Austin Sound Check

Reggae / hip-hop phenom Matisyahu toured through Austin on November 11th. Austin Sound Check caught up with Matisyahu and asked him a few questions. Read on after the jump to find out why Matisyahu recorded his breakout album Live at Stubb’s in Austin, what it was like working with Sly & Robbie on his new album and how Matisyahu feels about the election of Barack Obama.

Austin Sound Check: You’ve got a connection with Austin, your hit album Live at Stubb’s was recorded here. What made you decide to record the album here?

Matisyahu: I like Austin a lot. The live record was made there. That’s an obvious connection. That’s the record that really made things happen for me.

It was the record company’s decision to do that record there. There were a few reasons. One of the things that has helped and hurt my career is that I’m a religious Hasidic Jew and I don’t hide that in any way. The fact that that image doesn’t necessarily match up with the music that I make. Sometimes I get questioned on the authenticity of my music and what I do. I think that Michael Kaplan head of Or Records felt that Austin is a city that’s known as a music city. A city that is centered around music. ACL, SXSW and all the venues and all that kind of stuff. That was the reason that they wanted to do it at Austin and at Stubb’s. Stubb’s is a well known music venue. They wanted to make a distinct sort of record.

Another aspect of it was that they had just signed Los Lonely Boys. They got connections to a sound truck that could do it for a good price, you know record that show in Austin easily.

It was also I think, Texas is one of the most non-Jewish places you can be in America. Austin, Texas is a barbeque kind of place, you know not kosher. I think it was the total package that made us decide to record there. We had gone down and done SXSW you know and it was one of my first experiences being around all those bands and hype and stuff like that. All the press and the interviews and stuff.

Everytime that we’ve come back there, we’ve had a great reaction. It was interesting this time being about three years out from a record or a single or anything like that you know, and seeing where my fanbase is at. We’re going on tour right now and preparing for a new record and seeing where things are at.

Coming to Stubb’s and playing in front of 2000 people is a really cool thing for me to see. The fans from Austin are still there even though they haven’t necessarily heard from me in the last few years it’s cool to see that there’s a connection that feels like it will always be there. Also, not to mention that we had a great show. I think it was one of our better shows on the tour. I felt it was pretty there with the audience. We were all there together. Which is one of the things that come up against us as cultural groups. Performing is getting out of ourselves to make that connection and I felt that it was right there. Which is kind of kind of what that record was all about. In that record you can hear the audience being part of the experience. For me, that’s part of what I love about it.

Austin Sound Check: You’ve got a new album Light, schedule for release in 2009. What was the recording process like? What are you excited about from the new material?

Matisyahu: I think the album is great. I’m really happy with it. We recorded it in a way that was the first time I’ve ever done anything like it. After the last tour we took a break, got all the right people involved, found the right musicians, the right producers, the right writers and beatmakers and everything and just brought it all together. And for me, that’s really what music is. You can see that when it comes out. It brings together a lot of different elements of music. This record is a progression of that. It doesn’t have that live kind of energy, but that not necessarily what a studio album is supposed to have. It has a progression of bringing together different musical styles. Like sometimes, you’re gonna find that in my career I’m going to be leaning more heavily towards one element or one style of music. Live at Stubb’s and even Youth were really heavy on the reggae department, but with this record I think there is a little bit less of that and more of me trying out different styles. It’s just kind of an evolution. I brought together a lot of different people that I really like and whose music I really appreciate it.

Austin Sound Check: What was it like working with Sly & Robbie?

Matisyahu: We went to Jamaica for about a week. I had programmed a lot of drums with different people, including Ooah from L.A. who is from the Glitch Mob. There’s kind of an electro feel on it. Then we had basically different bass and drummers come in and play on it. We mixed electronic programmed drums with some live drums. Sly & Robbie played on some of it. Also, when we were in Jamaica I worked with a kid named Stephen McGregor. A seventeen year old kid who produces for Sean Paul and Movado. He worked on a couple songs which are really different.

Austin Sound Check: Because a lot of your songs deal with togetherness and loving your neighbor, I think you have an interesting perspective on recent political events. How do you feel about the election of Barack Obama.

Matisyahu: I’m very hopeful. I mean, obviously, he’s the first president that our generation has seen that we can really relate to. Which is an incredible thing. At the same time there is always that skepticism about politicians, who knows whats really going to happen. Obama inspired America. Especially the youth. There is hope for change and for good things to happen. So, I think everyone is just waiting to see whats going to happen.

2 Comments