Matt Von has come a long way since his debut EP, 'New Day,' dropped in 2017.
Now, the Canadian Singer and guitar dilettante has beckoned the multifarious talents of LA's very own, DCat, and Denmark-based Producer, KDel, for a jolt of production magic on his latest single "Crazy."
It's the first he's released in over three years and a testament to the musical doyen he's developed into during that time.
"Crazy" is an infatuating love song infused with the heat of Matt Von's scintillating guitar and the emollient touch of the islands, thanks to a soca-inspired cadence. Together with the fascinating minutiae of his songwriting skills, Matt traverses between captivating verses that scream Pop and crooning hooks that lean closer to Tropicana music.
Over revealing lyrics that paint a picture of thoroughgoing infatuation, the twenty-three-year-old songster renders-up like an Enrique Iglesias injected with some guitar know-how. "I'm going crazy, the way that you've been lovin me lately, infatuated and shaky, cause this might be the real thing," Matt resounds, steaming over his excitement enough that it's causing him emotional turbulence.
He polishes over his hook with a soulful resonance, and his guitar shares the same quality, developing throughout falsetto-laden pre-chorus, and enchanting verse, before exploding over the hook with a magnetizing saturation.
The entire experience comes together with meticulous attention to what makes a song successful: catchy toplines, excellent instrumentation, a danceable rhythm, synergizing harmonies, a well-balanced mix, and a frontman or woman with captivating charm; that's what listeners can expect from Matt Von's "Crazy."
Can you run us through how the idea behind "Crazy" came about? Was this song developed from a simple vocal melody, some drums in your DAW, or a guitar riff?
Crazy was a song that came to life through an incredibly talented individual who I started to work with at the beginning of this year. His name is K Del. He is a music producer who resides in Denmark, Europe and he originally sent me the instrumental track of the song. At that time of the collaboration session, we did not know what the song was going to be called or be about. DCat, who I also started to work with near the beginning of 2020, introduced me to K Del.
They have been working together as music partners for many years and collaborated on this song together alongside myself and my sister Sarah Jordan. As soon as DCat and KDel showed me this beat, I was in love. The chill pop vibe grabbed my attention immediately, and I started to think of some melodic ideas after listening to the song a couple of times. I came up with the mainline in the chorus “I’m going crazy, the way that you’ve been loving me lately”. I showed my sister Sarah Jordan, who is also a singer/songwriter and pianist. She loved the idea I came up with and worked on making more lyrics that would fit the storyline we wanted for the song.
My sister and I often collaborate on almost every song that we write/release, as a brother/sister duo and as solo artists. After that point, Sarah’s flow came through and she made the rest of the lyrics for the song. I like to call my sister the “Lyrical Genius” in songwriting because she is so good at it. “Crazy” flowed so smoothly after that point, and the lyrics were finished in days. I helped with being a “topliner” of the melodies. A ‘top liner’ is somebody who creates melodies to the lyrics, whether to go up or down or what vocal run to sing on that line. This song’s development was a creative process for all 4 of us, and I am so happy with the way it came out. “Crazy” must be one of my favorite songs I’ve ever released.
What sorts of emotions were you drawing from for your performance in "Crazy"? Did those emotions differ from what you channeled into for the guitar part versus the vocals?
When my sister and I wrote the song together, we were both channeling our emotions from personal experiences that we were both going through at that moment. Being in a relationship with someone you care about will always stir up feelings and emotions of excitement, just like a rollercoaster. Sometimes, feelings of lust, love, and infatuation interact with each other, making someone feel a ‘crazy’ kind of way, not doing things that they are normally used to doing.
These butterfly feelings were something important to me to express in a song, but I put a fun light spin on it --- instead of focusing on love, which is a common theme to write about in music today. When I create top lines for the guitar, they kind of just come to me naturally, and I play on the strength and vulnerability of the lyric. I try to match the guitar with the vocals. If the vocals are fun and expressive, the guitar licks will be punchy and direct. I always want my songs to be guitar-driven since it is my main musical instrument.
When I heard the original instrumental beat of the song, I immediately wanted to add my flavor on the guitar to it. Some simple licks in the verse/pre-chorus are what made the song have that pop vibe to it. I realized that it needed a big, distinct electric guitar solo near the outro of the song, so I placed it in right after Bridge. During my guitar solo, the first few bars are imitating what the vocals are doing melodically. Then after that, the guitar takes on its own pathway, and I made my own unique lead that fit the song and gave it a Carlos Santana feel to it. I am really hoping that people are relating to the overall message of the song and the instrumental beat that we put to it.
What has it been like working with Kdel, and DCat for "Crazy"? Do you feel like each collaborator left their own unique mark on this latest single?
It has been an absolute pleasure working with these two incredible music producers. I am beyond grateful to my manager Tina Cole, who introduced me to K Del and D Cat at the beginning of this year. Since I first started to work with KDel and DCat, I have learned so much regarding the music business, creating content, and making music that people will really like. K Del resides in Denmark, so I have been keeping in touch with him on social media and WhatsApp calls to discuss the process of making “Crazy” and other music that is coming soon. He makes some of the coolest beats for artists that I have ever heard. I have never worked with anyone outside of Canada before, but I can tell how much music is a big part of their culture in Denmark. D Cat resides in Los Angeles, and he has been a mentor for me along the way in my career. We have discussed plenty of songwriting and what it takes to make a hit song for all audiences to resonate with.
It is a work in progress, but I think we captured that motive with my single “Crazy”. I do feel like each collaborator left their own unique mark on this latest single. D Cat and K Del have been working together as music partners for many years, but each of them worked as hard on this song as my sister Sarah and I did. We all had individual ideas and opinions that we brought to the table, and in the end, choosing the best ideas based on what the song needed. I also want to bring up another important achievement that I accomplished with this song, along with the guidance from D Cat. My single “Crazy” was distributed through the Sony/Orchard Platform, which is extremely exciting. This would not be possible without the help of D Cat and my manager Tina Cole. I want to say thank you to everyone who was a part of making this single exactly what I wanted it to be.
If you could prefix your intentions behind "Crazy" for your listeners in a few words that might enhance their playback experience, what would you say?
Crazy brings you back to the butterflies when the desire for another overtakes every inch of your body and soul. Crazy is a song about those lustful feelings of desire that someone suddenly feels unexpectedly towards someone. Those initial feelings become explosive and the adrenaline rush is so exciting. The butterflies, the natural chemistry, the longing of intimacy to be with that one person, becomes a crazy addiction, and the only thing that takes over that person's mind. Crazy is about the organic process of falling in love with no limitations.
What has been keeping you inspired in 2020 and what can we expect to see from you going into 2021?
Well, 2020 has been one crazy year for all of us. I am extremely grateful that I have been able to release my original music this year and perform at plenty of events/live venues across the City of Toronto. When the pandemic hit in early March 2020, it was hard at first to handle everything going on around me. I was very anxious and stressed during this time. I did not know what was going to happen and nerves started to kick in and get the best of me. I feel that many musicians and artists during this time were unsure about plenty of things. Most importantly live music and performance. Performing live in front of an audience is one of my favorite things to do in the entire world, and to get the news that live music was not going to come back for a long time, really hit me hard.
I started writing a lot when COVID 19 first made its way into news outlets and developed ways to engage with my fans on various social media platforms. I recorded some original music on my software from home and collaborated with various artists on songwriting. The feeling when you release your own music to the world is like no other. So, I was working on “Crazy” throughout most of the quarantine, along with other unreleased songs that I currently have in my catalog. I feel “Crazy” is authentically me, who I want to be as an artist. Going into 2021, I hope the world gets back to some sense of normalcy, that way live music can come back again.
But I will continue to work hard on perfecting and building my brand, creating more content for fans, and working on more original music. Expect to hear some new music from me early on in 2021. You guys will not want to miss this! Thank you to everyone who has been on this journey with me and continues to work alongside me on my music. Stay safe and keep listening and learning more about music!