Feature | Matare

The more time goes on and the older I get, I find myself more and more looking back and listening to the music of the past rather than the music of today. I don’t know what it is – maybe it’s the digitalization of the world – but I kind of feel like something has been lost. Thankfully, every once in a while, an artist like MatAre comes along and reminds me that modern music, when staying true to its roots, can still be great. 

Let me explain what I mean by this a bit more. It can be argued that most, if not all, mainstream music today is primarily driven by commercialism and the artists are essentially products. The biggest stars don’t write their own songs, don’t play their own instruments, don’t have any real input in regards to the type of music they want to make, yet they make the most money! It’s really bizarre when you think about it …ART HAS GONE FULL CORPORATE!

But, now, compare this with an indie artist like MatAre and the difference is night and day. As soon as I started listening to Slicing Knives and other MatAre songs after that, I could immediately hear the influences of many greats from the past, most notably, in my opinion, the new wave movement of the 80s. This warmed my heart to listen to, and I’m sure it will do the same to you.

The drums, the melody, MatAre’s voice, all are steeped in a rich history of storied music that has led us up to this point. Yet, at the same time, it is distinctly post-modern in its sound and vibe. I feel Slicing Knives greatly succeeds in bridging the gap between the music of the past and that of the 21st century.

The lyrics themselves are really cutting-edge too, and are so applicable to the current situation we are facing as a global society. It is the sign of a true and great poet to be able to condense the current problems of the world into catchy and memorable verses, and MatAre does an incredible job of this.

Even if you are not necessarily a fan of this particular genre of music, I think it would still be worth your while to listen to what is being said here. Slicing Knives is the type of song we need now more than ever, and is a great example of why ‘real’ art will always be far superior than anything concocted by the mainstream.