Written by Semper Azeez-Harris
Saturday, 11 July 2009 00:00
The incredibly talented New York-based indie rock duo talk to Seven about their latest album and career so far
I always think it is unwise to dedicate your aural pleasures to one or even two particular genres of music. One should be more promiscuous than that, flirt, have a clandestine affair with a track that you may have had your eye on, or maybe even have a threesome.
Recently, I had an affair with Grand (2009), the second album from a group called, simply, Matt and Kim. Grand is not usually my type of album....but whoa. Matt Johnson is on the vocals (predominantly) and Kim Schifino provides the percussion. It is an aural extravaganza of heavy beats that sounds like a sort of punk, dance, rock that makes you want to get up and dance.
Having just returned from touring, Matt caught up with me to talk about their album, sweat and presenting on MTV.
Semper: How are you, Matt? Thanks for taking the time out to chat with me.
Matt: I am doing okay, thanks.
Semper: Jumping straight in, for those that may not know, how would you describe the whole sound of Matt and Kim?
Matt: Well, the genre we gave ourselves was dance funk. Our sound came from playing in Brooklyn at house parties and warehouse parties where everyone was just having a fun, sweaty time. We have just kept that ethic.
Semper: It’s an ethic that is clear in both of your albums.
Matt: Well, yes. I remember at one point playing a warehouse in Brooklyn. There were 500 people in a four-storey warehouse lit by candlelight. It was just so fucking dangerous.
Semper: It has been a few years between your first album Matt and Kim (2006) and your current album Grand. What have you been doing?
Matt: We were just touring, just doing shows. That is what this band is really built on. Before we had a record deal, that is what we did. We actually had to stop and really make an effort to actually record something. We wanted to record, but when opportunities to tour with a band you like or go to a country that you have never been to come up, you just want to do it.
Semper: I had a look at your website and the amount of touring that you are doing is phenomenal. How challenging has that been?
Matt: Well, yes. I realised that we played four continents in one month. We did Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the States and then South America. For the summer, we are just going to do festivals and it will be nice to be able to sleep in my own bed for a while.
Semper: Unfortunately, I did not know but you performed over here in the UK in June. What was that like and when will you be back?
Matt: Man, (he laughs) that show was definitely the sweatiest show we have done in a long time. It was a particularly warm day and you guys don’t seem to do air conditioning.
Semper: Oh no, we don’t do air con; we prefer au natural smell of body odour (we both laugh).
Matt: I learned that after a gallon of sweat. It was really fun being in that tight little room. In the past, we have gone through London a couple times, but this was the first one that had that feeling with people dancing. I guess it was just that amount of sweat. I don’t know when we will be back. I mean there were talks for this fall, but it all depends on scheduling.
Semper: Sophomore albums are always challenging after success. What were the challenges in creating Grand?
Matt: The thing was that I knew that we had evolved somewhat and so I was just excited about recording this album. We recorded the first album in a studio in LA in about a week, and so we were not able to experiment with anything or try anything new. With this, we wanted the utmost freedom. We decided to spend our recording budget on gear and go to where I grew up in Vermont and lock ourselves in my childhood bedroom for the first six weeks. With no one breathing down our necks, it took us a good few months. Partly because we were touring at the same time, so it really did turn out to be a challenge.
Semper: Really loving your next release “Daylight”, but do you have plans for any other releases off the album?
Matt: There is a track called “Good Ol’ Fashion Nightmare”. Without us pushing it, we have heard it on satellite radio and stuff like that here in the States. There is also a track called “I’ll Take Us Home” which we have not had the chance to push, but I really like.
Semper: “Good Ol’ fashion Nightmare” has a distinct flavour of hip hop with that beat, but do you have plans to, say, do a Linkin Park and do collaboration with a hip-hop artist?
Matt: We have thought about collaborative work because it does not really happen that much particularly in indie genres. In other genres like hip-hop, there are collaborations all over the place. So, yes, definitely we hope to do something like that?
Semper: What was it like hosting on MTV?
Matt: It was great, but I remember when we first started performing I was really nervous. After performing for a while, you get used to it. The first time we hosted, it felt like my first performance. I could not even remember what happened from the show; I think I blacked out. Now, however, it’s great. It is just a different form of performing.
Semper: Lastly, what can your fans expect for your next album?
Matt: The way these things work can be really funny. We worked so hard on that album and it is only recently that it has started to pick up, getting on the Billboard charts and stuff. The way it works, however, is if we want an album out next year, we are going to have to start it now. While I am really happy with this album, we are definitely talking to other producers that I really like. It will be an album with personality and the fun we usually bring.
Semper: Thanks for taking the time out.
See the amazing (and that's an understatement) video for Matt and Kim's "Lessons Learned":
Matt and Kim's "Yea Yeah":
Friday 30 July 2010
