Introdcuing…. Matt Finucane
Tell me about how you got started?
A long time ago, I was the weird kid at school with no friends. I heard an album called ‘The Velvet Underground and Nico’ and was so blown away by it, by the energy it called up in me, I had to make music of my own. So I started a band and suddenly had a purpose and even a social life. It seemed a great way to be, so I pursued it further for many years… and it’s all been downhill to madness and ruin since then.
How would you describe your sound, and how has it evolved since you first started?
When I first went solo after my grown-up London band ended, I was an acoustic singer-songwriter who played this weird post-punk stuff (it sounds extra weird when you’re strumming away on your own). Then I – sort of – learned to mix and produce my own music, and made weird post-punk stuff with an electronic bent. Then I got real live musicians involved, and now I play weird post-punk stuff that’s extremely loud and hypnotic. It’s been a real evolution.
Who or what have been some of your biggest influences, musically and beyond?
All my influences were great artists but terrible people: Lou Reed, Mark E Smith and the like. In fact all my favourite artists were alcoholics and drug addicts, so naturally I had to follow suit. I’ve grown out of that now.
What does your songwriting process typically look like – is it a more individual or collaborative effort?
It varies, but normally I work up some ideas on my own and they change radically in the rehearsal room with electricity and volume… The adrenaline kicks in and everything gets warped. It’s an exciting process.
Tell us about Bang Bang Exorcism; what are the core themes you were dealing with on the record?
Oh, that’s easy: isolation, mental disturbance and the ghosts and shadows of the past, vented in psychodrama and big feedback and weirdness. The idea was to make it a catharsis, a genuine exorcism of feeling.
How do you approach experimenting with new sounds or ideas when creating music?
I just do it. I do a lot of improv with this free jazz collective here in Brighton called Safehouse, and it’s really liberated me to try anything. Anything at all. I’m much better at embracing and incorporating stuff that happens by fluke, even mistakes that end up sounding good. I’m happy to work within standard songwriting rules, and happier still to break them.
What’s been one of the most memorable moments in your journey so far?
There’s been a few – bleeding onstage and getting my wound staunched by the support band… meeting Stephen Hanley in the toilets in a venue in Lewes… a 2-hour gig in Inverness when I was half-dead with a virus… But recently, it has to be the launch gig for the EP. I really needed it to succeed, and it did – it went beautifully well, the whole night was just lovely.
How do you prepare for live shows, and what do you aim to bring to your performances?
In the bad old days I used to get wasted. Now I just let the energy take me.
How do you balance creative expression with staying connected to your audience?
I find the two go together. I feel much more connected to the audience these days because I’m more confident and open, so if I go with the flow that empathic click, that excitement, happens naturally.
What do you hope listeners take away from your work?
Pleasure. Amusement. Energy (that word again). Maybe a sense that there are other freaks out there who don’t feel like they fit in.
What does the future hold for you – any plans or goals you’re excited about?
Doing some more recording in mid-December, working on lining up more gigs next year. I’m also starting a cult (just joking… or am I?).
