Matt Hart had the idea to create electronic/industrial music under his own name about 10 years ago and has been writing music ever since. In between playing guitar and bass with London industrialists Concrete Lung and DJing he has finally managed to see his creative ideas come to fruition. 2017 saw him release a back catalogue of thirteen tracks called the Anthology of Corrosion, and with renewed vigour for creation he released a two track single Judge & Punish in March, followed by the EP Chaos Rising. 2018 followed with Chaos Rising 2 and 3. 2018 was also the year to bring the chaos to the stage with live guitarist, Jerome Badoux of Drilling Spree and has since supported bands such as [:SITD:], Sulpher and Sheep on Drugs.
We caught up with him to find out a little bit more, and to see what’s in the pipeline for the rest of the year.
Can you introduce yourself and tell me a little bit about yourself?
Hi, my name is Matt Hart. I’m a musician, producer and DJ within the industrial/ebm scene. I have a day job in an orchestra as a viola player so I’m surrounded by music all the time. It also allows me time to be creative and use some of facilities available to me!
When did you first start making music?
I first started making music probably back in 2004 but really I only got serious about it toward the end of 2016. I was pushed to release my first music by a certain front man of a band called Grendel and from there I haven’t looked back, I’ll always be grateful to him for it!
Where do you draw your influences from?
Where don’t I draw influences from?! Musically, I guess the first band I really got into was Fear Factory. I love the way they’ve blended real instruments with electronics and I’m still a fan to this day. Being a DJ as well has pushed me to be constantly on the look out for new music and somewhere along the way that has influenced the sound that I produce myself. Besides that, the world around us and the way we interact with it and the fact that in my mind I can see us a human race heading towards our own extinction at the hands of something we created probably adds that dystopian/post apocalyptic feel of what I write!
In 2017 and 2018 you released three Chaos Rising EPs – can you describe your writing and recording process for them?
The writing and recording process generally begins with a guitar riff or synthesizer riff, knowing what speed I want the track to be at and then adding drums to it. Every track grows organically and I end up writing what feels right, at the time. I have a home studio that works well enough for everything apart for the vocals, but my day job allows me to be able to record vocals in one of the rooms so hiring of a studio is unnecessary! As far as the production goes I’ve tried, over the course of the EPs, to push myself as a producer to make things sound better and better.
Would you say they are representative for what fans can expect from a full-length release from you, or are they more of a standalone trilogy?
The three Chaos Rising EPs are certainly their own standalone trilogy but I can say that the full length release won’t stray too far from a similar concept. It will, however, also evolve sonically and it will take a closer look at our past, present and future!
2018 saw you start gigging with a live band – what can fans expect from a Matt Hart show?
My guitarist, Jerome Badoux and I work to make the show as musically tight as possible. There is also an amount of theatrics to it without distracting from the music. My intention for the show is for it to be as visceral as possible so lights are low and in the red spectrum and strobes and smoke are used to add to the effect.
Do you have any gigs in the works?
I have one show that has been announced at moment and that is opening the Infest Festival, pre-festival show at TRASH in Bradford on 22nd August with Das Ich headlining. There are more in pipeline but that’s it for now.
And what do you have in store for the rest of 2019?
I’m currently writing the new record with a late 2019 release in mind, however there may well be a single or two released on the way to keep momentum going. I also have a couple more remixes on the way that will complete the Chaos Remixed EP that I intend to put out sometime this year – you heard it here first!
