Following an extremely successful set (or two!) at Barn on the Farm, Matt Woods looks ahead to a busy Summer, gaining momentum through live shows and his brand new single.
We took some time on the Sunday morning of Barn on the Farm to lay on the grass and have a catch up with the man himself…
Hi Matt, you are playing Barn On The Farm this weekend. Are you excited for it?
Yeah, I have already played one session because I got a call when I was driving from London saying that Lauren Aquilina pulled out and they needed someone to fill on the second stage so I got two sets. So I am perfectly ready for it.
You are set to release your new EP at the end of the month, what can fans expect from that?
Well if they know the previous EP, it’s certainly more mature. I have been spending a lot of time in the studio developing the sound and that so the EP will be a much better indication of where I’m going. It’s got a lot higher production value, it has a lot more sound and it is slightly dirtier.
You were saying earlier to me that you are putting more electric sounds into your live sets, is it different for you to be playing with that sound rather than the more natural sound?
Yeah, massively. I am a massive fan of acoustic music. That is how I got into it. My avenue as a fan was all that Jack Johnson stuff and when Mumford and Sons came out I loved that sound and making music in that way. It is different, but also the introduction of stuff like James Blake and London Grammar have made me more interested in making things with a more electric vein. It still will have its acoustic roots and that’s how I write the stuff. But to put that stuff over that acoustic sound makes it so much more interesting.
More Experimental?
Yeah, I have the privilege of being able to experiment without censorship. There is no label at the moment. I have management who tell me what to do, but there is really nobody to tell you what to do. I get put in with so many wonderful producers on a daily basis and it would be a crime to not push the boat out a bit. There is nobody at the top saying that we need something commercially acceptable here. I am just making music. Also the way of me making music everyday and keeping an interest for myself is to be actively creative and try something I haven’t done before. The electric sounds are drawing a lot out of me at the moment because I learned how to write acoustically and I am so familiar with the sound of an acoustic guitar that it drains me almost. I feel like I’ve been here before. In fact that will probably be the title of my next song written on an acoustic guitar, ‘I’ve been here before’!
Of course you joined with Sticky Management, so is there any plans in the pipeline to work with other artists that are also with them, like Ed Sheeran?
I fucking hope so! I really hope so, but I don’t intend on using their relationships with people to leverage my career. At some point I will be on a level with some of these people, I may never be on a similar level with Ed, but at some point I may be on a level with these people to turn around and make music like adults rather than being made do this song with them. I’d rather it happen because I am a fan of their music and they are a fan of mine. But yeah I don’t plan on using Sticky to leverage my career, yet.
Is there anyone you can’t wait to see this weekend at Barn On the farm or that you saw yesterday?
Josh Record. I am a big fan of him. Dan Croll will be cool. He is on today. Jake Isaac will be good. His name pops up a lot in the circles I work in and I know a lot of people who work with him that say he is a dude so I really want to check him out. I will probably go watch Luke Sital-Singh headline the second stage too. I was so happy I saw Rhodes yesterday too. Live, he is mental. I was left with a really lovely feeling from that set.
What is the plan for after the EP release?
I have every intention of making another EP for a late November release. Because I spent nine months hiding in a studio, I ended up with a lot of material and to be honest some of it is being held back for the future, because it is more in the territory of being able to construct an album out of it. In the meantime this EP is introducing various elements of the music I am making, some of it has some electric guitars and some serious electronic sounds and I quite like the idea of making an EP for the winter with that electronic sound soundscape, I think that will be a suitable time to release an EP like that. It is hard. Releases take a lot of time and effort even on an independent level like mine are right now, so much stuff can hold back a release but I have the best intentions to release an EP in November. Yeah that’s the plan.
Thanks very much, hope you enjoy the rest of the festival.
You too.
Matt’s new EP ‘Give Yourself Away’ is set for release on Monday.
Be sure to check out our exclusive premiere of Matt’s new song ‘Toy Guns’ here.
Listen to Matt Woods’ ‘Toy Guns’ and ‘Give Yourself Away’ below:
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