With two critically-acclaimed albums, one EP and five singles under his belt as the frontman of Welsh Music Prize-nominated Cymrucana pioneers Climbing Trees, MATTHEW FREDERICK continues his solo crusade this spring with debut studio album Fragments. Released via Staylittle Music and distributed by PYST, the album will be available on CD, Limited Edition Cassette, Digital Download and streaming across all major digital platforms from Friday April 3rd 2020.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Matthew about the new release, challenges, technology and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)

I’m from the Rhondda, deep in the South Wales valleys.  We’re known for coal-mining (back in the day, at least), and singing.  I mainly do the latter…

In terms of my style of music, I still never know how to answer that question!  I suppose it’d end up in the singer-songwriter section of your local record shop (if it hasn’t already closed down), but there are also elements of pop, rock, indie-folk, country, blues and a bit of contemporary classical thrown in now and again for good measure.  I understand the necessity of pigeon-holing musicians when it comes to marketing and the like, but I normally leave it to other people to decide what they think my music is, and as long as they think it’s good, then I’m happy!

What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to keep going?

I started playing the piano aged five.  From then on I pretty much knew that all I wanted to do when I grew up was play music, and hopefully earn enough to make a living from it.  In terms of what motivates me to keep going, it’s probably the fact that I’d have to get a real job if I didn’t!  And also there aren’t many better feelings than sitting down, writing a song, recording that song a few months (or even years) later and then eventually playing that song on stage for other people to hear, whether it’s in front of hundreds, thousands or just a dozen people in the back room of a pub.  It’s the opportunity to constantly be creative that excites me, and I think that’s the same whether you’re a musician, an actor, a director, a poet, or anybody that’s trying to make something.  There’s a lot of hard graft involved, though, but it’s definitely worth it.

How is this new release different than previous ones? Were you trying to accomplish anything specific?

Well despite putting out a load of music both solo and with my band Climbing Trees over the last few years, Fragments is actually my debut solo studio album (I’ve released a live album previously, as well as an EP and a handful of singles, but this is my first proper album under my own name), so it sort of feels like I’m starting from scratch, in a way.

I definitely got it into my head from the start that I wanted to play everything on this album (Tubular Bells-style), so it’s been quite fun to work within my limitations on certain instruments as well as pushing the boat out on others.  The challenge now is translating that to a live show.  My solo gigs up until this point have been completely solo, but at long last I’ve formed a backing band (The Hindsights) who’ll be joining me for the launch show as well as a few festival dates in the summer, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this one-man project works in the hands of others outside of the bubble that is my own mind.  I’m sure it’ll be fine, though…

Name one or two challenges you face as an indie musician in this over saturated, digital music age? How has technology helped you (since we know it does help)?

I think ‘over saturated’ is the key word there – in many ways it’s even harder to get your music out there these days, or at least to get it noticed.  Anybody can stick a track up on Soundcloud, Spotify etc. That’s the easy bit.  Getting people to actually listen to it is another matter…

But there are certainly a heap load of pros to it as well.  As an independent Welsh musician, I probably wouldn’t be having a conversation with a Tennessee-based music magazine fifteen or twenty years ago.  And I can take a quick look on my Spotify dashboard and see that I’ve actually got more people listening to my music over in the US over the last month than I have here in the UK.  Yet in the last month São Paulo in Brazil is the city I’ve been listened to in the most, apparently, followed by cities in Australia, Spain and Canada, so these are listeners (and potential fans) that I’d never have been able to reach previously.  It’s pretty mind-blowing when you think about it for too long!

What was the last song you listened to?

Good question.  In terms of songs I’ve chosen to listen to, it was probably the last track on Michael Kiwanuka’s latest album Kiwanuka.  I’ve been a fan of his sound since hearing Tell Me A Tale on a compilation CD that came free with MOJO magazine about seven or eight years ago, and he’s really blown up over the last year or two, it seems.  He also played a great set on the Mountain Stage at Green Man Festival here in Wales in 2017, which is definitely up there in my Top 5 festival performances!

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

Vinyl wins that one, hands down.  I loved exploring my parents’ record collection as a kid, and started picking up my own from school fêtes, car boot sales and the like from the age of about ten.  I used to be able to reel off where, when and how much I bought each vinyl for, but that was probably a good few hundred (thousand?) records ago!

I was lucky enough to put out my first (and so far only) bit of vinyl with Climbing Trees a couple of years back on limited edition coloured 7”.  Honestly, it was one of my proudest achievements to hold that magical circle of music in my hand – definitely one to tick off the bucket list.

How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?

I mean, they all have their benefits and disadvantages.  As a listener, I don’t tend to consume music through any streaming platforms (not through any form of snobbery – I just never really made the transition from physical to digital) but as an artist, Bandcamp wins hands down.  As well as the digital side of things, the ability to sell physical music and merch and have that direct artist-to-fan relationship is really what it’s all about as an independent musician.  Bandcamp has been a massive help to both myself and the band in terms of getting our music out there, and it just feels a bit more authentic, if that makes sense.

Where is the best place to connect with you online and discover more music?

I should probably promote my Bandcamp page (https://matthewfrederick.bandcamp.com) after the last question!  But my website (https://www.matthewfrederick.co.uk) is the main hub that leads off to all of the usual places, as well as letting you know about upcoming shows, all of my previous releases, gig archive etc.  Signing up for the mailout (http://eepurl.com/dnaH1X) is handy as well – I normally write and send them out around once a month, and again, it’s a way of conversing with fans that feels a little more personal.

Anything else before we sign off?

If you want to hear more music from Welsh valleys, then check out the Staylittle Music website (www.staylittlemusic.com), where you’ll find Climbing Trees as well as some of our other labelmates.