South-African R&B/Soul artist Mathew Gold has paved his way to success these past couple of years. His smooth voice regularly fills the radio waves and it’s especially the SAMA nominated song, Taking It Easy, with Goodluck in 2011, that made people aware of his immense talent. His second album, a self-titled release, recently hit the shelves after three years in the making. I was curious to find out how this record came about and how much has changed since Mathew’s first rise to fame.
Mathew states that there are so many reasons why and how this album became self-titled (his debut album is called The Rush). “I was given total creative freedom and control over my music and 53 songs were made, submitted or considered during the past three years. Lyrically my approach was to be totally honest, as nobody could ever relate to me unless I embraced the truth shamelessly. I believe most people instinctively identifies with intention or authenticity. The result of this musical journey is a collection of songs that truly resonates with me, Mathew Gold, as an artist.”
This release contains twelve brand-new tracks that are bound to follow in the success of his debut offering. “Confidently I always knew my music had the potential to become even more authentic, honest and incomparable when it came to the attention to detail and quality of music. It took me three years to genuinely feel convinced that I’ve done all that I can creatively as all I wanted was to create music that is real and pure,” Mathew explains.
Mathew worked without a definite plan to create this album. His mission was simply to make great music consistently, and without creative boundaries or restrictions. “The diverse list of collaborators on my previous album helped me discover my sound and direction as a writer, vocalist and composer.” When asked whether fans can expect more great collaborations on this album (Gold has worked with the likes of AKA, The Kiffness and Breadklaw before), he answered: “Yes, but not in they way people expected. The collaborations on the album are mainly with producers or composers. I won’t deny that I love getting the best out of others through collaboration but Mathew Gold the album was my way of showing my musical independence. All me.”
When the conversation steers towards the choice of genre(s) for this release, the answer remains the same as from the very beginning of his career: R&B and Soul at the core. However, this time around Mathew also incorporated elements of pop, dance and even reggae, which expose his vast musical influences. “The album was designed to create a sonic journey and flow and the beauty is in the detail,” he adds. Well, Mathew is off to a good start with the first single off the new album, called Magnetic Field.
Magnetic Field has a very strong emphasis on the lyrics and vocals and is more than just a sexy, sultry song. “I wanted people to hear my raw vocal; as real, unedited and authentic as possible. I felt so strongly about this that the album version of Magnetic Field still has vocal takes from the original freestyle vocal session,” he says. Mathew agrees that R&B always has and still makes him feel sexy and now he’s found a way to express this whilst making the album sound effortless. “What I’ve created is unashamedly what I love, see and feel. My intention was never to create a subcategory of any genre but simply create a sound that represents me,” he proudly states.
Mathew Gold is a what-you-see-is-what-you-get kind of guy. And we like what we see – and hear!
Mathew Gold is an R&B Soul & Dance singer-songwriter from Cape Town. Get his self-titled album here.
