In the Spotlight with Matt/PsiVamp/Alchemy Prophet

Today I have the Huge honor to have a chat with Matt from Alchemy prophet/PsiVamp.

Thank you so much for having a seat “In the Spotlight” with me.

 

1, What is your story? What was it that drew you to the music scene and what made you stay?

 Music has always been a large part of my life. My brother, who was seventeen years older than me was a musician (guitar and vocals) but always pursued a personal approach to music. My mother was an amazing singer, and myself enjoyed writing music. From fourth to tenth grade in school I played violin in school and club orchestras, and at the age seven I became proficient at playing keyboards. Also with a brother that was much older than myself, I was exposed to a wider range of music. With all of this being said, why even release music to the public? I wanted to share the story. It started from selling a CD I burned out of the trunk of my car, then I was asked to do a live show (absolute catastrophe), but I looked at that as a challenge. From dive to dive I performed, each time looking for ways to get better, more efficient and most of all, feel and fuel the energy of the crowd. Performing live is addictive and can easily consume you, because you see the crowd enjoying what you are doing and you are making people happy for a few hours.

Why did I stay? Well, I am no longer the PsiVamp character jumping around on stage anymore, but Alchemy Prophet is a story, and a good story never ends. Music is a part of you, whether you are performing, writing, playing in your garage/basement, or putting on your favourite track. The success of music is emotions that are built with every note, that you hear or play, just like a good movie or book would. My story is long from being over and I have much to share with those that are willing to listen.

 

2, Do you prefer to record in the studio or play live in front of an audience?

 There was a time (PsiVamp days) that this answer would have been, “Live all the way”, but my age  and health has changed my point of view. I am more of a studio person now, but there are times that I miss the energy of the crowds. I really do not write any more music under this banner, as this was experience and emotion driven. I am a different person now, but there are times that I do enjoy throwing down a riff that gets the heart thumping hehehe.

Alchemy Prophet has always been a studio project as it is more of my reflection time to gather thoughts and to tell a story in meditative atmosphere. Pretty much a musical Grimoire of sorts, so it would be difficult to recreate the energy on stage.

Now I am just content with hearing about the reactions versus seeing them from a stage.

 

3, What is your coolest memory from being on tour?

There are so many as everyone of them I cherished. Yes, even the bad ones- The bad ones became life lessons of what not to do EVER again. My “coolest” memory would have to be performing at 10 High in Atlanta, and due to a mishap in promotions, etc I had a whopping six people show up for the show. The venue and road crew asked me if I wanted to bail and I went on performing like it was thousands in that room. Among the six attending was a long haired guy sitting at the bar that didn’t fit in and just sat and drank his beer. The show went well, we cut our losses and all of us went to our homes. Continuing forward I kept seeing the same guy at different venues, no matter where I performed in the country. His name was Sean Randall and he was a music promoter. He said, “I want to start booking your shows, because anyone that can perform the same in front of six people as he would in front of three thousand loves the crowd and music…”. Sean was (Passed away 2020) a very influential music promoter and if it wasn’t for him and his contacts I would have never been challenged to become better.

Like I said, a tone of “coolest memories” but while on tour, this one stands out the most.

 

4, What is the one thing you would like to tell your fans?

No matter what style of music or grouping of fans, I greatly appreciate the support and feedback. Most of all, I want to say that never put your future self in a situation where you have to ask or say, “I should have done that”, or “I wonder what would have happened if I had went ahead with…”. Failures are going to happen, successes will happen but treat them both as learning experiences to become better. Take chances at being different and you will inspire someone else that didn’t think it was possible. Most of all, evolve and grow- because when you become a better person, those around you see and feel it and begin to strive to become better as well.

 

5, What is the one thing you would like to tell to the Music Industry?

Musicians are artists, and in some cases on multiple levels of mediums. When a collection is released, one of the first questions you are asked is “what genre?”. Artists are creative and rarely colour inside the lines. By forcing musicians to declare a genre, you are putting them in a box and placing limits on their future creativity. Different songs may have a different feel and by definition a different genre, but the industry forces you to fit the songs into a collective box. Remove the labels of who a person is “supposed to be” and let the artists be artists and be truly creative.

 

Thank you so much for this and I hope you’ll have a creative summer ahead!

 

And YOU can find Matt here

http://www.mudutu.ca/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6lqRDJirf8MLT3YyQmkt1B

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2GQhAyP8jXKqixAbqsCDUC

https://www.facebook.com/HouseMudutu/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2s0fKsPoZ1f2aBtlEI9NFA