Meet Matt – drummer and regular Sing City musician. We sat down with him to find out more about his experiences at Sing City and his musical influences.
Hi Matt, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m Matt and I’m 15 years old. I’m in year 11 at school and my main instrument is the drums, however I also play guitar and I’m massive synth nerd. A fun fact, erm… I have a YouTube channel which has a very messy upload schedule, and I have collaborated on two occasions with the Channel ‘Eat My Uke’.
How are you involved with Brighter Sound?
For the past two years I have been coming to Sing City run by Brighter Sound, where young musicians get the chance to write, collaborate and perform their own original music in a professional way.
I’m currently in the process of completing my Bronze Arts Award which has given me the chance to reflect on myself as a musician and has given me a much more appreciative outlook on my musical endeavours.
During the very much missed summer months, I collaborated with a friend who also attends Sing City to write and record some songs of our own. Applying the knowledge learnt from Sing City to our own music and to see it come together in its final recorded form was a great achievement and something I would very much like to do again in the future.
What musical skills have you developed since you’ve been coming to Sing City?
I’ve developed the ability to collaborate and write with other musicians who share the same passion and enthusiasm as myself. Sing City is a great opportunity which is not widely available to musicians of my age. I’ve become more confident in performance, preparation and communicating within a group and as an individual. Now, when working with musicians outside of Sing City, I’m able to transfer these skills for a more efficient and professional way of working.
Who inspires you musically?
Adam Neely is a New York based music theorist, bassist, composer and content creator on YouTube. I’ve chosen Adam because I enjoy his music and the creative way in which he makes YouTube videos. His comedic yet informative approach to video essaying has inspired me to create content on YouTube, study photography and cinema photography as a hobby and delve into creative video editing. It’s also encouraged me to further develop my knowledge of music theory and apply it to my art.
Have you been to any good gigs or events recently?
It seems that all of the gigs I had booked this year came in a period of three weeks this October! I went to see the great BC Camplight with a friend who’s currently touring his genius new album ‘Deportation Blues’. BBC Radio 6’s Marc Riley named it his ‘Favourite Album of 2018’ and has praised Brian multiple times on Twitter – “2 of my favourite gigs EVER this week – and they were both by @bccamplight GLORIOUS. Go see him. Buy his records.”
I was also lucky enough to see Editors, a childhood favourite of mine. Their music has stuck with me from a young age and I finally got to see them live, it was an incredible experience!
I don’t know if you’ve heard of this next group. They go by the name of U2. There aren’t any words required for that! It was the most visually stunning concert I have ever seen…Thanks Mum!
What’s next for you?
Well, after GCSE’s I hope to move onto studying music at A level and then to study music at degree level. I hope to work as a session musician or possibly look into music production and work as a studio/live sound engineer.
Or I could be the next one hit wonder, watch this space! 
Sing City Live takes place at RNCM next Wed 28 Nov. Find out more here.
Find out how you can complete an Arts Award with us by clicking here.
If you’re interested in coming along to Sing City, please email [email protected] to join the waiting list.
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