INTERVIEW : Matilda Mann
Life is confusing and weird, and dark sometimes. Art brings levity and beauty to the human experience. In a work of art - like a bedroom pop song, for example - things can be simple, colorful, catchy, thus magnifying the fragile details that make it all worthwhile. Matilda Mann’s new song, Happy Anniversary, Stranger, perfectly encapsulates that dichotomy, turning a mundane public transit crush into a luminous love affair. The claymation video that accompanies the single adds another layer of magic to the whole thing. We had a chat with the West London songwriter to learn a little more about her new video and her creative process.
What were your inspirations for Happy Anniversary, Stranger?
I saw this guy on my way to school every day, we never spoke but I always thought it’d be such a cute love story. To have a crush on a stranger from a distance and them never know. Eventually having the courage to say hi to them.
What’s important for you when you write a new song? When do you know it’s a keeper?
I always like to have lots of harmonies in my songs. I listen to a lot of the Staves so they always influence my music. Also I very much like lyrics that say something in a way people haven’t heard it before.
How did you produce the track? What were your desires for the feel of this track?
I wanted it to be a happy song. More kinda hopeful. We kind of naturally just went down the indie route and the melody and chords kinda came together, so it was all pretty smooth writing it .
Can you name a few influences (tracks or artists) that informed your sound and your style?
Was definitely influenced by Matt Maltease, who the song was written with. I also love Big Thief and the feel that a lot of those songs give off.
How did you choose this idea for the video?
Originally it was all going to be filmed in real life on a bus, but corona came, so we couldn’t do that. We then met Harvey [Frost], the director, and he spoke about the song and started describing it as an animation and I immediately became super excited!
What was your reaction when you saw the finished animation?
I loved it sooo much. At first, the mouths were really big and bright red, but we changed that ahah. It filmed in about a month and they did such an amazing job, all from home as well!
I heard you’re preparing an EP. What can we expect? (What are its themes? How does it sound? etc.)
The name of the ep is Because I Wanted You To Know. Each song is a message that at some point in my life I wanted to say to someone. So there’s lots of different messages, some sad, like Robbed and some that I wish I had lived in the moment and told someone I had a crush on them.