Before his 18th Birthday Matt had played lead roles in world-renowned musicals such as ‘Oliver’ & ‘Les Miserables’ in London’s West End, he was signed to the same record label as Justin Timberlake & Britney Spears, scoring two top ten hits as the youngest member of boyband One True Voice.

Matt is currently recording his first solo album ‘Chaplin Road’ with world renowned record producer Steve Power who’s credits include albums for Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow to name a few! Between recording & songwriting Matt is kept extremely busy performing at over 150 private show per year.

Generating over 1 million streams per month with over 250,000 monthly Spotify listeners Matt continues to produce and release his monthly live lounge acoustic covers. Matt currently sells music in over 100 countries with official iTunes chart entries in the last 12 months in Australia, Chile, Finland, South Africa & Belgium!

Learn more about Matt and his music in the below interview.

We’ve featured you before but let’s dive a little deeper into the artist and the music. What attracted you to this genre or style of music?

I never really thought about style or genre, I wanted it to just be natural and see what happened! I have tried ‘force writing’ in the past and it did not deliver good songs, Songs need to be real and organic.

How long have you been creating and sharing your music with the public?

I have been sharing my music since I was 11 years old it’s just the method of delivery. First it was tape and CD’s then downloads and youtube, now it seems to be streaming more than anything! I did not start to learn production until late 2014.

Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?

I do not know what motivates me really, music is not my job it’s just who I am so I guess I would have nothing to do without music. I just keep making music because it’s all I know. If you love music then you will love it for life. I usually get a lot of inspiration from films, they are usually great stories. Sometimes I try to talk about real life situations I have seen. I like working with my guitarist friend Bjorn, he is an exceptional player and gives a lot of good inspiration. We wrote ‘Get Over You’ together.

Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?

Yeah, I just want to get out there, I was afraid for so long to release my own music. I was scared of being rubbish or failing! Now I make music for me and I hope someone else likes it. When you do something all your life your going to have good songs, great songs, bad songs and average songs, that’s just part of the journey. The main thing is to write what you enjoy singing.

What was the last song you listened to?

I just listened to ‘Kathleen by Catfish And The Bottlemen’, it’s a great song and I want to do a cover of it.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?

I would say MP3 because I listen through headphones a lot. I really don’t buy music anymore not since I joined Spotify over 3 years ago. It’s strange because I enjoy making music and being the singer more than listening to music. I don’t listen to much music. My passion is to create and not to spectate. I never go to gigs either to watch other musicians, I cannot stand being in the crowd, I was born to face the crowd!

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

I have never used bandcamp; I use Spotify all the time, I am also a member of Apple Music.

Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?

I just hope major labels do not end up controlling streaming services, this is bad news for the indie artist. That is why UK radio is so hard now because it has lost all it’s independence and cannot play what it wants. I embrace the changes online and if it was not for platforms like Spotify I would not have a career to discuss so I’m all for it.

Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you perform?

I’m going to be planning a big tour when the album is released. This will be in the UK. I would love to figure out a way to visit other countries like the USA and Australia, I sell music all over the world now so I’m not focused on just solely being in the UK. The Philippines is another place I would love to go.

Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?

All up to date links are on my site mjofficial.com but Youtube, Apple Music and Spotify are all great ways to hear my latest tracks. My album will also be out on physical copy and a short run of vinyl. Come and say hello on Twitter or Facebook, we’re all connected now it so easy. I think I am most active on Spotify.

Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?

My advice to anyone is to just not give up what you love, and a big shout out to yourself for showing support!