Exclusive Interview: How Matthew Parker Provides Us with the Soundtrack of Our Lives

The Adventure begins for Matthew Parker as he begins his pre-order on iTunes via DREAM Records.  The album was produced by Parker, who brings a refreshingly crisp sound.  Matthew first gained notoriety from the guys in Dude Perfect when they featured his song, "We Go" on their Dizzie Sports Battle featuring Paul Rudd.  That followed quickly with a feature on ESPN and EDM.com calling him "one of the faces of the growing genre".   The album features various guest vocalists ranging from Spencer Kane to Rapture Ruckus.

"I'm crazy excited about this album. "Adventure" is a pivotal moment for me, as it really embodies the EDM/Pop kind of fusion that I've been moving toward for a long time. I feel like this is the music I was meant to make--and I really think it's the best music I've ever made. I truly hope this project makes tidal waves, but even if not, it'll absolutely be an adventure, and I'm SO ready for it." - Matthew Parker

Matthew Parker's first single, "Adventure" went to radio not too long ago and quickly debuted at No. 27 on the Billboard Christian Hot AC / CHR chart and is currently No. 5 on the Hot CHR chart and No. 12 on the Australia Christian Chart.  Fans can order the single today with the pre-order here and by texting "Adventure" to 51555. 

Q:  Thanks for doing this interview with us.  What attracted you to EDM-pop music in the first place?

Happy to be here! Well, I've always had a thing for electronic sounds. Growing up, I mostly listened to more traditional contemporary music, but when I would heard some electronic sound or intentionally glitchy edit in a song, it always seemed so cool to me. Of course this was before I knew about EDM. I got into EDM through hearing a lot of it on Soundcloud. I came to make Pop-EDM because I saw Pop and wanted it to be edgier and more intense and catchy, with more modern production techniques, and then I saw EDM, which had those cool electronic sounds but was often too repetitive and didn't have that straight-up no-nonsense vocal-based feel that makes Pop so engaging. So I took those two and landed in the middle, and I really enjoy the fusion that has resulted. It just feels like ME to me, so I'll likely be making Pop with heavy EDM influence for a long time. It's my jam.

Q:  You have had quite a few releases this year, including your side project, Twilight Meadow. I really like that album. Is that a one-off record or will we have a follow-up in the near future?

That's not a one-off record, but the next few times Twilight Meadow releases any music it will likely be in the form of singles. It'll be a while before another full record. It's just so much work, and I've gotten pretty busy with other projects.

Q:  Let's talk about your new album "Adventure."  Why do you entitle it "Adventure"?

Lots of reasons. First of all, I love the word. It has so many good connotations. It's dreamy, it makes me think of road trips or spontaneous fun outings with friends or even just a more general "adventurous" outlook on life, and I think everybody in the world loves the word. Secondly, it's the title of the first single on the album. The song Adventure is about how life has ups and downs, twists and turns, almost like a roller coaster, but through it all if you look at life as an adventure then it makes everything better. It gives a whole new optimistic view of the journey and helps make the good times worth the bad times. Thirdly, if life is an adventure, then my music can be a soundtrack. The soundtrack to your road trip or the soundtrack to your life. Both are cool with me.

Q:  I am intrigued about the album cover.  Can you tell us the creative rationale behind the album cover picture?

I'm not entirely sure, but I think I had the idea for this album cover while I was in bed trying to sleep. Every once in a while when I should be getting to sleep, my brain goes into hyper-creative mode and melodies or lyrics or some other idea is flowing through my head and I can't stop it. That time I just thought, "What if I had a picture of the face of a girl, with her eyes being the middle vowels of the word (Adventure)?" I think I even got out of bed and made a quick mock-up with a watermarked version of the picture that I eventually used. Then my brain stopped binge-thinking and I got to sleep. I just thought this artwork concept was very unforgettable and would really catch the eye and make a person be like "Woah, that's interesting." Plus I figured people would have to look at it a little longer to figure out what the title's saying.

Q:  Did you approach this new album any differently from your previous albums?

Yes, absolutely. This was one of the first albums where I got to start fresh and make more big picture plans for the album. Many of my previous albums were basically just me making a bunch of songs over time and when I had enough, throwing them on an album and releasing it. As cool as that is, it's a lot more fun to be able to brainstorm and be like "I want to have a song on this album that has real cello in it, or I want to have a hidden track, or I want to do a song in this style or that style." It's just a lot of fun to have the freedom to be creative and make a more cohesive body of work rather than just a bunch of random songs.

This album is also different than the last few in that this is one has gone from being predominantly EDM to being predominantly Pop. It's still very much a fusion of the two styles, but I've chosen to lean more toward the Pop side, and I have no regrets. I mean hey, it worked for The Chainsmokers, right?

Q: For our readers who may not be familiar with your music, what are two songs on the new record that represent your best work?  And why?

That's a hard question because all the songs on the record are very different, but they're all me. That said, the title single Adventure has a good balance of all the things that make me "me" as an artist. The second track would have to be.....I suppose "Dynasty". It's a slightly more eccentric tune, but it showcases the more mystical and "Dubsteppy" and cinematic sides of my work very well.

Q:  You have done remixes for many artists like Jonathan Thulin, Capital Kings, and others.  Whose project are you working on now? 

It's not every day that a legit artist asks me to do a remix, but you caught me at a good time because I just recently did an energetic dubstep remix for Rapture Ruckus, and funny thing--the song title is "Tidal Wave", the same title as one of the tunes on my own album.

Q:  For our readers who want to know more about you and your music, where can they go?

Well I'd tell them to look me up on Wikipedia, but I can't say the page is very thrilling to read, nor completely accurate. The best place to interact with me and see the latest "happenin's" would be my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/matthewparkermusic), but I'm also on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/matthewparkermusic), Soundcloud (https://soundcloud.com/matthewparkermusic) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/MatthewParker2).

If you want to hear my music right this moment, you can also search "Matthew Parker" on Youtube, Apple Music, or Spotify.

And for the real Adventure, pick up my new album on iTunes, Amazon, or Google Play

http://smarturl.it/AdventureiTunes 

http://smarturl.it/AdventureAmazon 

http://smarturl.it/AdventureGoogle

Thank you so much for chatting with me!

 

Tags : matthew parker matthew parker interview drom records dream records Capital Kings twilight meadows jonathan thulin matthew parker new album matthew parker news