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 We've a feeling you will be hearing a lot more of Matt Lange in months to come and couldn’t resist firing a few questions his way to find out just what makes this supremely talented new producer tick...
He has been producing electronic music for well over ten years but as he divulges to us in our exclusive interview it’s only been the last few years he has got bitten by the dance bug. That would explain why many of you may not much about this supremely talented musician who has had ripping releases on Toolroom, Armada and Anjunadeep with a fine blend of house, progressive and tech. It’s about time you had more information about this stateside talent so we went to Matt (No relation to trance jock Stuart Lange before you get confused) to find out more about a hot electronic talent who will be a name to watch out for in the future.
i:Vibes: For many you will be an unknown producer and for those who don’t know who Matt Lange is just how did you get into dance music?
Matt: I actually only got into dance music actually within the past 3 years. I've been producing electronic music for 10 years now, but only really got bitten by the dance music bug pretty recently
i:Vibes: Growing up, where there any particular moments that stand out which draw you to the path you follow today?
Matt: Not moments, per se, but I grew up involved with music for as long as I can remember. Starting taking piano lessons when I was 4 I think, that later translated to singing in a boy choir, to later discovering the guitar, and then the computer to record the guitar....
i:Vibes: What was the dance music scene like in the area where you grew up in and what influences did you have from it?
Matt: I grew up in New York City, but when I really started to getting into dance music I was living in Washington DC, so I was introduced a lot to
the house scene down there. I don't think it influenced me as much musically as it did in terms of what I like a club experience to be like.
i:Vibes: Your music edges on the progressive house / trance boundary, what one style would you say has had the biggest impact to the music you produce?
Matt: Neither actually! I listen to more techno/tech house than any other form of dance music. I think my music tends to get lumped into the prog/trance category mostly because I also happen to like harmony and melody, yet I love the atmospherics and sound design of the more techy styles. My biggest influences, stylistically, would be the more downtempo/glitchy idm type stuff that was coming out in the early 2000s. I'm far more indebted to artists like Richard Devine and Telefon Tel Aviv than I am to the trance and progressive scene.
i:Vibes: You helped out with the production for BT’s latest album ‘These Hopeful Machines’. How did the opportunity to work under BT come about?
Matt: While attending Berklee College of Music, my mentor during my senior thesis was Dr. Richard Boulanger, who happened to mentor BT as well.
Soon after graduating BT was looking for someone to work with him, and Dr. B connected us.
i:Vibes: Have you had any thoughts on producing an artist album of your own?
Matt: Absolutely, but I don't think its appropriate yet at this stage in my career. I'd like to get quite a bit more notoriety before a really dig into
something like that again. That said, I definitely am looking forward to the opportunity, without question!
i:Vibes: Do you find producing music for others more satisfying than your own works?
Matt: Not at all! While it's not to say that I dislike working with others, of course I'm more passionate about my own work. The biggest difference is often that if some comes to you to work with them, they have a specific kind of sound in mind already, and at that point it's just creating a record to please them. It's much more scientific than emotional. Writing for myself will always come first as the only person I have to compromise with is myself, and that can hard enough as it is!
i:Vibes: When it comes to putting a track together, what inspires you start the track in the first place?
Matt: Literally could be anything. Could be as simple as a melody than gets stuck in my head, hearing a new track by someone else, or as complicated as some out there let's turn a wormhole inside out type sound design. Anything can be the inspiration.
i:Vibes: What’s the perfect equipment for putting together a new track, or kit that you prefer to use to create music with?
Matt: Haha, that's a very loaded question. I've used Logic 7 for 4 years or so, tried to deal with Logic 8 and went back to 7 after they took out a ton of the features I was accustomed to and created a glorified garageband pro. I'm actually waiting to see what Digidesign does next with Pro Tools HD. The stability of Logic is awful, and for someone like myself who works with mostly audio, and less midi, it's even worse. So now I'm just waiting to see what Digi does next with their hardware, because at the moment to get a full blown Pro Tools rig, and one that would supply that kind of power I need, it's quite expensive. I've heard new stuff is coming out relatively soon though. Other than that, my go to synth is an Access Virus TI and acoustic instruments actually, that get all sorts of granular processing in programs like Reaktor or Csound to transform them drastically into other worldly textures.
i:Vibes: Your remix of Boom Jinx & Andrew Bayer’s ‘To The Six’ was
outstanding. How did you go about that remix to create such a deep, powerful mood throughout?
Matt: Thanks so much! I always try to create a different track from the original when I get a remix opportunity, and "To The Six" really lent
itself well to being taken in a different direction. After that the process was really no different than any other track, the only difference being that I used one of the secondary melodies of the original as the lead in mine, and build a soundscape around it with lots
of hifi stereo fx, edits, and of course, the deep reese bass from my Juno 106.
i:Vibes: It must have been a great honour to have a production release on Anjunadeep and then featured on their in house compilation series?
Matt: Of course! I had been trying to work with Anjuna for quite a while, and lucky enough for me that Andrew is one of my closest friends, so I
pretty much just piggy backed onto the release when I heard they were trying to figure out a remixer.
i:Vibes: You had an artist release on Armin van Buuren’s Armada label with ‘Anywhere With You Is Home’ which took on a more progressive Trance sound. How did you manage to blend together the production and the vocal to such an engrossing effect?
Matt: Thanks again! "Anywhere..." was written by myself and my girlfriend, Kerry Leva, and the inspiration for the content of that track was that we had been in a long distance relationship for just over a year at that point, and wanted to express the point that home is wherever the other person is. I love working with vocals, it's certainly one of my strengths, and Kerry is quite an amazing singer, so I didn't have to do too much to her voice to get it to sound great!
i:Vibes: Would you say that ‘Anywhere With You Is Home’ has been your best production to date?
Matt: No. It was at the time of course, but over a year has passed since I finished that track, and I am in a much different place now both musically and as far as production aesthetic goes.
i:Vibes: You are one of Silk Royal’s resident artists. They are one of the freshest new faced progressive labels to emerge on the scene in recent years. How did you get involved with them?
Matt: A mutual friend gave them a record of mine, simple as that.
i:Vibes: Being co-host of the Silk Royal showcase radio show, which you rotate with the other Silk residents, what is the music policy for you when it comes to putting the show together?
Matt: We all pretty much have the freedom it seems to do what we like. I'm just hoping they don't kick me off eventually as I'm more likely to play a Minus record than Anjunadeep!
i:Vibes: You have a brand new release on Silk coming up in ‘East Coast /Resonate’, two quite contrasting tracks with Resonate being the deeper of the two. What was the inspiration behind both tracks?
Matt: They were written quite long apart from each other, can't really say what the inspiration was for Resonate for that reason. East Coast came to be because I cheekily snagged the vocal hook from a vocal session I had done 3 years prior.
i:Vibes: The release has an excellent remix by London based producer Ad Brown who has been making an impact on the progressive scene with his music in recent months. How impressed have you been with Ad’s production skills and his remix of East Coast?
Matt: Ad's both a friend and a great producer, we bounce a lot of track ideas off of each other. We actually have an EP together, which has received
some great support from both James Grant and Jaytech, but we've failed to find a label for it just yet...
i:Vibes: How highly do you rate the musical talent that Silk Royal
unquestionably has on its books and what other artists from the label would you highlight as ones to keep an eye out in the coming months?
Matt: I would have to say both Ad Brown and Schodt are the one's to watch. They've both had some killer tracks in the past year, and the newer ones that haven't come out yet are even better!
i:Vibes: What has been the best piece of music you have produced, in your view, since you starting making music?
Matt: My favourite would have to be "Things Change Swiftly." It's not a dance record, but you can hear it on my Soundcloud ( http:// www.soundcloud.com/mattlange). The amount of time and detail that went into that track is insane, and took just under a year to finish. No idea what I'll do with it, so for now it's just up there.
i:Vibes: Have you any plans for collaborating with other artists for a new track as there are so many great progressive style producers out there knocking out superb tracks at the moment?
Matt: As mentioned above, Ad and I have a couple collaborations. I also have a collaboration with Mango that I need to finish as soon as I get a chance. On top of those I have a collaboration with a pretty prominent vocalist in the trance scene, who's voice I've absolutely just adored ever since I first heard her. I am so thrilled she was into working with me and I must say, it's amazing to hear her over a deeper type of track than the more epic stuff we're accustomed to. If you can't tell already, I'm extraordinarily excited about that one and can't wait to share more info about it when the time is right.
i:Vibes: What artists for you have impressed you with their music over the past year?
Matt: I'm always a fan of John Graham, he always impresses me. Recently I've really been into Guy J, Solee, and Luis Junior. Other than that, I've been really into Dnb guys like Noisia and Spectrasoul. I actually saw Noisia spin a couple nights ago, and it was without a doubt the best dj performance I've ever seen. Also, I'm quite excited about the new Hybrid record. They're one of my biggest influences and always impress me as well.
i:Vibes: You also have a very less well known alter ego known as Altered Tensions. Is this just a project to experiment with different sounds and styles or one you may think about releasing tracks under in the future
Matt: Altered Tensions is actually the name I went under for 4 or 5 years when I was doing the more experiment glitch stuff. I think I've all but retired the name at this point, but I do have nearly a full records worth of unfinished material. If I could have 6 months isolated on a desert island with just electricity, I could probably finish it!
i:Vibes: With a surname like Lange, do you ever get confused as being trance legend Stuart Lange’s progressive brother?
Matt: Quite frequently! Often I get the question if I actually am him!
i:Vibes: What new tracks and remixes can we expect from you over the course of this summer and beyond?
Matt: I have remixes on both Silk Royal and Yoshitoshi coming out in the next few months, as well as an EP with Mango Alley. I also just finished up another EP in the past couple of days that really pushes forward the direction in which I'm going.
i:Vibes: As a new face on the scene, what advice would you give to a new upcoming producer who wants to get his music heard?
Matt: Cliche'd as it seems, don't stop. It takes a long time to get any sort of notice usually. The best bet is to dedicate yourself as much as you can to learning your craft, and then pass your work around to as many people as possible. Most likely it will be absolutely awful, so you go back to the drawing board and repeat, and keep on doing it until something finally hits the right ears.
Well Matt, we like to round things off with what we call the ‘i:Vibes Quick Five’.
i:Vibes: What was the last album you enjoyed but don’t tell anyone?
Matt: I never hide what I enjoy, but the last record I've really fallen in love with is Cliff Martinez's soundtrack to Solaris. Absolutely gorgeous.
i:Vibes: Who last bought you a drink?
Matt: Kerry, a Sam Adam's Brick Red Ale.
i:Vibes: What’s your favourite Gadget at the moment?
Matt: JazzMutant Lemur. Dying to have one for myself.
i:Vibes: Do you prefer the MAC or PC?
Matt: Mac
i:Vibes: What is one of your all time favourite records?
Matt: elefon Tel Aviv - Map Of What Is Effortless
i:Vibes: Many thanks for the chat Matt and your introduction to our readers here on i:Vibes. We eagerly await your new material and wish you the very best for the summer.
Matt: Thanks so much for catching up with me, it's an honour to be on i:Vibes!
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