Interview: Matthew Mole (+Verlosung)
Matthew Mole Interview – „My aim is to give people encouragement.“
Wir haben mit dem Südafrikanischen Songwriter Matthew Mole gesprochen, der auch auf Tour durch Deutschland kommen wird.
Matthew Mole kommt ab dem 30. Mai auf Tour. Über Konstanz, Regensburg, Hamburg und Nürnberg, führt ihn seine Tour auch nach Köln. Zusammen mit 190a verlosen wir für die Show in Köln am 19. Juni 1×2 Tickets. Schreibt uns eine Mail an soundkartell@gmail.com mit dem Betreff „Matthew Mole Köln“. Einsendeschluss ist der 10. Juni um 15.00 Uhr. Viel Erfolg!
In which way sharing stages with Bastille and Of Monster and Men prepared you in the best way to perform your personal headline tour now?
Having the honor of playing with those bands has been a great learning experience. Before having any knowledge of the music industry outside of South Africa, it was an amazing way to see a really high level of international performance and touring. It helped me to set some goals for myself and work towards putting on the best show I possibly can.
From your first EP in 2011 until today your career took a very huge and fast growth. If you look back how “adsurd” is it that this only 7 years ago until from now?
It’s been a lot of fun seeing things grow and learning more and more. I still feel very new to everything and I am blown away by every new opportunity that comes my way. I am just really honored to have been given a platform, not matter how big or small, to share music with the world!
Your homeland South Africa treats you very well. How difficult is it to “transfer” your success when you come and play shows in Germany for example? Is it more like a fast-selling item?
Countries outside of South Africa are all very new to me when it comes to live shows. Thankfully, digital music streaming streaming services as well as social media, have played an enormous part in helping people around the world have access to my music. So it’s been an incredible thing to see when we arrive in places like Germany to find that more people are coming to the shows than I imagined would. So online services have really played a big part in trying to push outside of South Africa.
Artists from South Africa like Jeremy Loops, Opposite The Other or your own tracks are very optimistic or life-affirming. In which way this is one of your sales pitches?
I always want my songs to be uplifting and hopeful. My aim is to give people encouragement and to spread a message of hope. So I just try to write songs that are real and true to me but at the same time relatable, so that people can connect with them.
Last time you’ve played in Germany you’ve sold out all over Germany. What are your expectations for this time Matthew?
It was the most amazing, unexpected experience seeing some of the shows sell out. Whether or not that happens again this time around, I’m just grateful to be getting around Europe as much as possible and seeing new faces. Although, the more people that are part of this whole thing, the better!
Family, friends, meeting new people and being open minded are just many sources of your creativity. What was your most recent inspiring meeting and why?
Recently, a friend of mine moved across the world for a new job opportunity. This person didn’t necessarily like the city they were moving to, but felt like it was the right decision to make because it was part of a much bigger picture. I thought that was an amazing thing to do, to make a huge life changing decision like that if it was for something much bigger than yourself, even if at the time you weren’t particularly keen to do it.
Imagine you are invited to a big wedding at a beautiful place (maybe a little bit too kitschy) what could be the best move to meet up new inspiring people without being embarrassing or intrusive?
I think in that specific scenario, the best thing would be to let it happen naturally. Chat to people and have deeper conversations rather than just finding out what they do for a living. That’s always the best way to hear someone’s story and most of the time respect them even more!
Tourdates Matthew Mole:
30.05.2018 Kulturladen | Konstanz – DE
01.06.2018 Bregenz Life Festival | Bregenz – AT
02.06.2018 Degginger | Reggensburg – DE
03.06.2018 Schuur | Luzern – CH
05.06.2018 Beta | Copenhagen – DK
07.06.2018 Molotow | Hamburg – DE
08.06.2018 Surfana Festival | Bloemendaal – NL
10.06.2018 Tunes in the Dunes | Cornwall – UK
13.06.2018 Merlyn | Nijmegen – NL
14.06.2018 Paradiso | Amsterdam – NL
19.06.2018 Blueshell | Cologne – DE
20.06.2018 Club Stereo | Nuremburg – DE
21.06.2018 Fluc | Vienna – A