In conversation with .. 3!

What inspires you in your song writing,
whether content or form?
Jonah: Musically, for me, it is. But found
these inspire a whole song, and if I can hear
something in a new way, it helps me kind of
create a landscape by composition. It’s up to
you to make that.
Mattiel: When we write a song, Jonah
is writing the music primarily and I am
interpreting that emotionally. Whether I
want to put something on it to juxtapose the
actual sound with what I’m speaking about
or singing about, I want something to match
up with the sound. I mean, that’s what is
inspired. The vibe of what we are doing.
Once it reaches that point, I have sources
of inspiration that range from people and
music to other writers.
And what do you listen to?
Mattiel: The music that I listen to is
maybe other people wouldn’t expect
me to. I don’t know if that really
directly influences the music
that we’re making right now,
but music like
European jazz, Pakistani
pop from the 60s. But
of course, we’re not
making that.
Jonah: I don’t really
listen to a lot of
music anymore I
don’t think. I had
kind of strayed
away from that.
I’ve got my
band and
my friends
that do that
around me.
How did going on tour with Jack White come about?
Mattiel: We had a record out in America on Burger [Records] and
they sent this record to Third Man [Records] and Jack’s nephew wrote
about it on his blog. They then invited us to play at the record store
in 2017 and a few months later we were on tour [with Jack White] for
some US states. It was wonderful!
In your music videos, like have a really playful element to it. Do you
guys have much creative input to these?
Mattiel: Every person that has made the video with me, I’ve worked
with before. I was at a design agency for a while, so that’s where I met
them. We had already worked in a studio for years prior to making
those videos. I take on the role as a co-director and set design and
I choose all the styling outfits. I’m art director, basically and I really
enjoy doing that. I’d love to do that for other artists when I have time.
Mattiel, in your style there’s a lot of gender fluidity, the blending of
masculinity and femininity. Was this a deliberate choice?
Mattiel: That’s just who I am. That’s just me. So, I wouldn’t say it was
planned out in any type of way. It’s just how I feel. This is how I go
about pretty much my daily life.
Are there any collaborations in the pipeline or any sort of dream
collaborations maybe you’d want to do?
Jonah: There’s a couple of things on the table that we’re trying to
figure out. It being the holiday, it’s a bit of a dormant period. But yeah,
for next year [2020] I would have collaborations on. Cool and fun stuff.
What can we look forward to from Mattiel in the future?
Mattiel: I’d like to have a piece of holiday work in the making. I think
that’ll be a fun thing to do. Also, it looks like a lot of touring. To be
sure, in January, February, March, April, the US etc. I can’t wait for it.
What are you most looking forward to when touring and being on
the road?
Mattiel: That’s a hard question because being on tour is not a creative
act. It’s very much a lot of work. But the best times I have on tour are
being close with the people I play music with and forming memories
that way, having a good time and meeting new people. I also generally
have a little bit of a soft side for Europe personally.
Jonah: If we can get to into Japan and Australia that would be pretty
cool. I like being in Europe and the UK, it’s also a blast. We’re pretty
used to playing there.
Instagram @mattielbrown
mattiel.com
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