#POPULARPLAY: FINN MATTHEWS

 

At only 20 years old, Finn Matthews has found a mentor, his sound, and has been a part of creating music with some of the most influential names in the industry.

Just as we are all still reeling from his collaboration with Rick Ross in the powerful Pinned to the Cross release, he releases his new song Closing In. The song features Finn’s smooth vocals over the sound of an 808 that is mellowed by a chorus of flowy synths. Not just a singer on the track, Finn is also known for producing, writing, and playing guitar on his own tracks.

Originally from New Jersey, like most young artists, Finn moved to Los Angeles to pursue music full-time and is developing under the wing of mentor Elijah Blake, known for writing hits for artists like Rihanna, Usher and Rick Ross. As he grows into his own, Finn is also garnering a lot of attention. After the release of his first single and music video for “Julia”, he received 1.2 million views on YouTube and has since earned a spot on the popular ‘Pop Chillout’ playlist on Spotify, a writing credit on Elijah Blake’s new single, “Bad Liar”, over 50+ thousand monthly listeners on Spotify, and the announcement of his debut album Sunny Daze.

Finn spoke to Popular TV on his latest releases, what part of production he absolutely loves, and his faith in his generation.

1.Where did the inspiration for ‘Closing In’ come from?

Closing In was inspired by the feeling you get when you know something beautiful is within your reach. It’s a feeling I get a lot in my life.  I’m obsessed with the process of figuring out how to find happiness, almost like you are chasing this amazing feeling but you can’t understand what it is or how to get it, but when you finally do it its beautiful. In the song, the girl is a metaphor for that chase. I try to always live in a way that challenges me to find happiness and beauty in different emotions, so this song is just appreciating that aspect of life.

2.For ‘Pinned to the Cross’, were the hooks something you already had written, or did it develop with the song?

Me and Elijah Blake wrote the hook with Ross’ first verse already recorded, the he did the second verse later. We wanted to touch on the current issues in the social climate and send a message of love and acceptance. I have a lot of faith in my generation to change the world for the better and I think the only way we will get rid of all the hate in the world is by recognizing that we are all human and we all just want to be happy. I truly love everybody, and I hope that as we learn and grow as people that the world will become a nicer place :)

3.You’ve given fans a look into your production through your “making of__” on YouTube. What is a production aspect you absolutely geek over? What producer or artist’s production are you influenced or inspired by?

I geek over beautiful music. Chords that make me feel like I’m in heaven and just give me this divine comfort that nothing else can really give me. Recently I’ve been heavily into early Kanye production, Tame Impala, and Jon Bellion. Another thing I’m crazy about and I’m constantly trying to achieve in my music is drums that slap but aren’t overpowering. Travis Scott has a great ear for that. type of production. His production leaves so much space for the vocal yet it fills the space perfectly.

4.Do the stories in your songs always draw from personal experience or are you also inspired by outside influences?

Most of my songs come from personal experience. I find that I will go through certain things in life and these ideas for music and storytelling build up in my head until it all just spills out into songs. I write  a lot of things down in my phone throughout the day,
just little phases and words that I connect with, then when I’m writing I can reference these to put myself back into that state of vulnerability. Sometimes I do write about things that other people are going through, or things that I see in movies or online, but not nearly as often as I write directly about my life.

5.You announced your debut album ‘Sunny Daze’ recently. What is something you’re learning in the process of its creation?

The biggest thing I’ve learned while creating the album is that
nothing is done until its done. There are certain songs that come super easily to me and I can finish them in a day, like my song IDK, then there are songs that I really have to work for, even changing the whole direction and sound until it’s perfect. I’ve had to learn how detach myself from my art to make the best possible product. In the past when I’ve been too emotionally attached to my music its actually held me back from reaching my full potential as an artist.

6.What is the story behind your ‘look up’ tattoo? Why did 15-year-old Finn never think he was getting a tattoo?

That tattoo was a reminder to myself to always see the positive in every situation. I originally came up with the idea when I noticed I would always look at the ground when I walked so I wrote “look up” on my shoe so whenever I was looking down it would remind me to keep my head up. This became a metaphor for pretty much everything in my life. It’s always better to look up. I was going through a period in my life where I was improving myself in a lot of ways and I was really inspired by this growth and wanted to mark that growth with a tattoo.

When I was 15, I didn’t really understand art on a deeper level yet because I hadn’t had much life experience. Tattoos are absolutely art and they hold real meaning and that’s so beautiful to me. Once I went through things that gave me an identity my whole perspective on art and music shifted. Now I’m obsessed with tattoos and I can’t wait to
get more.

7. What is something you wish you got asked more about?

I wish I was asked more about the music production and recording
process. It’s something I’m incredibly passionate about and could talk about all day.

 

 

Keep up with Finn so you know about all of his new releases on Instagram and Twitter (go on… they’re clickable) and click below to listen to his newest release ‘Closing In’ which dropped Friday, October 9th.