Matt Maltese Matt Maltese’s debut album ‘Bad Contestant’ is about to
Probably the defining thing is that I feel the most
be released, and So Young got in touch to talk to him about
comfortable I have felt with my music since I started,
it... to talk about the usual stuff: how it sounds, how it feels,
so I suppose that gives a sense of consistency because I
how he feels about how it sounds. Matt is funny, but mostly
have an album written/recorded with the same headspace-
Matt is honest, both with himself and with his audience. On
which is definitely what you want, I think.
answering these mundane questions, you come to realise that Matt is lucky to have the means to even release an
You’re right about consistency, the album and you’re
album- and he knows it. If you can survive, if you can make
live shows feel a lot more streamlined, like a narrative
music and stay afloat, then quite frankly, you’ve made it. Of
within a narrative. And for you, personally, when you
course, Matt is doing more than just surviving, he’s finally
listen to your album, what does it feel like or sound like
arrived in a suit of pastel pink and he’s got the confidence
for you?
to back it up- but he is so much more than the heartbreak kid. He’s playful, brave and totally aware and I think he’s
I’ve tried to make a point of not listening to it too much
the absolute pinnacle of a what a modern songwriter should
since we finished recording, I quite like the idea of leaving
strive to be. Totally unafraid and totally in tune.
it behind in a sense. I think the main feeling I did have was that I’d been pretty open with myself. It was important that
You supported Baxter Dury recently in Paris, how was
the comedy didn’t override the sentiment the whole time
that?
and so I was happy that I didn’t let the comedy get too much in the way and there was a part of me that was still
Yeh I did, with Jarvis Cocker djing- ridiculous- it was
vulnerable on the record. It feels honest, it really feels like
fucking weird doing soundcheck and then hearing Jarvis in
me, but I also love the input from Jonathan Rado [Foxygen]
the background just like “me monitors a bit fuzzy”. But he
and Alex [Burey], and the soundscapes they created, I really
watched my set and stuff, it was mad, really cool.
enjoyed that part of it aswell.
You’ve been making and recording music for 2 or 3 years
Are you scared of getting to a point where you might
now, which is a long time, but it kind of feels like you’ve
dislike the album? Is that why you like to leave it
just arrived. With the last few singles you’ve released
behind, in the moment?
you’ve found your sound, your aesthetic, and for want of a better word, your ‘brand.’ Is it creatively conflicting to
I mean sometimes; there are songs from a year and a
feel like everything has got to be in this particular tone,
half ago now which I just don’t like. But I keep trying to
or this particular colour palette?
remember that I feel the most comfortable with this record than I have with any other piece of music, you know,
I guess I don’t think about it too much because I’ve changed
straight after I’ve recorded it.
a lot in the past, or I still feel like I could change. It’s nice that people feel like I’ve arrived to something, but I don’t
So how do you think that your relationships with your
necessarily feel like that. In a year, I don’t know what songs
songs change over time? Especially considering a lot of
I could be writing or what kind of colour palette I could be
them sound highly specified and anecdotal.
using…
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Words by Georgie Jesson
