After the release of his debut album ‘Empire’ (available from Injazero Records now,) we asked Matt Emery to give us a Top 5 rundown of both the influences on this wonderful record and Top 5 artists or bands he’s listening to right now. This might be the first in an occasional series so do contact us if you fancy doing similar!
Here’s what Matt had to say:
Top 5 Influences
Artist: Max Richter Track: ‘November’ I remember watching Max at Kings Place nearly 10 years ago for £2.50 – crazy!.. It totally opened up my mind and approach to writing music. Seeing string instruments up close made me want to delve deeper into that side of things. It’s brilliant to have seen Max go on to enjoy so much success and am sure he has been an inspiration to many composers out there today. Artist: Mac Demarco Track: ‘Blue Boy’ (live for KEXP) I listen to quite a wide variety of music and have been a huge fan of Mac’s work since he released his second album, ‘2’. I’ve seen him many times and I have always come away on such a high. As a live performer and on record Mac has some kind of energy that he captures that I just cant get enough of. It doesn’t matter what type of music you play, if you can have people coming away from your live shows with that amount of happiness and excitement then you’re winning. Artist: Ryuichi Sakamoto Track: ‘Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence’ One of my favorite songs ever written by such a legendary composer. I have listened to this track a million times and will listen a million more. He’s one of those composers that I will always go and see a film if I see his name on the composer credits. Artist: Martin Grech Track: ‘I Am Chromosome’ I was introduced to Martin’s work at music college when I was 16 and played his track ‘Dali’ in class by a tutor. I was instantly hooked and went and bought his album ‘Open Heart Zoo’ from HMV straight after class. The thing about Martin is I love that is he is genre-less, infusing every genre and instrument going and every little bit is so well thought out and produced. He doesn’t produce songs but journeys and his voice is unreal and heavenly. After a long time away, I know Martin has a new album written and I am unbelievably excited to hear it. He is someone I would dream of working with. Artist: Björk Track: ‘Joga’ (live at the Royal Opera House) Björk is such a visionary figure and forever changing and evolving. Her attention to detail in everything she does from her music, to her artwork and music videos is so inspiring. Björk has that power in her voice that can stop your heartbeat and breath for a couple of seconds but yet can be as quiet and fragile the next. She is an artist like Radiohead where your favorite song can change on your mood or activity (‘Play Dead’, ‘All Is Full Of Love’ and ‘Sod Off’ are always up there) But today, ‘Joga’ is my favorite. Top 5 Bands I’m Digging Right Now Artist: Vessels Track: ‘Mobilise’ Such a great band and nice people too. Amazing live and surely just going to keep getting bigger and bigger. ‘Dilate’ has to be one of my most played albums over the last couple of years and ‘Elliptic’ a highlight being one of those songs that just keeps on blossoming and growing the more the track evolves. One of my favorite bands at the moment and really enjoying new album ’The Great Distraction’. Artist: Robot KochTrack: ‘Eta Aquarid (with Savannah Jo Lack)’
Siné at my label Injazero sent me Robot Koch’s music a couple of months ago because she thought I would like and I haven’t stopped listening since. His production is so beautiful, and music sits somewhere between modern classical, electronic but also incorporates big pop melodies. The deeper I delve into Robot koch’s back catalogue the more I’m falling in love with the music. Also check out his remixes from Max Richter’s ‘The Four Seasons: Summer 3’ to the absolute gem ‘Mare’ from Christian Löffler’s latest remix EP.
Artist: Dmitry Evgrafov
Track: ‘Rootedness’
Dmitry is a Russian composer on Fat Cat’s classical 130701 label. His album ‘Collage’ in my opinion is one of the best modern classical albums in the last few years. His sound and ideas feel so fresh and rightly recognised by the curators at Spotify with huge streaming figures. His next album ‘Comprehension of Light’ is my most eagerly awaited album of this year and is out on 6 October.
Artist: Tom Rogerson (with Brain Eno)
Track: ‘Motion In Field’
I heard about this album a couple of years ago now via a mutual friend. Tom being the mastermind behind the brilliant Three Trapped Tigers. This is a stunning first single and so intrigued to hear more. Also go check out his piano version of Three Trapped Tigers track ‘Cramm’. I cant wait to see Tom perform live and for the upcoming album.
Artist: Ambassadeurs
Track: ‘Surrender’
Ambassadors is a forward-thinking electronic producer with a huge ear for melody whilst still providing such interesting beats and instrument choices, with flavours and sounds being introduced from different parts of the world. There’s been a few singles released this year, and hope there is an album to follow up soon.
Filed under: New music, Top 5s Tagged: alternative music, classical, classical music, indie music, influences, Matt Emery, Matt Emery music, Matt Emery musician, new music, post classical, post rock, Top 5
