Name: Matt Espy
Occupation: Drummer, percussionist, songwriter
Nationality: American
Current release: Matt Espy's Hawksworth, his first album as a solo artist, is out May 19th 2023 via Drag City.
Recommendations: This is well known but Lee Bontecou’s unnamed sculpture of Welded steel, porcelain and wire mesh. I saw that in person some years ago and stayed there.
The other is a songwriter from Louisville KY. Tender Mercy. 

For the thoughts of Matt Espy's former colleague in his band Dead Rider, read our Theo Katsaounis interview.



When I listen to music, I see shapes, objects and colours. What happens in your body when you're listening? Do you listen with your eyes open or closed?

I see colors and shapes too. I don’t know if it’s synesthesia or just a strange reaction to trauma. Mine is very specific: black background with outlines of perfect primary colored shapes. All I know is that it started when I was a kid listening to a Steve Miller record, and it’s comforting to me.

The only sensation I get is what would be described as a vibe every now and then. If I’m really listening it doesn’t seem to matter much if my eyes are open or closed. If they’re open it’s almost as if they’re on standby and I’m in a certain headspace.

I recorded some (to me) incredible pieces of music when I had almost no idea what I was doing. What were your very first steps in music like - and how do you rate gains made through experience versus the naiveté of those first steps?

I would say my first steps were before I even knew how to play an instrument. Between the ages of 6-12, my mother was in a 150 person a cappella ensemble / choir called The Sweet Adelines. There are still chapters out there I believe. I would go to rehearsals and performances and add drum parts in my mind.

I would say I’m still doing the same thing. I just have an avenue to get what’s in my head out now. Hopefully my naïveté and experience are walking side by side and holding hands.

It is generally believed that we make our deepest and most incisive musical experiences between 13-16. Tell me what music meant to you at that age, please – and how its impact has changed since then.

Music was everything to me and most of my identity. I took lessons, I practiced all the time, I played along with recordings, I was in the pit at the local theater as much as possible, jam sessions, bands with my friends, bands with adults.

I was lucky to grow up in a place (Dayton Ohio) that had / has more of a music culture similar to Nashville or Austin. There were a lot of musicians and opportunities to play.

What’s changed is my whole identity is not wrapped up in music like it used to be … I wouldn’t want it to be anyway.

Over the course of your development, what have been your most important instruments and tools - and how do you think has working with them shaped your perspective on music?

Playing congas was something I picked up at 16 and it was really freeing. I think I put all my neuroses and anxiety and pressure into the kit.

Congas and playing as a percussionist was almost more pure. I loved just being the side person and creating color.

What, would you say, are the key ideas behind your approach to music and what motivates you to create?

The key idea for me is to be myself, whatever that is. It’s the one lesson I really hang onto. I was surrounded by musicians who were / are very good. You can drive yourself bonkers trying to be something you’re not. In the end you just sound like you anyway.

To me that really is the point. There’s only one of you, so say what you have to say … and help make room for the next person.

Paul Simon has been quoted as claiming that “the way that I listen to my own records is not for the chords or the lyrics - my first impression is of the overall sound.” What's your own take on that and how would you define your personal sound?

I would say my sound is what the music tells me to be first … or the whole of what is going on. Then it’s a series of choices. Whether it’s subverting something or keeping it clean or just staying away from what I wouldn't want to personally hear.

That's a little vague. Sorry Paul Simon.

Sound, song, and rhythm are all around us, from animal noises to forces of nature. What, if any, are some of the most moving experiences you've had with these non-human-made sounds? In how far would you describe them as “musical”?

Making the bird record was beyond fun and a new experience for me. It’s all been done before but I had a good time playing music with the birds and trying to back them up.

Music is how you define it I guess. In some schools it’s probably not adhering to any tonal construct, in some it is. I heard the music in it and I hope that translates.

From very deep/high/loud/quiet sounds to very long/short/simple/complex compositions - are there extremes in music you feel drawn to and what response do they elicit?

This may sound like a joke but I can listen to concrete and stone grinding together all day. It’s very comforting and really lights something up in my brain.

From symphonies and traditional verse/chorus-songs to linear techno tracks and free jazz, there are myriads of ways to structure a piece of music. Which approaches work best for you – and why?

I have gone through different phases and love all kinds of different structures.

Recently and currently I’m really into jumping in and out of free improvisations, to a structure that comes from that … then jumping off the cliff again.

Science and art have certain overlaps and similarities. Do you you think "objectivity" has a place in art and do you conduct “experiments” or make use of scientific insights when you're making music?

Striving for objectivity is almost the goal. To gain an outside perspective from yourself while playing is, I believe, key.

I have created pieces, not necessarily using the scientific method, but using a strategy ... however, the ones I keep are usually what come from my gut.

Seeing, smelling, touching, tasting – which of these sense impressions have the strongest points of contact with your hearing/listening experience?

Seeing but in my mind's eye. Touching too.

I would love to taste music … or would I? What does “bad” music taste like?

Does the way you make music reflect on the way you live your life? And vice versa, can we learn lessons about life by understanding music on a deeper level?

My life dictates the way I make music and sometimes my music dictates the way I live my life.

Did I just repeat your question? This thing is like a psych exam.

Do you feel as though writing or performing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Yes, for me writing and playing music is very different from making coffee. I guess I haven’t reached that level of transference yet.

Every time I listen to "Albedo 0.39" by Vangelis, I choke up. But the lyrics are made up of nothing but numbers and values. Conversely, many popular love songs leave me cold. Do you have similar paradoxical examples - and why, do you think, is the same piece of music capable of conjuring such vastly different responses in different listeners?

Not really, I cry at things all the time. “Hope She’ll be Happier” by Bill Withers destroys me every time.



I think people have a tendency to project onto Art … to me that's part of the point.

If you could make a wish for the future – what are developments in music you would like to see and hear?

Before I was in Dead Rider and still … I always thought that most popular music should sound like U.S. Maple.

I still think that would be amazing.