Matt Emery is one of the best musicians I’ve ever met. His skill on the keyboard is perfection. Yet it is not your common classic that’s boring to the teens. It is the sound of nature. It is a sound so beautiful, I can bath in it for days and have great night sleeping. Matt is the person with the touch. It is breathtaking and wonderful. Here is our interview with Matt up close and personal.
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Hey Matt, How’s your life lately?
Hello, life is great thanks, very busy but an enjoyable busy.
Let us get on with business right away.
Q: Let’s start with the basics. Tell us who you really are and where you’re from?
A: Well my name is Matt Emery, I’m a musician from just outside of London from a little town called Dorking which is in Surrey. I have a lot of projects, it’s pretty much a 24 hour affair at the moment as I write and score music as my day job, writing all sorts of music from soundtracks to meditation music, I also write my own solo music, and play drums and a bit of singing in a Band called Stagecoach.
Q: We love the musically heavy composition you created and you seem to play a lot of instruments. How did you get started with the whole writing and playing all the instruments?
A: I’ve played drums since I was 6, which was the first instrument I learnt. Then from 13, I started writing music on a little midi keyboard, was kind of dance type music, and I had just an ordinary computer mic, and I just sat and wrote songs every night when I got home from school. So as soon as I left school I went to a music collage called the ACM, where I studied for 3 years, receiving diplomas in Music Production and Composition, Vocals and Drums. Throughout the three years, I’d managed to buy myself a couple of guitars and a nice keyboard/piano, and just had been writing constantly and teaching myself how to play, although my techniques and styles maybe quite weird to some as I didn’t read any books or learn chords I just tuned my guitar in funny tunings, and experimented, although I now play in standard tuning, I still love just experimenting, and play the notes or progressions I want to hear rather than worry that I’m in a wrong key or theoretically doing something incorrect. If something sounds good stick with it and do what pleases your ears. My next instrument I’d love to learn is Cello.
Q: We heard that you’ll be releasing an album, “Elysian Fields” after the New Year. So how would you describe the album?
A: Yes it out on the 19th Jan. Elysian Fields itself is a metaphor for heaven in ancient Greece. All of the tracks/songs of ‘Elysian Fields’ have Ancient Greek titles, So for example ‘Aeolus’ is a Greek god of wind and there are other tracks representing love, and other gods and goddesses, and two tracks dedicated to the two ancient greek characters Icarus and Daedulus. But the sound is quite hard to describe, a lot of people have described and compared it to all sorts of different bands or styles, including Sigur Ros, Hans Zimmer’s ‘Gladiator Soundtrack’ and also some people compared it to some Radiohead stuff, which is cool, as they are all amazing and inspiring bands and musicians who I have the upmost respect for. Personally I’d say it has a classical element in places, but its not a classical album, its very ambient and atmospheric music, a lot of it focuses around the vocals, I think that’s where musically my strengths lie, and I have multi tracked my voice many time in some of the songs so I literally have a choir of Matt Emery’s singing.
Q:How do you get an idea to write a song?
A: It always starts off from a riff on my guitar or a little idea on the piano, then it evolves, I would normally write the whole song just on piano or guitar first, then I fill in or write string parts or anything else. Then drums or vocals would normally come last. The vocals are normally the most important part and they carry the main melody, and normally my favourite part of writing, as everything sounds complete with vocals, there’s nothing more satisfying than writing a catchy or killer vocal melody as that’s the bit everyone will be singing or remember….well 9 time out of 10.
Q: How is writing music and scoring for movies or shows different?
A: Well in a way a lot easier because you have a guide line something to right to or for. When you write just a song it can be anything you want, but for instance with a film if you have a scene where someone is crying, you already have your mood which is upset, you write something a little dark or minor. If you have a happy scene, you write uplifting music. Obviously its not quite as easy as that but I just love it as when you have picture or words come together with music, it just really connects with people, you try watching a film without music, it wouldn’t work, adding music has the power to reduce you to tears or put those hairs on the back of your neck, its powerful stuff.
Q: Which one you like better? Doing your own music in the studio or playing live on stage to thousands of people?
A: They’re totally different, and I couldn’t live without either, they’re like the ying and yang of music, they are both equally important and enjoyable. When things come together when recording it can be so exciting, you can just sit in the studio and listen to a twenty second bit you’ve just recorded for hours, and can be the most stressful thing at time if things don’t sound right or parts don’t fit, but I suppose it’s like cooking, when you get the right recipe and it all comes out perfectly you want everyone to taste it. But playing live is just as good if not better, performing live and seeing people sing your own words or dancing or jumping around to your music that is what its all about, just getting lost in the music up on stage is my idea of heaven, sometimes I just don’t want to come down from it, I think if your going to play live you always have to give 110% or why else do it.
Q: Who is your inspiration musically and in life?
A: This is one of the hardest questions, my favourite artists at the moment are Max Richter, Ólafur Arnalds, Armour For Sleep, and Joanna Newsom but I suppose musicians I love and look up to most are probably Björk, Thom Yorke / Radiohead, Martin Grech, and Dave Grohl. They’re just people who have the power to give you the same feelings as I described about how you feel when music and pictures/words are put together, just tugs on the heart strings, that’s all I want to do is write music that gives you that very feeling.In life, I’d have to say my parents for believing and supporting me.
Q: You have come a long way. From Playing in stages that most artist only dream of to playing in Skins, and with your talent there must be a lot more coming. Tell us some of the projects that will be coming in the future.
A: I think 2009 is going to be a good year, the band I’m in Stagecoach are recording early February and will be releasing an EP early spring, and we will also be touring around the UK and hopefully France too. I will be writing a soundtrack and setting author Louise Langley’s new book titled ‘The Aquila Chronicles’ completely to music. I also hope to release another album by the end of the year too that I’m planning on calling colours, along with hopefully doing some gigs too, hopefully with a quartet.
Q: at Last, do you have anything you wish to say to all your fans out there?
A: Yes have a great 2009, thank you to anyone who has supported me in anyway whether coming to gigs or bought CD’s, and please purchase a copy of ‘Elysian Fields’ on the 19th Jan. Will you be getting a CD when it comes out? Haha!
Well, Matt it is a great time to start a career and a fantastic musician as you are, we love you and hope for all the best for you.
Matt & Jonathan
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