Name: Matthew Wilcock
Nationality: British
Occupation: Producer, composer
Current release: Matthew Wilcock's album It Can Only Change is out now. A graphic score installation of album track ‘Out’ is currently being shown at Outernet London, in the Now Trending Space.  
Recomendations: Anything by John Cage.
I just read Orfeo by Richard Powers which is interesting and talks a lot about music and sound.
I read Charles Mingus’ autobiography earlier this year, crazy.

If you enjoyed this Matthew Wilcock interview and would like to stay up to date with his music, visit his official homepage. He is also on Instagram, and tiktok.
 


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?

Ah interesting, I feel like I've just thought of this in a way I hadn't before. I pretty much have my eyes open 100% of the time, which is weird thinking about it, I'm going to try it without.

I get goosebumps very easily when listening to music and also can feel elated, sad, hype or angry really easily too, but thinking about it more than that I feel like I see a scene or a scenario play out (depending on the piece).

I found out recently that I have some kind of OCD that revolves around sometimes having vivid thoughts / images in all directions which I think relates to that thinking about it, I can see and feel strong emotions from very vividly sometimes.

A random one but the first fast low pass filter opening and snapping closed in “We All Fall” (at the 22 seconds mark) gives me goosebumps every time but almost any beautiful (or other strong emotion) piece can move me pretty easily as I mentioned.



How do listening with headphones and listening through a stereo system change your experience of sound and music?

I feel like speakers can be a bit more passive but then also more engaging and enveloping when in the right space and setting. There’s nothing like being in a good sounding room and the sound being everywhere.

Headphones can be more intimate and very special at certain times but can also feel a bit more utilitarian, maybe because I listen to podcasts on them too and not only music, whereas the speakers are 99% of the time just for music.

I’m usually listening in the studio, which is the best space I have and a great listening environment. I have some nice big ATCs and a sub in front of me (the room has atmos but I listen mostly in stereo) and everything sounds amazing. Then I listen to just older airpod pros when I'm commuting, they sound good enough. I want to buy some over the ear ones so they're a bit more isolating.

“Someone” sounds really great in here in atmos, really nice.



Tell me about some of the albums or artists that you love specifically for their sound, please.

So this is a pretty random list but it is what it is! I love the sound of Zbigniew Preisner’s “Lacrimosa,” the piece is so so beautiful and tragic, the reverb, the voice, the space, the organ.



Bernstein and The New York Phil’s recordings of Brahms' 3rd symphony sound amazing to me. I always feel orchestra recordings are positioned a bit too far away, perspective wise, this one doesn’t feel like that as much, it’s very rich.

Max Richter’s Vivaldi Recomposed sounds beautifully vivid, …

[Read our Max Richter interview]
[Read our feature on Max Richter's Vivaldi Recomposed]

… Nils Frahms’ Late is gorgeous, the wood in that piano is perfect, also the tone of the mid and low mid, the reverb, the mistakes ah :)



[Read our Nils Frahm interview]

The original 12” version of MF DOOM’s Dead Bent, the slower one, that track plus the one it samples, Isaac Hayes’ “Walk On By” which is an awesome recording track sound wise.

The whole Ramsey Lewis Funky Serenity album is a gorgeous sounding jazz-funk album of covers, such an awesome recording / production.



The acoustic guitars on the start of Joe Walsh’s Life’s Been Good, damn, ... 



Ohio Pleasures' Pride and Vanity is one of the best produced things I've ever heard and it’s from 50 years ago, how?! Curve ball, the Jack ū is some amazing production, the whole of Dijon’s Absolutely is sonically awesome, feels intimate, scruff of the neck, a bit lo fi but controlled.



Okay that’s enough ... I could go on and on.

Do you experience strong emotional responses towards certain sounds? If so, what kind of sounds are these and do you have an explanation about the reasons for these responses?

Certain types, hmmm, I’m not sure. I prefer slightly mellow things vs harsh things, but that’s probably average?

I don’t like over complicated sounds or pieces, some very technical piano pieces do nothing for me emotionally even though I still find it impressive that someone can do that.

I love sounds / productions that sound like you expect it, or want it to sound like but then, there’s a twist on it that transforms it into something else, fresh, a turn or lilt or grit or warmth or just something that builds on that.

There can be sounds which feel highly irritating to us and then there are others we could gladly listen to for hours. Do you have examples for either one or both of these?

The old macbook air keyboard sound, everytime I hear it I want to smash it to pieces, not sure why. The sound of a car driving too fast near me. The sound of cars in general, like the monotonous commute of a 30mph feeder route or something, feels dirty and angry to me. The news.

I can listen to the sound of snow on leaves, the sound of the rain in a forest, the sound of my daughter genuinely laughing, the charming off kilter patter of her footsteps from the other room, the sound of her tiny kiss, I could listen to those forever. The sound of an empty large still space.

Are there everyday places, spaces, or devices which intrigue you by the way they sound? Which are these?

I can usually find any space interesting if I'm in the right mood, I think about that John Cage quote,

“if something is boring after two minutes, try it for four. If still boring, then eight. Then sixteen. Then thirty-two. Eventually one discovers that it is not boring at all.”

I love the forest, there’s a lot going on there. It’s ambient music, the sound of very naturally quiet spaces, the sound of large wooden reverberant libraries.

When I thought about the concept for my piece “Love” I was just wanting to explore single words in pieces. I’m still working on exploring that more but that reminds me of this train of thought.



Devices, that’s an interesting one, I’ve done a bit of UX sound work but nothing springs to mind in terms of devices. I like the sound of things that feel satisfying mechanically but that’s hard to separate from the feel of them, I’m not sure they actually sound good.

The airpod case feels satisfying to close but on actually listening to sound I don’t think it’s that pleasant. I used to really like the sound of the slightly older Porsche 911 engine, the flat 6, sounds a bit like a sewing machine. Eulers’ produces a very interesting sound.

I like the sound of tape degradation, not sure why, same with vinyl I guess, it’s like a gentle LP filter with some nice ambience added, life a forest maybe.

Have you ever been in spaces with extreme sonic characteristics, such as anechoic chambers or caves? What was the experience like?

Yeah I’ve been in an anechoic chamber at Salford Uni years ago, was super interesting, loved it. I remember just being fascinated what things sounded like in there.

Caves are kind of interesting because they’re not a million miles away from anechoic chambers as the surfaces are so jagged - a lot of the energy can get dissipated so it can sound dead (depending of course).

I’d love to be somewhere that has a huge reverb time. I was in the Dolby HQ in San Francisco once and the cinema there with their special mic / recording and playback system felt like magic.

What are among your favorite spaces to record and play your music?

The most interesting thing I find is where I take the tracks to another nice studio and play almost finished stuff in that space, it totally changes your perspective on things or makes you feel really good about things, or the opposite.

I’ve never recorded in any famous or interesting places really but I'd like to eventually.

Do music and sound feel “material” to you? Does working with sound feel like you're sculpting or shaping something?

Hmmm, not material no but it’s definitely a fabric of my life experience (didn’t intend the pun). But most of my life I’ve had an urgent urge to express something, like there’s been an injustice and I want to talk about it.

Sonically when it comes to recording / production it depends on what I’m working on. If it’s piano only, I don’t think about anything but the piece in my hands until it’s 80/90% done. Then I try and match the feeling with the recording (felt, close, far, muted, dry, wet etc.), so in a way, that feels like you’re trying to capture the material of the piano, the instrument.

If it’s electronic the actual sound of the synth or software makes a huge influence on what ends up being written because that sound you’re using is the instrument. Thinking about it more, EQing can sometimes feel like shaping things in a material sense, making them lighter or heavier but it doesn’t feel quite physical to me I don’t think.

How important is sound for our overall well-being and in how far do you feel the "acoustic health" of a society or environment is reflective of its overall health?

I think it’s overlooked in general by the public, but it is considered a bit in a bunch of things, roads, travel, infrastructure etc. But not enough and not seriously enough, as always with sound and music. You can’t see it, so it’s hard for people to pay for it and care about it sometimes. I feel like we’re more reactionary to problems / issues but I feel like that might be a human thing.

I’m excited about electric cars as they’re a lot gentler (less excited about some of the AVAS approaches). I worked on the sound of the TFL London Urban Bus sound, which was a really interesting safety and wellness project as far as sound is concerned [link to BTS]. One of my friends runs a project called Tranquil City which is a really interesting project.

Many animals communicate through sound. Based either on experience or intuition, do you feel as though interspecies communication is possible and important? Is there a creative element to it, would you say?  

I don’t think it’s possible in a verbal / sonic way but I think we already communicate with everything around us now anyhow. How we act, how we interact with whatever it is, a lot of animals react to us and vice versa, same with our environment, this is communication.

A dog might react to your positive / face and feel okay with you stroking them, or vice versa. A space reacts to how we move or live in it, everything’s constantly reacting to one another I guess.

Tinnitus and developing hyperacusis are very real risks for anyone working with sound. Do you take precautions in this regard and if you're suffering from these or similar issues – how do you cope with them?

I’m not thankfully, I mostly take good care of my ears.

I do need to get a hearing test though for a regular check up.

We can surround us with sound every second of the day. The great pianist Glenn Gould even considered this the ultimate delight. How do you see that yourself and what importance does silence hold?

Does ‘silence’ exist? Not sure it does, but I also don’t think the word means ‘an absence of sound completely’?

I think quiet spaces and times to think and be still are very important, listening and listening broadly is also very important but I think they might be linked to life skills and personal development. Being able to do those things might be something to do more with a broader education and experience in life, family, education, relationships vs. sound and music.

On a much simpler level looking at the question, I think we’d need breaks from listening every second but it is very exciting to think that we have so much at our fingertips and within earshot at a moment's notice. It’s a shame things like that become so ordinary to us but we adjust to everything so quickly.