Charming and wonderfully delicate, Matt Maltese’s ‘Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow’, out on 8th October, celebrates the simpler things in life. Laced with his quintessentially British wit and playful approach to song writing, the mundane is transformed into fantasy.
It’s impossible not to like Matt. Self-assured, he continues to produce yet another masterful body of alluring work and I can positively say Good Morning It’s Now Tomorrow is one of the most important records of the year.
Whilst we come down from an expectedly flat summer, this release is pure bliss from start to finish. I’m always hesitant to brand an LP as ‘flawless’, yet I have truly struggled to find fault in these 13 tracks after relentless repeat plays in my kitchen. After a rousing Green Man festival, I had the pleasure of understanding how Matt became the musician he is today.
ArrayFor me your album’s just so accessible for young British adults. From love letter tracks like Shoe to uplifting banger Good Morning. Did you intentionally try to speak to us young Brits?
The Britishness has really seeped into this record, more so than any of the other records I have previously released. From the ordinary things that I did in my house, to walks to shops and relentless runs around the same park. This record was all Elephant & Castle in lockdown.
As young adults we’re all going through the same thing: finding a skin and finding what you want shed, what you want to keep and what you want to gain. These times and being in lockdown really demanded that: getting rid of the things that really weren’t serving you and embracing the things that meant the most to you.
As young adults we’re all going through the same thing: finding a skin and finding what you want to shed
So the record’s a bit of that. I was just in my room making a record and not having to worry about turning up to work during corona. But when it comes to the music, it’s not clever to be miserable about this stuff. There is still is a lot of darkness in this record but I want it to be more comforting than some of my music before.
You have a fantastic way of injecting your own style of humour into your music. It seems to come so instinctively, how do you interweave your wit into the songwriting process?
It sounds silly but it happens because it’s just the way in which I process things. I’m always weary of things being too wallowing and I don’t want them to come across that way. With this record I’ve broken free of that just a little more. I’ve a real affection for music that’s made with an element of humour. It’s the way I connect to most things in life.
I’ve found a happy medium between the two, between British bleakness and the silly optimism of the US sitcoms
I grew up obsessed with American sitcoms, and having Canadian parents they were always on TV. I was watching Frasier and Everyone Loves Raymond from an early age, plus all the British classics like The Office and Fresh Meat. I think I’ve found a happy medium between the two, between British bleakness and the silly optimism of the US sitcoms.
This seems to directly translate into your much loved music promos. From As the World Caves In to the recent Shoe, you really seem to care about making a memorable video.
Shoe was the most uncomfortable 40 minutes of my life. I really underestimated what it would be like being buried in a sand dune up to my neck in Camber Sands. I’m really happy with the video, but yes any excuse to have a laugh! I always put loads of work into my music videos. There’s never an incredible budget but I’ve been lucky enough to work with great people who can bring my life to my vision. I respect there are a lot of artists who don’t care about the videos, and I totally get that. For me its just another way of getting myself across to people. I get so much joy from shoot days.
As much as I’m hesitant to talk TikTok, this has lead me to ask about your viral success with As The World Caves In which really roped in a whole new fan base for you.
At the start it was one of those things that just happened. I wasn’t really plugged into it at all. Then suddenly it was just undeniable how many people were listening to my music via TikTok. Look, it’s not seen as such a classy and traditional way of doing things, but it’s a completely free way of getting your music out there. It does do incredible things for musicians and a lot of people are afraid of it. So who am I to say how music should be marketed?
Something that’s undeniably Matt Maltese is creating a romanticised fantasy out of the everyday – you make the small feel special.
I see the bigness in small things and I like singing about them and giving them a theatre. Sometime they need to be injected with the melodrama that they really deserve. It’s all the small details that make our lives just so interesting, strange and weird.
You can search for a huge metaphor but more often than not it’s the tiny things that are the most moving
You can search for a huge metaphor but more often than not it’s the tiny things that are the most moving. Connecting to that as a mindset is key. I’ve always been influenced by the American Songbook, which is this romantic view of looking at everything. I wanted to stay real whilst also trying to romanticise about these small moments in our life. You know I want to sing about doing the washing up but in the same vein as Frank Sinatra, that’s my dream!
Your album feels complete and ordered. It seems to follow a journey, was this at all intentional?
I certainly think that ending on Krakow always felt right to me, that really channeled this idea of singing about the mundane in a crooner way. It’s probably one of my favorite tracks on the record. I feel like the record has it own little journey, I don’t labour over the order, to be honest. It’s nice to know that people feel like it has a journey though.
Krakow really demonstrates that you are no stranger to a ballad. How did you come to truly master that?
It’s just what I love listening to and writing. Growing up it was just the most successful way of being moved. Listening to a three-and-a-half minute ballad would transport me. It’s just the best fucking thing ever and the quickest way to make me feel more than I have ever felt. It’s undeniable how good a good ballad really is. It brings on more meaning whilst you are heartbroken and can make you feel completely okay again, even if it is just for that three minutes. It’s just my little special power.
