Matu - “Dreamtest” & “This Fire”
Photo by Anastasiia Fursevych
London-based singer-songwriter Matu is back with the release of his EP, Back Of My Bones. And since we’ve already featured two of the four songs from this collection, it’s time that we showed you the others: “Dreamtest” and “This Fire.”
For those of you still unfamiliar with the delicate, folksy work of Matu, you are in for a glorious treat once you’ve pressed play. “Dreamtest” rolls out and our ears are immediately greeted by Matu’s soft vocal as it serenades us from atop a cloud of gently played acoustic guitar. We’ve made the comparisons to Damien Rice before, but it holds true across all of Matu’s work, and while it is certainly not a carbon copy, the emotive vocal performance is persistent all the same. “Dreamtest” utilizes one of our favorite aspects often present within any good folk tune: the crescendo, adding elements along its path to widen and elevate the entire performance and production. And by the time your ears have taken in the bass, percussion, and string arrangement, the sparsely performed beginning is just a fond, distant memory.
The next song, and the track that closes the EP, is “This Fire.” As with most of Matu’s creations, this one starts with some fantastic, finger-plucked guitar work, setting the tone for the ensuing lyrical delivery. This one, however, seems slightly more melancholic compared to the others, which, as far as we’re concerned, makes it the perfect number to close out this EP, leaving the listener in a state of introspection and wonder. “This Fire” displays the soft tones of a reverberated electric guitar and while we find it impossible to pick our favorite Matu track, this one comes close to the top, thanks to this dreamy ear candy. Some ethereal synth is used to pad the production as the track elevates, leading to a middle eight that’s been infused with some heavy hitting drums. This is one hell of a way to end an EP.
If you’re shopping around for a new favorite folk singer, we suggest you take some of Matu’s songs for a spin. The lyrics are delivered honestly and emotively and each track is a triumphant journey through cinematic soundscapes. Each song has been carefully crafted by Matu and produced with Jason Odle (Billie Marten, Beth McCarthy). The only thing left for you to do is press play.
-HD