Interview was 1st published on The LupEND Blog on Sept. 7th and Sept. 11th 2009 as a 2 part interview. This was an e-mail interview, I sent him all questions at once and he sent answers back. A lot of times this type of interviews don't work out that well cause you can't build up a conversation but Matthew did a great job here.
Matthew Santos: I’ve been in the studio a lot trying to tie up loose ends on the record, while also making sure we got our ducks in a row for it’s release. Played a few solo shows and am gearing up for some full band shows as well.
SeanTheRobot: Let's talk about your upcoming album. Do you already have a title for it and is the late Fall release still on?
MS: I haven’t committed to a title just yet…there are some working titles that I won’t disclose now, but the release is intended for sometime in early to mid December.
SeanTheRobot: Lately you performed a few new tracks during your concerts, for example "Born to Do" and it seems like, sound-wise some of the new stuff is much more rock/pop driven than the things you did before. Was that one of the things you were pushing for when you started to record the album....like creating more rock tracks with a little bit of a harder, edgier sound?
MS: Well this album was probably the most difficult one for me to make thus far due to many circumstances. First, I’m an indie artist at heart and I felt tremendous pressure to create pop music, or at least to make a few songs that any one of the labels we were pitching to would be interested in.
This situation was ripe for internal conflict because a large part of me didn’t really want to make pop music for a mainstream label release.
Secondly, the song that really got my name out there to the music industry and to the world at large was obviously “Superstar”, which is a song I didn’t write that speaks very little of the music I love to make. So I wanted to try and create a few songs that held a similar level of high energy yet was still me, which was something I’ve never done before.
The irony is that within these experimental pop/rock songs were lyrics that spoke of an indie artist caught up in a mainstream whirlwind (as in “Wide Eyed Fire Fly”) or of the nature of radio mega hits that dominate the airwaves (as in “On the Radio”).
This was sort of my response to being suddenly thrown into the world of pop music with little to no preparation. I went from recording a live, acoustic folk album in my basement to performing in front of 30,000 people a night on a Kanye West tour. My world was turned upside down overnight.
So yes, I was pushing for a more edgier sound than what I’ve done in the past. It was just another step in creative exploration and growth for me and a response to the life situation I found myself in. There are also some low key folk tunes on the album that resemble some of the music I’ve done in the past.
SeanTheRobot: I wanna talk about one thing that permanently comes up when people talk about you, mostly people that only know the tracks that you did with Lupe. They say "He's a Chris Martin clone" or "A wannabe Adam Levine". What do you think about people who say stuff like that?
MS: People who dish out those lazy comparisons clearly haven’t listened to my music. I feel like it’s an ignorant, surface assessment of my art. It’s like you spend a good part of your life refining your craft for someone to just come around and casually discredit 90% of your influences.
If you were to put Chris Martin, Adam Levine and myself in a room and asked us all to write our own song entitled “Ignorant Comparisons”, we would each write very different sounding songs.
Once my album comes out in December these associations will become irrelevant, or at least I hope so.
SeanTheRobot: Ok...so on Twitter you recently said that you plan to release a single soon...can you already tell us which track it will be and will there be a video for it?
MS: The first single we plan on releasing is called “You Will Be Saved”. It’s a song about institutions that offer a promise of happiness or “salvation” only if you follow their rules, or pay their fees. It’s the “safety in numbers” or “group think” mentality that inspired this song. There will be a video at some point.
SeanTheRobot: Talking about videos...you are featured on "Shining Down" and I know that a lot of people are wondering if there will be a video for the song...do you know anything about that?
MS: I’ve heard rumors of a video for “Shining Down”, but I got nothing.
SeanTheRobot: In another interview you recently said that you'll be featured on another track that will appear on Lupe's upcoming album, "Lasers". What can we expect from that track?
MS: Well I will only say that it is a song more on the lines of “Fighters” from “The Cool”. I really dig the vibe.
SeanTheRobot: Alright, back to you and your band... How involved are the people of your band in the process of creating new music? (Like the songwriting and all that)
MS: The band is pretty involved in the refining process of the songs, but in the past not so much the conception of the songs. I write the lyrics and loosely dictate the artistic direction of the songs, while the band adds their unique touch and musicality.
Sometimes we’ve spontaneously just started playing and have come up with some amazing shit on the fly. I’d like to explore that writing process more with the band for sure, but sometimes it gets tricky with too many cooks in the kitchen.
SeanTheRobot: Graham Burris, who's a part of your band is also a part of Japanese Cartoon now. What do you think about that and what do you think about Japanese Cartoon in general?
MS: At first I didn’t understand Japanese Cartoon, but after a few listens I really started liking what they were doing. It’s definitely a niche sound, but some great songs came out of that project. I’m really happy that Graham was a part of it, as well as another band mate of mine Matt Nelson, for they are both incredibly talented musicians and creative forces.
SeanTheRobot: Ok...we're almost done...one more question from me: The Chicago Mag recently named you one of the top 20 Chicagoan singles of 2009. If you could choose one girl (a celebrity) that you could take out on a date...who would it be and why?
MS: Hmmm. Well I would have to say Odette Yustman. She was in “Cloverfield” and more recently “The Unborn”. She is a classier version of Megan Fox if I may offer an ignorant comparison myself, and I think she has an amazing, sophisticated presence. Not to mention she’s drop dead gorgeous…
SeanTheRobot: Yeah, she's definitely cute. Ok...so, I asked our readers to send in some questions for you as well...here are the 3 that I picked out....
Q: How did you get your incredible vocal ability did you practice as a kid...vocal lessons...or are you just naturally talented? and how old have you been when you learned to play the guitar?
A: I sang a little bit as a kid, nothing serious though. I took a vocal class once in college that taught me how to warm up and take care of my voice. But really I just learned how to sing from my influences, like Jeff Buckley, Ella Fitzgerald, Martin Sexton, Thom York, Bjork, etc. I started playing guitar when I was 14 and wrote my first song when I was 15.
Q: Which Lupe collaboration is your favorite and why?
A: I like “Fighters”. It’s the song that has the most heart in it.
Q: Have you learned anything from working with Lupe, either about the music industry or artistically or both? How has that influenced your career path? Has it affected your ambitions in any way?
A: Yeah I learned a lot from rolling with Lu. Lessons on the industry, on pop music and performance, on business, etc. Working with Lupe has helped me to get my name out there to the extent that people in the jungles of Costa Rica know who I am.
It’s been a little complicated though, because I’ve since been labeled as a “commercial” artist, or even as a sell out by some of my peers. I don’t feel that either of those statements are true, and my modest lifestyle, along with the music I make is everyday proof of the contrary.
Collaborating with Lupe opened up a lot of doors for me, and for him as well, but it’s also made it a little more difficult for me to work with some of the indie-based companies that I deeply respect--because they feel I’m too “mainstream” now.
I once envisioned a more grass-roots approach to success and working with Lupe was a crazy and rewarding detour on that path. I’m making enormous efforts to get back on that track and at the same time I am forever grateful for the opportunities that came from working with Lupe.
SeanTheRobot: Once again thanks for taking the time to do this and if there's anything else that you want to say...go ahead...
MS: We are looking for motivated people who want to help spread the word and share their love of music with others, so if you want to be an honorary member of our Street Team, wherever you are, please hit me up on FaceBook, Twitter & MySpace.
We hope to release the album in December before the holidays, and our first single is going to drop in the next few weeks. Much love to you, and enjoy the rest of your summer while you can!
LINK: MATTHEW'S WEBSITE
[Photography by Stephanie Bassos]
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