Finn Matthews – Julia

By starrymag | June 24, 2017

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) My sound is pop with a slight R&B soulful tinge to it. When I was little I always listened to soulful music like gospel and R&B. I feel like that just comes through in my music.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) My main influence is Michael Jackson. He’s just so iconic and his whole style and everything about him screams superstar. If he walked into a room, then everyone would know he was someone – even if they didn’t know who he is or heard his music. I really want to strive to be like that. I’m also inspired by gospel and R&B music, like I said. Some of my gospel and R&B inspirations are Brian McKnight, Brandy, Kim Burrell and Zicardi Cortez. Those are my main music inspirations.

Q) You started out being mentored by Elijah Blake. What did he teach you that has carried with you?

A) He’s given me tons of advice, musically and personally. I’d say the biggest piece of advice was to stay humble and his being humble has rubbed off on me. So no where I am or how far I get or how good I get at something I always want to know I can learn from someone and be better than I am. So, I always want to stay humble and be a light for people around me.

Q) Your new song out now is “Julia.” Talk about the message behind it.

A) “Julia” is a song about a crush that didn’t really work out. Even if you tried to be positive about it, it’s still in the back of your mind that this girl might not have known that you liked her or this girl thought she was too good for you. Many people try to mask sadness with anger, which is understandable, but the only way to move on is to be honest with yourself and honest with the world. I think that this song does that.

Q) Do you think that’s what fans connecting to with it?

A) I think so. I think It is a really relatable situation. It could be about anything that you wanted that just didn’t happen.

Q) How does the video play into the message of the song?

A) I wanted the video to be a bit light, fun and lighthearted. I wanted to make people dance, which I think “Julia” is a good song for that. The whole idea is that each of the girls in the video has a different personality to show that anyone could be Julia and I just wanted people to see the fun side of me and my music. That’s “Julia” for me.

Q) What is your song writing process like? Do you need music before you can write your lyrics?

A) Most of the time I collaborate with people whether it be producers, writers or anyone who wants to write. You get to throw ideas back and forth and be inspired by each other. Usually I’ll have music first and then start writing lyrics. That’s usually how the process goes.

Q) You recently shared a clip of yourself performing “Julia” at Union Station. What was the reaction you received to this live unexpected performance?

A) It was really cool! We just went up to Union Station and I started playing the song. I did it maybe two times and then I did a few other songs. It was actually a small crowd that had gathered while they were waiting for their trains. It was really cool to have people listening and I had a lot of people complimenting me. I was very humbled.

Q) What are your favorite places to perform?

A) I haven’t done too many live performances. But I did perform at Live Nation in Beverly Hills, which was really cool because it was the biggest touring company in the world. It was really crazy and I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to perform there.

Q) Do you have an EP or album coming up?

A) I’m in the studio a lot lately. I’ve been working really hard and I hope to release something later in the year, but I can’t really give too many other details.

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

A) I would love to collaborate with Alessia Cara. I love all her music and her message is pretty clear how anyone my age or any age can relate to her music. It’s super honest. And she’s an amazing singer, too!

Q) What is a song or album that you are currently obsessed with?

A) I’ve been really into “Red Bone” by Childish Gambino. It’s not really a new song, but the instrumentation is just insanely detailed. Every time I listen to it I hear something new and it blows your mind to listen to it. I’ve also been listening to a lot of John Mayer. He just put out a new album not too long ago. That’s been really good so I’ve been studying that album a lot too.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way to connect with your fans?

A) Social media is a good thing but also a bad thing at the same time. It’s good because it lets people see what you are doing in the moment whereas before social media there was really no way for people to see what was happening in your daily life besides what you tell them and publish. I like social media for that reason. I also don’t like it because it has a bit of a filter on reality. Social media is very easy to put a filter over everything. Not a literal filter, but to have very curated content online and that can mess with the authenticity of it. So, I keep my social media very authentic.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure fans know about your music?

A) I just want people to know that I want people to relate to it. At the end of the day that’s my goal. I want them to be able to relate and put themselves in my shoes and think about life.

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

A) I would just like to say to anyone that is a fan of my music thank you. I’m a new artist so any support definitely helps a lot. So, thank you to anyone who is reading this or really likes my music. It’s the best thing in the world when people can connect with your music.