While out on the West Coast promoting his new single, ‘Back,’ Matt Gary took some time to call in to New England Country Music to talk about the up-tempo track. ‘Back’ has quickly become a favorite on country radio, and the singer cannot wait to share more of what he has been working on with fans. In our cross-country conversation, we talked about everything from the process of recording to his anticipated EP release and what listeners can expect when it debuts later this summer.
Back when Gary first heard the single, he knew right away he could make it something great. “I just finished a writing session in Nashville with a buddy Aaron [Scherz], who is one of the writers of the song. He said, ‘Hey man, I have a song I want you to listen to, I think you’d do a killer job with it.’ So I took a listen to it and then was instantly hooked. The story of the song really drew me in and then when we got into the studio, the song just kind of came to life from the first downbeat. We set it to this really cool groove. While we were in the recording we just knew that this had the chance to be a potential single,” Matt recalled. He admits that the single sounds a bit different than some of the music he’s released in the past as it has some “unique tones.” But one thing he loves about it is the juxtaposition of the message and the music – it’s fun, but it’s a sad breakup song at it’s core. “It might sit in a cool up-tempo groove that makes you want to dance, but at the end of the day it is a country love song,” he described.
“Even if you have been in a relationship that you’ve might have screwed up, and the memories of that relationship are haunting, life does go on,” Gary said describing the main takeaway of the song. It’s something he feels that many people can relate to. “I think everybody has had that moment where an ex walks in and you can just feel it, it almost feels like you’re just suffocating, you just don’t know what to do,” the singer said describing his favorite lyric, “I can feel you stealing the air from the room.” People of all walks of life can relate to the emotions of the song, which is what country music is all about. “For me, country music is different to a lot of people it doesn’t have to always necessarily have to be on a farm. If they’re on a farm, great. If they’re on a high-rise in Manhattan, awesome. If they’re on the beach in LA, cool. For me, it’s as long as they are connecting with the story.” Gary hopes that with ‘Back,’ and with the rest of the songs on his upcoming EP, fans can connect the songs to specific moments in their own lives. “I grew up listening to Kenny Chesney, Garth Brooks and Keith Urban, their songs have very distinct memories to me, like driving down to the boat or going to the lake with my friends. Their songs have become soundtracks to my life; still to this day if I hear those songs they take me back to a certain place. So yeah, for me I hope that with my listeners, I hope my music can be that type of soundtrack to somebody,” he explained.
Gary has been putting in a lot of heart and hard work into this EP, which he can’t wait to get out to fans this summer. He’s been working with Jeremy Stover, who’s producing the project. “He’s an awesome guy, super talented producer. The first time, I met Jeremy through my label. It was really cool to have a producer who understood what I wanted, the sound that I wanted. He didn’t try to change it or push me into something different. He got it and he got my vision, which was really cool,” said Matt. In the nine year’s he’s been in Nashville, Gary’s worked with many different producers who’ve at times, tried to change his sound or direction. “Jeremy hasn’t done that at all. He understands my vision. Obviously he has input and says like, “Hey Matt, that’s a good idea,” or “Hey Matt, that’s probably not such a good idea.” That’s also why he’s there; he’s someone to lean on.” Ironically, Matt has been experimenting with some different sounds on this EP, as he mentioned he did with ‘Back.’ “With this EP, each song kind of takes on a life of it’s own. So each song sounds differently but at the same time it fit cohesively to make this six song EP one piece too,” he described.
Ultimately, after listening to the EP, Gary wants fans to feel like they’ve gotten to know him, he said. “Not as an artist but just as an everyday person. I want them to feel the emotion of the song, the happiness of the song. I consider myself to be laid back and pretty easy going but like to be outside, on the boat, on the golf course, out running, whatever it is. I want people to hear that. At the same point my real vision that in my mind I picture like I said, listening to my music at their activities and that hopefully this album and songs can become part of a soundtrack to their lives or special moments in their lives.”
We can’t wait to hear Matt Gary’s EP, but in the meantime, you can check out his single, ‘Back,’ available on iTunes.
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