s something you really wanna do?
Matt: I started producing music when I was around like 9. I was playing guitar and piano before that when I was around 4, so it just kind of started from there. But I think it was when I was 9 when I first got a production piece of software and realised, actually this is whatI want to do. I can record music and can actually have like a finished product of kind of expression.
Anna: That’s pretty early.
Matt: Yeah, I know, it’s really weird! (laughs) I tell people that all the time and a lot of times they don’t even know that I’m 17, so yeah, it’s quite early to start. My mates were out playing in the street and like going to the park and I sat in my room, playing with my production software (laughs).
Anna: Last year, you released your first EP “50FT” –later this year your second EP is going to be released. In how far would you say will your second EP sound different to your first one?
Matt: It’s quite different. Quality wise, it’s definitely a step up. This music that I’m releasing now is still like a year old. I made 50FT between the age of 14/15, so that’s still quite early to make and release music. So obviously for me the quality of that is nowhere near the quality of music I’m about to release. But then again, even looking at music I’m releasing now to music I’m currently making, it’s such a different kind of thing to what I was doing before. But yeah, there’s definitely a change in dynamic. Soundless Motion, what the new EP is called, it’s not dark but it’s moving into a much more real space regards to experiences I had while I was making it. And that really inspired a much more honest record I think.
Anna: So you also feel like you’ve grown production-wise?
Matt: Yeah, I learned a lot. After I wrote 50FT, I had a really long time of writer’s block, which is weird and tough. Moving forward from that I just had a breakthrough and started to make this music. I was mostly just messing around and had no idea that it was actually gonna lead to something that was like a finished piece like this EP now.
Anna: The first single release from this EP is called Not The Same and since I heard it, it’s lowkey running on repeat. The next one up is Soundless Motion, how excited are you about these releases?Matt: I’m really excited! It’s nice to finally get music out, it’s been so long since I put something out that feels really fresh for me. I’m very, very excited for people to hear it!
Anna: I’m excited, too! As you said before, you draw a lot from your own teenage life and the experiences you make. What is it like to be a teenager in England right now with everything going on?
Matt: I’m quite lucky, I think. I managed to keep in contact with my friends and everyone that I know has stayed safe. But I can imagine there are people in such awful positions, which is horrible. Writing music has definitely been a reflection on these situations through lockdown and the pandemic. But I think it’s also just a lot more reflective of the “normal” teenage things that I think a lot of kids just go through. That’s kinda just what I’m exploring, really. Going to the first party and just all of that “normal kid stuff”. Because when you get to this age, you’re kinda launched out in the world, you go to university or you get a job, and a lot of the time, of people don’t feel ready and it’s scary. Those experiences that lead up to it tend to be reflective of that, of that fear of what’s about to happen.
Anna: It’s not getting easier, I tell you that. You’re also very interested in arts and photography telling from your Instagram. Do you also take inspirations from that?
Matt: Yes, 100%. I’m very visual with the way that I make music. Especially for this music, brutal architecture from the 60’s and 70’s were some of the biggest inspirations for the visuals. And I’m really into that, that was definitely the visuals I was seeing when I was making the music. I have like these pinboards that I put photos on toand kinda see what direction the music is gonna go visually. Because, for me, it’s not just music or an audio file I got but it adds a different dimension to it.
Anna: Talking about a different dimension to music, I was wondering, did you play shows live before Covid happened?
Matt: No, I haven’t yet. I’ve performed a lot in bands in school and did some live stuff there, so I am kinda used to being on stage, but mainly just behind the guitar. So I’m quite nervous to get on stage and it’s just like me, but I’m excited!
Anna: Well I hope when you do and can, you’ll stop by in Germany!
Matt: (laughs) Yes, absolutely, of course!
Anna: The last question is always a blank space for the artist, so you can leave here literally anything you want, even a good movie recommendation if you will.
Matt: Definitely, a good movie and a good visual inspiration is The Shining, I feel like everyone has probably seen that film but they should go back and watch it again because it is crazy and such a good film and inspired a lot of the visuals for this new music. So yeah, I’m really excited to share new music and yeah, cool, thanks for the interview!
Fotocredit: Milly Cope
