The album itself is a perfect reflection of Matt’s state of mind during the making of this record – starting out frustrated and angry, and working through his demons with stony grit and determination. Delving a little deeper, and a little darker, Matt spent the past few years in home studios all over the world, ending up in a cottage in rural NSW Australia where he wrote, recorded and produced the album.
The art for Telluric has been created by Gary Burden of R.Twerk. Gary has been nominated for 4 Grammy’s for album packages, and has created artwork for all of Neil Young’s catalogue including Crosby Still Nash and Young, Joni Mitchell and the Mamas and the Papas to name a few. More recently he has worked with Jenny Lewis, Conor Oberst, My Morning Jacket and Kurt Vile.
Matt first made waves in public conscience in the UK in 2012 with his track Brother, a fiercely bold and resonant track which demonstrated his ability to capture both pure emotion and soaring melodies. Matt toured relentlessly in the UK throughout this time, including sold out shows at Scala and KOKO; a hugely impressively feat for an unknown 21 year old Australian.
After signing to Atlantic Records, he wrote and produced his debut album two years ago in Los Angeles but, disliking the results, he scrapped the entire thing. His aim was to become self-sufficient in every aspect of the recording process – this wasn’t just a means of regaining control, but salvaging his confidence which had reached rock bottom. He wanted to know he was good enough to make his debut record.
“I recorded an album two years ago that I didn’t like. For a lot of reasons I wouldn’t release it. It took me a year and a half to clear my head of everything that happened, accept my failures, reboot and have the balls to do it again.”
Tracks such as ‘Sooth Lady Wine ’ outline Matt’s incredible ear not only for a melody, but his ability to mix gritty vocals with psychedelic synths and jazz laden beats. The wide variety of influences found within this record is rather astounding, ranging from the gospel tinged pounding drums of ‘Monday’ to the dark, growling vocals of ‘Wrong Man’. The result is a self-soothing and startlingly mature record, allowing Matt to finally feel comfortable in his own skin.