Introducing The Breakthrough Indie Sensation… Matt-Felix

Emerging talent Matt-Felix is ready to carve his own unique and cinematic lane in the music sphere. The London-based artist first fell in love with music at the age of 12, gravitating towards the likes of the late David Bowie, The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. Matt-Felix’s passion for the arts grew as he got older – which resulted in him learning how to play multiple instruments and creating raw and honest original songs.

In January 2024, the Anglo-French singer made his official music debut with his immersive indie rock track ‘Leave, Just To Stay.’ Since that fateful day, Matt-Felix has continued to peel back the layers of his dynamic and commanding artistry, releasing several additional singles and his first EP, Kingdom Of You & Me. With his rising star showing no signs of slowing down, we sat down with the ‘Don’t Cry’ singer to discuss his music journey, the creative process for his genre-bending EP, and so much more. Read the full interview below.

Hey Matt-Felix! Thanks for chatting to us today! How was your New Year? Do you have any big resolutions you want to achieve in 2025?

Hey! Hope you’re well. Thank you for your questions. My new year was great, as I hope yours was. I never really do the resolutions thing, I do, however, write a page-long manifesto/vision board of what I want to happen in the coming year, which I guess is a similar idea.

Congratulations on the release of your latest EP, Kingdom of You & Me! How does it feel to have your first project out in the world?

Thank you, it feels great. A bookmark to the opening chapter of what I’m going to do.

Listening to ‘Kingdom of You & Me’ feels like travelling through the 60s, 70s and 80s with its psychedelic and glam rock production. Can you take us through the creative process for this record? What were some of your key inspirations?

The song grew out of this synth sample I was playing around with; it basically anchors down the whole feeling of the tune. I then started to layer instruments over that until I had a backing track, which is never usually how I write. So the melody and lyrics came from what the backing track was making me feel, as opposed to the other way around. I’m not sure what my key inspirations were, but I know that I’ve always loved ‘Band On The Run’ by Wings. The acoustic guitar break would’ve come from that; I love the way it just interrupts the whole song.

Every track is fantastic – the titular track and ‘Leave, Just To Stay’ are my personal favourites. Which song on the record was the easiest to create, and which did you find challenging to nail down?

Oh, thank you very much… the easiest to write was ‘Don’t Cry’; that song just landed on me in 20 minutes. I mean, it kind of sounds like that as well. It was the hardest to nail down recording-wise, though; I wanted it to be so simple, which I found hard to do. The hardest to write was probably ‘Kingdom Of You & Me’. I went through countless versions of the chorus until I ended up with the one.

Do you have any studio rituals that help to spark creativity?

I don’t spend too much time in ‘studios’ at this point in my career as you’re kind of in and out as fast as possible due to budget. At home where I demo and write everything I do have little things I tend to do, though… I write on a typewriter, not because I’m ‘vintage’, but because I find I get lost in what I’m doing when I use it. It sits on top of my piano and I feel as if the two of them are one instrument. Most mornings I wake up and start writing as soon as I can, anything, everything. It’s important for me to get into that mindset as early in the day as possible.

We need to discuss your absolutely incredible video for ‘Kingdom of You & Me’. It felt like I was watching an epic art-house adventure film. What themes or messages did you want this fantastical and colourful video to represent?

Ah, thank you! Yes, I have great memories of shooting that video. It was made possible by a talented group of friends who were incredibly willing to get involved. I thank them forever. I have to say all my videos to date have been done in the same way, pulling favours/people being so generous with their time. As I was writing ‘Kingdom’ I kept this image in my head of two men holding up a moon on a little boat; I have no idea why. So, the video idea stemmed from that. The main concept was this grand gesture of love: stealing the moon for your lover. Which we thought was a fun idea to play around with, hiring two henchmen to steal the moon for a price.

What’s your favourite career moment to date?

I’d have to say playing All Points East’s main stage last summer. Being on a stage like that was incredible and very addictive as well; I’m itching to get back on a stage that big.

Taking it back a bit, when did you first realise that you wanted to pursue a music career? Was there an album(s) or artist(s) you would consider the jump-off point of your creative journey?

I was about twelve or thirteen when I knew this was everything I wanted from my life. There wasn’t anything in particular; I just fell in love with playing guitar and writing songs. I was completely obsessed. My parents have good music taste as well so that helped. Always Bowie, Dylan, and stuff like that playing around the house.

If you could collaborate with anyone – alive or no longer with us – who would it be, and what type of album or song would you want to create with them?

I have many answers to this question. Tony Visconti, Brian Eno and Nick Launay come to mind, all great producers. I would love to lock myself in a studio and make an album with any of them. Just a beautifully raw album, with interesting sounds. Danger Mouse is also amazing.

Even though you just released Kingdom of You & Me, can fans expect another Matt-Felix EP or the release of your debut album in the near future? What can you tease?

I can tease that a lot more music is on its way.

Looking ahead, what are five goals you want to achieve over the next five years?

I’m going to record two albums that I’m very proud of, and play shows around the world. Apart from that we’ll see what unfolds. Love!

You can watch Matt-Felix’s video for ‘Kingdom Of You & Me’ below and stream his debut EP here.