A Chat with Matthew Fisher (13.10.20)
Hailing from Manchester, Matthew Fisher is combining indie and rock with such pizzazz that it makes our hair stand on end – in a good way. We had a chance to speak with this rising star about his debut single ‘Antenna Blame’, influences and future plans.
OSR: What was the inspiration behind ‘Antenna Blame’?
Fisher: ‘Antenna Blame’ is a song that kinda pokes fun at society becoming a little brainless with the over-use of smartphones, binge watching of online media and the useless newspapers. The song came about with a few others in the early period of the lockdown where I’d started playing about with being more honest in my songwriting and producing the music as I went along.
The phrase ‘Antenna Blame’ mirrors that attitude in society at the moment where blame is pointed at other things as opposed to someone’s own attitude or respect. It’s been a good test of my music patience and talent, so I suppose the inspiration was to give something new a try after playing in bands and writing about things which frustrate or interest me.
OSR: You wrote, recorded and produced the song yourself, was the process hard?
Fisher: I tend to do a lot of recording and producing for other bands and artists anyway so I was already somewhat aware of the process of getting a song down. It took a week or so to pull the song together on acoustic guitar with lyrics, but then I found myself literally blasting through the recording in a few hours; it was just a case of getting the best vocal take I could and then filling in the gaps. I wanted to keep it pretty ‘rough’ sounding so didn’t spend too much time perfecting my singing or anything. I’ve almost turned my back on the old style of recording everything live to one take, maybe I’ve had enough of it. *laughs*
From then on, the challenge was to ‘finish’ the track and really get it shining. This is where I pulled in Sam Kennedy of Ronald Raygun to spruce up the drums and add some synths, pulling it into the pop world. Success!
OSR: Who are your biggest influences in music?
Fisher: My biggest influences are artists that don’t take themselves too seriously and are content within their ability to be themselves. This year I’ve been massively influenced by Baxter Dury, Man & The Echo, Nadine Shah and Field Music and have tried to get as many of their sonics into my own music. As well as this, I’m constantly inspired by my very talented friends: Luke Royalty, Strange Sun, Swine Tax and Sarah Angel.
OSR: Do you have a musical background?
Fisher: Literally none! My sister played recorder and violin for a little while, but think that is as far as the Fishers ever got. I think the main inspiration for me picking up my interest in music is through listening to it extensively in the car with my dad like The Stranglers, The Who and Thin Lizzy. There’s that and the fact I’m pretty shit at everything else – especially tennis.
OSR: Who would you love to collaborate with?
Fisher: In the ideal world, I’d love to collaborate with David Byrne or Kate Bush, but given the fact they’d probably both turn their noses up, I’ll go with any of the artists mentioned in the previous question especially Baxter Dury – he adds a cloak of coolness to any song he’s found rambling on. I also do a really silly podcast called Hot Dinner with my friend Dan Skilbeck. Would love to get him on a track one time doing some ridiculous musings.
OSR: Where do you see yourself in the future?
Fisher: In the future, I’m keen to keep, above all, content and confident within myself. I really dream about playing some bigger UK festivals and in New York, but I don’t want to have to butter anyone up to do so.
OSR: Do you have any tours coming up?
Fisher: No tours as of yet. This project formed over the lockdown where chances to tour have been looking rather bleak, but I’d love to hopefully get out next summer and play in some cities that I hold dear to my heart: Glasgow, Newcastle, London and Bristol amongst others! I do have one gig fast approaching: Lock 91, Manchester on 20th November. I’ll be doing a stripped-down set and will be releasing details on it on my social ASAP.
