Based out of Brooklyn, drummer and composer Matt Evans has collaborated and contributed to innumerable musical projects in numerous directions, including Tigue, Bearthoven, Man Forever and Private Elevators, as well as honing in on his own solo work. This April will see him release his debut record, New Topographics, a bewitching collection of rhythmic percussion/electronic pieces stemming from a month-long residency at Brooklyn artist space Pioneer Works. Read on for some insight from Evans about it:
“For me, there’s a link between these sonic byproducts and human empathy— a gateway towards a greater conversation on what it means to live the paradox of complicitness— a guide to re-focusing how we understand the consequences of our actions by way of sound. The first step toward any significant change in our behaviour is becoming aware of the object like significance of our actions. Making this record has been a way of tuning my ears to this phenomenon. To learn the language of these object-like byproducts so as to speak the language my own way and further empathize with that which I was not previously informed. Being aware, being sensitive to that awareness, and reflecting that experience outwards. This is how we can make a shift in how we see ourselves in the world. Making this music was a way to practice understanding what I leave behind. We put up walls to function, but if we make a habit of taking them down and really looking and listening to what’s happening around us, we will have greater empathy for the people and beings we share space with. Our ability to empathize with the earth itself will grow.”
Following the release of first single ‘Cold Moon’, Evans has recently shared the celestial and soothing opening track ‘Full Squid’, remarking that “the title refers to a state of being more than the cephalopod itself, a zoomorphic phrase for the experience of drumming at the precipice of presentness”. He continues, “’Full Squid’ was born from a kind of personal meditation, a “spiritual” performance practice that attempts to bend a typical sense of time through stream-of-consciousness playing pushed to the brink. It’s a drummy dive into a sound stream of crackling creatures, wiggly drones and globby ink-splatter harmonies, without coming up for air.”
Slated for an April 17th release through Whatever’s Clever, New Topographics awaits you. Prick up your ears and give a listen to both singles below.
