Still Matthews (SwanoDown Report)

What is your favorite form of art? Film? Music? Painting?

It depends on the day for me,  I tend to find solace in all of them. Whether I need some comfort, motivation, and sometimes artistic guidance, I turn to them- just as many of us do. However, today we’re going to focus on music. 

Still Matthews has shed some light on the way I’ve approached music recently. In the grand scheme of things, I always listen to music with an intent ear. An ear that pays attention to the sound, the delivery, several aspects of the instrumentation… Though, when you begin to understand the story and background of the artist you’re indulging in, you start to hear the music a bit differently. Not just sonically but comprehensively as well.

“The poison you choose to consume… I can’t love you”

Tracks like I Can’t Love You, Runaway, and How I Cope show an eerie but transparent view of Matthews’ life. He uses his compositions to overcome  addiction and PTSD- which can explain the rawness incorporated in every piece. It’s coming from a place that you can’t duplicate.

Matthews told SwanoDown:
“When I’m writing or recording music, I’m sharing a very vulnerable piece of my life. I want the listener to feel that vulnerability and know that they aren’t alone in their struggle. At a young age, I found therapy and relief in music, and that’s what I’m trying to make the listener feel.”

Matthews continued:
I write music for myself but also the large amount of people that can relate through their own struggle with addiction. On the surface, you might think I’m writing about “love,” but actually, it’s more about my struggle with hard drugs. The first five songs I released were telling the story of the up and down path I’ve battled with addiction.

Listening to Matthews goes beyond understanding a song or a succession of notes, it’s understanding a man’s struggles and how he conquers them piece by piece.