Scott Matthew - Confessions of a quiet noisemaker

Scott Matthew is a singer-songwriter. And he has a beard. He also has great talent and a voice that's full of pathos yet delicate at the same time. His debut solo album has just come out, although his journey in the music world actually began many years ago.

We meet Scott on a windy, late spring afternoon, but the approaching rain and the rather biting cold, despite April already being well underway, bring to mind a distinctly autumnal atmosphere - perfectly suited to talking with the artist who wrote romantic, impassioned songs like the ones on his self-titled debut.

He shows up looking rather tousled, in a worn black t-shirt and a striking gold bracelet on his wrist. Smiling and approachable, maybe a little shy. The first impression - later confirmed over the course of the interview - is that this lanky Australian guy, now transplanted to New York, is truly in love with what he does and is a genuine, passionate person.

A "real" one, in other words, who isn't afraid to put himself on display through his music.

This is the account of our brief chat.

Since you haven't yet achieved great recognition here in Italy, why don't we start by talking a bit about your early steps? Is it true that you started out by co-writing music for a Japanese anime and for a cartoon series (Cowboy Bebop)? How did you end up getting involved in that experience?

Actually, I didn't write anything - I just sang and lent my voice. I simply auditioned for this Japanese composer (Yoko Kanno) who pretty much had a monopoly on all the music for cartoons and anime, and she heard my voice. When she was in New York I went to meet her, let her hear my voice, and she liked what she heard. That's how the collaboration came about.

You then recorded an album with a band called Elva Snow, together with Spencer Corbin, who was a member of Morrissey's band. How did you meet? And why did that experience end after just one album? And what about your subsequent experience with "Songs To Drink And Drive By"? Did you only record two tracks?

We met through mutual friends. There was a girl he was dating who knew me, so we met and figured we might be musically compatible. We started collaborating and kept it going for a couple of years. After that he went back to London and the project ended, though on very friendly terms. I'm really proud of what we did together. In any case, I had already started working on my own solo material and I felt the need to express myself on my own terms. In Elva Snow I only wrote the lyrics, but the time was coming for me to do my own thing. Spencer, though, also contributed to my album, where he arranged the string section. As for "Songs To Drink And Drive By", that was a kind of transition toward my solo career. We recorded very little and put the results online. Honestly, I was always a bit scared and not too confident about using my own name, so that was another small step in that direction.

Real "fame", however, came with the soundtrack for the indie film "Shortbus". Did you know the film's director? Or were you brought into the project in some other way?

I'd say it was more a bit of visibility than real fame, to be honest. Anyway, I met the film's director (John Cameron Mitchell, ed.) at a party, completely by chance. We started talking about music and what I was doing at the time. He asked to hear my music, so I sent him a demo. No later than the next day, he called me and told me he was making this film, an independent production, whose script called for a character who sang and wrote music, and that I would probably be the right person to write the music for the film and for that character. So I got the chance to pitch him a few songs. He liked them right away. What can I say? I was very lucky, that's all.

You're from Australia, but you now live in the United States, in New York. Why did you decide to move? Was it a choice made for "career" opportunities, or was it more tied to your personal life?

I wouldn't say it was a choice tied to my musical "career". Actually, I always loved making music, and I did that in Australia too. It's probably true that there are more opportunities in New York, but the reality is that I felt genuinely tired and bored with life in Australia. You know, when you're born in a place that's pretty isolated and in the middle of nowhere, you quickly become really eager to get away, to travel and to discover places that are culturally different and richer than where you grew up. I thought of New York, and I went there.

Musically speaking, has being Australian influenced the way you write songs? Do you feel part of an Australian scene?

I wouldn't say so. In fact, I don't think being in Australia or in New York has influenced me all that much. I'm really a songwriter, and I write wherever I happen to be. I draw on my personal experiences and I often write about autobiographical things regardless of where I am or where I'm from. I think those feelings are pretty universal.

You got a lot of media exposure with "Shortbus", yet you decided to sign with small labels around Europe rather than settle with a major. Why that choice? Did it give you greater artistic freedom?

I signed with a label in Italy (Sleeping Star, ed.) and one in Germany (Glitterhouse, ed.), plus a few other small labels in Europe. It's definitely a matter of freedom, but part of that choice also came down to the fact that small labels treat their artists with more attention, they take care of them. For me, making music is a very personal matter, it doesn't have much to do with the business side of things, and by working with independent labels I can keep my focus on the music rather than on money, promotion, or the financial side of it all. It makes everything easier that way.

A lot of names have been thrown around and plenty of comparisons made to describe your music and your first album. I've often heard you compared to Antony (of Antony and The Johnsons), and likened to Devendra Banhart. Do you agree with these comparisons? Is there any artist you feel particularly close to?

Maybe the comparison with Banhart is because we both have beards. I don't know. There are, in any case, a lot of artists I admire a great deal, but I like to think I try not to emulate anyone, not to model myself on anyone. My goal, in making music, is to be myself and to have my own "voice" and to be able to say the things I want to say.

Honestly, I don't think I sound like either Antony or Devendra, but having said that, I admire them both and I don't mind the comparison. If people need points of reference to understand the music I make, maybe before they even get the chance to hear it, that's fine by me. Maybe it's partly down to music critics being a bit lazy. But that's okay too. I don't find it offensive at all.

 Your lyrics and songs always have a certain nostalgic mood. What do you need to get inspired when you write a song? And what's the relationship between lyrics and music in the birth of a song?

Let me say first that I'm not always a sad person - actually I'm a cheerful person most of the time - but I generally write under the influence of tragic or painful situations. When I feel the need to write something, it's always about something sad or unpleasant that's happened to me in life. I don't even really notice it anymore, but it's usually in those situations that something comes to me to say. I think there's always something romantic about tragedy, and I feel like a very romantic person. Usually the lyrics and the music are fairly simultaneous inspirations. I pick up the guitar and write songs, moving forward with lyrics and music side by side.

In the lyrics of one of your songs ("Amputed") you say that missing the person you love is almost as painful as an amputation. Is it really that painful?

Haven't you ever felt that way? I have. For me it's really like that. I write about my own experiences and personal feelings, like I told you. And if I write it, it means I really believe it.

Your album has songs with very elegant, elaborate arrangements ("Ballad Dear", "Abandoned", "Habit"), while others have a rather bare, minimal one (like "Little Bird" or "Upside Down"). When you write a song, do you already know how you'll arrange it, or is it a process that develops gradually while you're recording?

I think it's a fairly slow, gradual process of development. Basically I write every song in a way that makes it work even with a fairly minimal arrangement. I compose on guitar, on ukulele, and lately I've also been using the autoharp, and only once I think the song can already stand on its own do I start thinking about how to arrange it. I often write alone and then play the pieces for the band, who help me and give me advice on the arrangements.

I believe it was Dylan who said that a good song is one that works perfectly even if you only play it on acoustic guitar. So do you agree with that?

Yes. Absolutely. In fact, that's the method I use to judge my own songs.

When recording your music, do you prefer to work alone or would you rather be helped by a producer? Do you think it's more useful to work alone to have freedom, or is it better to bounce ideas off someone else to avoid being too self-indulgent?

On this album, even though there wasn't a real producer, a dear friend of mine more or less took on that role. You know, I like surrounding myself with friends, I feel more at ease and protected. But anyway, by the time we recorded the album, the songs were almost completely ready. We didn't have too much time or too much money to spend in the recording studio, so we had to prepare everything carefully beforehand. But I found it a great way to work, and for the next album I'd like to work with the same people and the same method.

What do you think of your artistic career so far? It seems like you're on the verge of major success, even commercially. Would you really like to become famous? Or do you just hope that as many people as possible listen to your music?

To be honest, I don't have any particular interest in becoming famous. But I would really like to be able to make a living from my music, the way I'm doing now. Until a few years ago I had to have a day job so I could then devote myself to music, and I wouldn't want to go back to that situation. I'm already happy with how things are going now.

I read that you describe yourself as "A quiet noise maker". Can you explain what you mean by that? The "quiet" part isn't too hard to grasp, but I don't quite get the "noise" part…

After all, music is noise, albeit organized noise. Noise made with a purpose. I liked the definition. It sounded good.

In a lot of pictures you're wearing a mask. Is there a particular meaning behind it? Unlike a lot of other singer-songwriters, you seem to pay a lot of attention to your image. Do you think that's important, and that it can give people a clearer understanding of your personality?

There's really nothing calculated about it. When you're doing photoshoots there are always a lot of people around you. There's the photographer, the make-up artist, whoever's doing your hair. That said, the mask does carry a certain symbolism behind it. If you read the lyrics to "Little Bird" you can understand what I mean.

But, especially live, I'm not someone who's too concerned with their image. I wear whatever comes to hand. My choices are dictated more by the "laundry" than anything else. I put on whatever I find clean. More than my image, what matters to me is that people talk about my music.

The inevitable closing questions... what are your plans for the future, and when will you start writing and recording songs for the next album?

May 27th will be my last date of the European tour, and in June I've already booked studio time to record some new songs. I'm really eager to start working concretely on the new album. I also think the third album could be made up entirely of covers (and Scott will give us a tangible example of his extraordinary gift for interpreting other people's songs just a little later, during the concert).

Do you believe there's still a reason to write music? And what would it be?

I believe there's always a reason to make art. Absolutely. I believe art is an important part of everyone's life and, as long as my music gives something to those who listen to it, there will always be a valid reason to keep doing what I do.

(30/04/2008)

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