Melbourne, Australia, is home to singer-songwriter Matt Bailey. His passion for music has led to him performing at various venues and events, both locally and internationally.
With a unique blend of acoustic pop, he has captivated audiences with his heartfelt lyrics and catchy melodies since entering the music scene.
With a talent for crafting songs that resonate with listeners, Matt Bailey continues to make music that inspires and connects people from all walks of life. Reigning true through the sounds and messaging of his latest single, "I'll Be There," his passion is projected in a newfound way.
What stands out to us immediately has to be the blend of acoustic strums that echo through our mind and resemble a melancholy melody that unleashes layers of emotion through experience. Each strum has a feeling conveyed, and paired with Matt Bailey's raw and poignant lyrics; you grasp what he's emanating in an impactful manner.
With a narrative that questions love and the lengths one will go to for the person one admires, Matt Bailey does an excellent job at propelling his emotive croons through the speakers as he reiterates a hook bound to get stuck in your head. "Tell me when you need me, and I'll be there," repeats throughout the song as you hear the sincerity of Matt Bailey's raspy vocals and wistful tenors come together to layer in a bold harmony setting the stature these words hold.
Being candid as he displays the vulnerability he's willing to endure, "I'll Be There" takes listeners to a place of memories and heart-tugging moments. It's authentic, poised, and confessional, written into sound waves that leave you wanting more.
For a second single release, it's a highly mature approach to the stylings Matt Bailey offers. Going us in a pool of our sentiments, we're looking forward to everything Matt Bailey has on the way.
Welcome to BuzzMusic, Matt Bailey! We love the sounds and messaging you showcase in "I'll Be There." As a song that comes directly from what sounds like experience, was there a moment or story that inspired the creation of it?
It was 2011, and I just came across Green Day's song' When It's Time, 'which I did research later on. That song was written in 1992, recorded in 2004, and released in 2010, which fits How I'll There Happen. I had been single for a few years, and I met a girl in 2011, and we were talking and went on a date. The more time passed, the more I started to like her, but I was too scared to tell her how I felt in case she didn't feel the same way. Spoiler alert she didn't, haha.
Did you always know this would be your sophomore single debut? What does "I'll Be There" say about your sound and the message you'd like to put out as an artist?
Well, it being 2023 and writing it in 2011, it's been a journey. I recorded and released it about 4 or 5 times before this, even with a different singer. It was the song that the crowd would sing along with me, so it was always the song that was with me over the years. An idea for an EP started in 2012, and I'll Be There was on it, but it never got recorded. If you asked me back then, it would have been my first single after just finishing my first EP. I decided to make my first single that no one had heard hence why I chose I'll Be There for my sophomore single. I'll Be There shows my songwriting and being influenced by Blink 182 and Green Day. The opening of my songs had to be catchy, and you knew exactly what song it was from the first few notes.
Could you shed some light on the creative process? What did it look like bringing this song to life?
The creative process I think the song wrote itself. After recording it many times and playing it live, it told me what it needed over the years. The way the song ends came from playing it live and me getting the crowd to sing it with me. I would play the whole song through and then have the sing-along at the end. Opening the song with the chorus vocal melody changed everything. That was my producer's decision, and he was spot on. It feels so good after 12 years to finally have I'll Be There how it was always supposed to be. When recording it this time, I was so determined to have no drums; in my head, it was always just acoustic guitar, and it was for a long time until Mark (producer) and I were listening back to it one day in the studio and just as the verse ends. The chorus starts. We both played air drums and looked at each other, and I said it needs drums because Mark was on me for it to have drums, but I was always like, no, nah.
Listeners will be happy to know that a music video accompanies "I'll Be There." What went into its creation, and how did it feel to put out your first visual accompaniment of a single?
With this song being written so long ago, I always knew my first music video would be for this song. I had this idea to get different people to sing and put other parts together. Glad I never finished that, haha. As time passed, ideas would come to me, like the first scene I wrote in my head was the final one. I was driving past the airport and saw people sitting in the trunks of their cars facing the runway eating dinner, and I thought pizza in the back of a truck under the stars would be the final scene, and it was with fire, of course. I was ready to film it in Melbourne, Australia, in early 2021. At that point, I had a script as well. Everything was moving forward, and then I had nothing.
The videographer was ghosting me; the person playing the female lead with me was doing the same, so I had to move on. In 2020 I subscribed to this guy on youtube after coming across a video he posted on a Canon DSLR, which I had the same and wanted to know how to use. A year later, he uploaded a new video about filming his first music video. I reached out after seeing that and saw if he was interested in filming it. Oh yeah, he lived in Oregon, USA as well. He was on board with it, and we made it happen. He asked a couple he knew who wanted to be in it, and they said yes. He would send me videos of diners he visited for me to approve. We had to change a few things, but we got the same results we wanted. Being in lockdown in Australia, I had to accept that I wouldn't be in it. I went from being lead to not being in it, but as time passed, the world was opening up, and the music itself wasn't finished, as well as the music video, so I planned a holiday to America, and we made it work. I played a cameo in it, and the scene perfectly fit the story we were going with.
Each artist finds inspiration through musical and non-musical influences, but what keeps you on the path of making music? What is your why?
I love creating something from nothing. It makes me feel like myself. No one is telling me how to play guitar or write. With my dad passing away when I was 13, that was when I fell more in love with music. Music became the air that I breathed. I would be lost without music creatively and as a listener and lover of other artists.