Timber and Steel

Image Courtesy of Matt Corby

Matt Corby is one of our favourite artists here at Timber and Steel – we’ve been writing about him for as long as we’ve been around so it kind of feels like he’s part of the family. So it’s funny to think that it’s taken us almost two years to interview him, but the timing couldn’t be better. Corby has just released his most accomplished work to date – the Into The Flame EP – and is about to embark on a series of launch shows in Sydney and Melbourne (most of which have either sold out or are selling fast). Our contributing editor Evan Hughes sat down with Matt Corby to chat about the new EP, his dedicated fan base, his plans for the future and to reveal just what an inspiration he has been on this blog.

Evan Hughes: I’ve just listened to the new EP Into The Flame and I would have to say this is probably your best work to date. I really like it.
Matt Corby: Thanks mate, I appreciate it.
EH: Each of the songs are completely realised and they’re all so different. And I love the production on it as well. How are you feeling about it?
MC: It’s one of those things. When you record something and you listen to it back so many times, especially because me and Tim [Carr] mixed it together, all the little inconstancies in tone and dynamic all begin to grind on you. You get tired. I find it hard to listen to it as a whole. But I felt good about it when we recorded it and I think that’s the most important thing. There was a lot of vibe and the band felt good. But after something’s done I never really listen to it again – I’m kind of like “it’s out in the world now, I can’t change it”. All I’d do is get hypercritical about it.
EH: Yeah, sure.
MC: I feel as far as production value goes Tim Carr did an amazing job.
EH: The production on it is awesome. I’ve been a fan of yours for a couple of years now and I like all of your stuff but I think Tim’s just done an amazing job with the balance on this EP and the fact that each of the songs is so different. I really like the work he’s done.
MC: I completely agree with you. He actually listens you know? He’s one of those producers that is like “What does it mean? This is what I’ll do for it”.
EH: The first single off the EP is “Brother” which is a great track and it’s gotten a bit of radio play. How do you feel about the reaction to that song so far?
MC: It’s been really positive at the moment. It’s definitely the most radio friendly song I’ve ever made and that kind of scared me because I never thought I’d have much to do with radio just because the kind of music I play normally is usually pretty sombre. But I think I’ve kind of bridged the gap and hopefully it’s one of those gateway songs that makes people listen to the rest of the record and hopefully they embrace the other songs. I feel good about it.
EH: It is one of your most radio friendly songs. I imagine though when you play it live it’s probably a completely different song.
MC: I’ve been playing on this tour I’ve just done just on electric – I haven’t had a band obviously – and it’s way more intense. It’s kind of slower and more dramatic which I kind of like. It’s the way I originally wrote the song.
EH: I was really impressed with “Souls a’ Fire” from the EP because it’s essentially a blues track which is not really something that we’ve heard a lot from you. Was blues an area you wanted to explore a bit more with that song?
MC: The funny thing is as a guitarist I started out playing blues, mainly because it was kind of easy. The rules of blues are very basic – it’s emotion based and it’s all based around the major and minor pentatonics. When I was younger I always played some blues. People used to not want me to do that – they would tell me all the time you get nowhere playing blues. I’ve always tried to sneak it in with the stuff I’ve been doing. I’m really happy we made that song the way it was – that we made it in a more dirty, muddy blues style.
EH: You still incorporate your falsetto into the track but it’s a real dirty falsetto – not the sweet Matt that we’re used to.
MC: It’s heaps fun to play live and just rock out. It’s good for the soul I think.
EH: On Into The Flame who’s the female vocalist on “Big Eyes”?
MC: A girl called Bree Tranter. She was the female vocalist, piano player and flute player in The Middle East. She’s a real dear friend of mind. We’ve wanted to collaborate for a while but we never got around to writing anything [together]. She plays all the piano parts on the record and I asked her to be the guest vocal on that track and she did an amazing job. Just so innocent and pure – it was just perfect for the song.
EH: Obviously you’re always looping your own voice in your music – it’s so nice to hear you singing with someone else, especially a female voice. I quite like it.
MC: Yeah, so do I. It’s a real nice dynamic.
EH: You’re going to launch Into The Flame at a show is Sydney and now three shows in Melbourne.
MC: Yeah we’re launching it this month. I’m actually a little bit nervous about the Oxford Art Factory gig – I’ve never played a venue that big in Sydney before. It’s kind of taking a bit of a risk and hoping people will come.
EH: And you’ve got Jack Carty supporting you at the Sydney show. We love him here at Timber and Steel – have you seen him before?
MC: I’ve never seen him play but I’ve heard his music and it’s very very very good. I don’t really like having really good people support me but in this case I’ve made an exception [laughs].
EH: In the lead up to these launch gigs you’ve been doing this Secret Garden tour which is an extension of something you’ve doing for a while – these garden and lounge room concerts. What is it about playing in these spaces that appeals to you?
MC: I think it’s kind of bringing music back to people instead of making it this big prestigious thing. Sometimes there can be a lot of segregation between the musician and the listener – it’s not what I thought music was supposed to be like. I thought it was something that was supposed to be communal. When you see musicians on stage they can kind of create this air about themselves that can seem arrogant. It’s kind of nice bringing it back to someone’s house where they’re inviting you in to play. People are just there to see the music and it’s just nice to have that close personal experience with people. It’s been working really well and people have embraced it and come along – they pick up on the fact that they’re in someone’s house with a bunch of people they don’t know so they might as well get off their iPhone and actually talk to someone, which is quite cool.
EH: And people are there to listen to you – there’s no one talking over you or on their phone. Everyone is 100% there.
MC: Yeah
EH: And it’s funny because you describe yourself as a folk artist in all your press and lounge room concerts and garden concerts are actually a big part of the traditional folk scene. A lot of people who are performing traditional music or traditionally inspired folk music make their livelihood going around and playing in people’s lounge rooms. It’s funny that you’ve ended up in the same kind of place.
MC: I think it’s really beneficial to be honest. With that kind of music it’s such a good idea to make it as raw as possible so people can see the bare bones of who you are, what you do and what you want to say. It’s almost like being in Ireland 50 years ago when you had fiddle players and banjos and stuff all sitting around in the corner of a pub just jamming out. You kind of get humbled standing in front of a bunch of people on just a little grassy patch. It’s been a really good thing for me on a more humanistic level to be able to connect with people and not get too ahead of myself.
EH: The type of music you play really lends itself so well to intimate venues. I saw you support Mumford and Sons at The Enmore last year and it was such a big room – lots of people talking over you – and your music got a little lost. Your music lends itself so much better to these smaller rooms and I guess as an extension of that to lounge rooms and gardens.
MC: I think I got to the point where I was selling the Enmore out or headlining there it might be a bit different. And that Mumford crowd is a pretty rowdy bunch.
EH: Speaking of Mumford – you probably aren’t aware but there’s this connected history between Mumford and Sons, yourself and the beginnings of Timber and Steel. There was a gig at the Goodgod Club in Sydney a couple of years ago – the first and one of the only Communion Australia gigs. It was pretty amazing because all the bands that played that night – yourself, WIM, Pete Roe, Boy & Bear – were pretty unknown at the time but have all gone on to bigger and better things. There was this moment where I was watching you and standing next to Marcus Mumford, who was already an idol of mine even though at that point no one knew who he was, and it was one of those light-bulb moments where I realised that more people needed to know about this amazing music I was listening to which led to us starting the blog.
MC: Oh wow.
EH: So thank you for that! It seems like that gig was the start of a lot of big things for a lot of the people who were there. Maybe I’m attributing too much importance to it – but following that gig everyone who played seemed to start getting noticed on the national and international stage. How important was it to your career that you became a part of the Communion/Mumford crowd?
MC: I think it was vital. I think I needed people to take me out of the box that I was in and release there’s other musicians that I can be involved with. It was just kind of cool stepping into a different world and thinking “this is what I’m going for and all of these guys are doing the same thing”. It created this weird camaraderie between a few bands and a few people who were playing more organic music at the time. As far as inspiration goes it really helped with my songwriting process, it helped with the way I saw the whole live gigging thing. It was definitely a big deal for me to start working with those guys – it really helped me for sure.
EH: The other thing that stemmed from that gig for us, especially when we started writing about you, was that we tapped into this Matt Corby fan club that seems to follow you around and support you with everything you do. Your fans are some of the most passionate and dedicated lovers of music that I have ever met in my entire life. It must make you feel pretty chuffed that you’ve got these people who go to all of your gigs, repost all of your videos and songs online and do everything they can to yell from the hills about your music.
MC: Yeah, it’s amazing. My manager said the same thing – you’ll never know people who appreciate music as much as the people who get behind my music and really champion it. And I’m really good friends with all of them now, all the regulars that will come to the gigs and travel around. It’s so good to go and have a chat with them every time I see them. It’s a really amazing thing to have people who believe in you so much. You also feel like you don’t want to let them down by making something shit [laughs].
EH: I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. What’s also really cool about your fans is if you work with someone or tour with someone they instantly become fans of that artist as well. It’s like if you want an instant fan base you need to work with Matt Corby.
MC: [Laughs] I should tell that to all the bands I want to support!
EH: Case in point – someone like Passenger. As soon as you recorded “Golden Thread” with him on his last album Flight of the Crow it seemed like the Matt Corby fan club became the Passenger fan club as well.
MC: That’s good. Me and Mikey [Rosenberg AKA Passenger] are pretty close. It’s happened the other way as well with Mikey – a lot of English people have gotten behind me. It’s a two way street with that one.
EH: So the last question I have for you: After you finish these EP launch shows what’s next in the pipeline for you?
MC: In December I’m going to go away and just write for the next record and hopefully have something pretty substantial to demo at the end of the year. And then I might head back to London in March and hopefully work with the guys from Communion. They’re super super busy and I haven’t been there for ages but hopefully they’ll have time to work with me more. I haven’t really made any super serious plans as of yet. We’re just sort of trying to continue to make the standard of music I’ve been making. It’s one of those things – if I make plans they don’t end up happening so I kind of just go with the flow.
EH: Thanks so much for chatting to us today and good luck with all the shows you’ve got coming up. I’m really forward to seeing you live again.
MC: All good – thanks mate.

Matt Corby will be launching Into The Flame in Sydney and Melbourne over the next few weeks. The full list of dates are below.

Thursday 24th November – Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney – SOLD OUT
Wednesday 30th November – The Toff In Town, Melbourne – SOLD OUT
Thursday 1st December – The Toff In Town, Melbourne
Thursday 15th December – The Toff In Town, Melbourne