“She’s going to start licking the bag in a minute,” Matthew Roberts points out as we watch one of his Siamese cats wrestle a carrier bag in the middle of his living room in West Norwood.
The two matching felines roam freely throughout the interview and, excepting the PlayStation tucked behind the television set, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the surroundings for a suburban family front room in the 1970s. “Some people say men who have cats are weirdos but I don’t get it, actually more than one person has said that to me but whatever.”
From the decor to his entire persona, it’s immediately clear everything Matt stands for is reminiscent of the 70s, the decade that ended ten years before he was born. He notes how his fascination with the era is mainly influenced by how his parents raised him in East London.
He describes his music as “old inspired, it’s folk and I love it.” With his latest single Autumn Rain feeling like a musical rendition of looking out from a window with a cup of tea on an overcast day, hardly an activity that’s truly savoured in the quick digital age. “It’s very organic and nature inspired.”
I asked why he thought a lot of musicians were making a conscious shift towards vintage sounds. “A lot of modern stuff can be boring, whereas the older stuff is more creative, with more energy and passion.
“Glen Campbell, John Kruk, The Carpenters, Beverley Brothers, David Gray is a modern one but I like that, Travis, hold on…” There’s a pause. Are you checking Spotify? “Yeah.” We all laugh, if this was actually the 70s he’d be flicking through LPs. “Editors, White Lies, Rod Stewart to some degree I guess (Matt previously noted he is often visually compared to the singer, to his annoyance), Nick Cave, Bob Dylan, John Prime, there you go.”
Asides from everyone, I asked, who would you want to listen to your music? “John Denver, back from the dead,” he laughed. And what do you think he would think of your music? “Rip off”.
Having no musical abilities whatsoever, I wondered how he goes about writing his songs. “Autumn Rain was written instrumental first and then lyrics afterwards but the second single I’m doing is the opposite.” What’s that? “It’s out in December and it’s called Ideal Life.”
When Jess is done taking photos she places the whirring film camera on the floor. Roxy the Siamese, now done with the plastic bag starts batting it with her paw. “Watch out, she’s gonna have that”.
