HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview – Leftover Dreams
In this HELLO BEAUTIFUL interview Pretoria-based producer, Matthieu Auriacombe chats about the themes on his new EP ‘Leftover Dreams’, what he likes about being a part of the Pretoria scene, who inspired him to release his own music after ‘Pity The Fool’, and how he came to work with a few ‘lekker mense’.
Pretoria possesses a grit that is unmatched in any other city in South Africa and this is evident in its musicians. The musical energy is thick and abundant, particularly in the avenues, minds, and souls of those who fervently work to grow and pioneer the various scenes in the area.
It’s always too much fun making music that sounds great to your ears and hoping some other people will like and appreciate it…”
You are based in Pretoria, what do you think the town offers you both creatively and industry wise as a musician?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: Hey, yes, based in Pretoria. I personally think Pretoria is a lekker city. I grew up here, moved to Cape Town when I was twenty three and moved back at twenty six. I see Gauteng as one big city with Joburg being right around the corner, I love this place. It might be lacking live venues but all in all, there are a lot of musicians and people working on making it a better scene in Gauteng, people I personally know.
Before you released your Supernova Love EP in 2013, did you have a particular expectation for how the release would be received? And how did the response to the EP measure up to what you thought it might be?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: At that stage, coming out my previous band, Pity The Fool, I just wanted to start something new and release it. My brother inspired me to release new music, of my own, so I was stoked to get it started. I wasn’t sure how it would be received by the listener, and I guess I haven’t stopped since then.
It’s synth driven, with reasonably straightforward beats and spacey soundscape melodies.”
On your album you worked with Andrew Davenport from aKing and Harmony Boucher from Vuvuvultures. How did these collaborations come about?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: I met Andrew in Cape Town, our bar conversation escalated from that to actually being in studio recording the vocals to ‘Us’. I met Harmony through Nicole (Bassist), and asked them if I can do a remix. They liked it and that escalated to an actual collaboration. I recorded the vocals with Harmony for ‘Hello Beautiful’ when they were in South Africa on tour with Vuvuvultures.
How long have you been working on and perfecting your latest EP, Leftover Dreams and what would you say encompasses the creative vision of this release?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: The EP was written over the last year or so. It’s synth driven, with reasonably straightforward beats and spacey sound scape melodies. You can hear the inspiration from the eighties and early nineties, with the variety of synths that were blended in with more ‘modern’ keyboards I generally like. It has a good balance of happy and dark songs.
It’s always too much fun making music that sounds great to your ears and hoping some other people will like and appreciate it as much as you do. It was mixed and mastered by my mentor and good friend Peach van Pletzen at Planet Awesome.
Are there any collaborations on the new EP and do you have a favourite track?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: There are two collaborations on the EP, ‘If You Love Me Back ft. Alastair Thomas’ from Shortstraw & ‘Structures ft. Jean-Louise Parker’ from Academie, I’m extremely stoked about that. They are all my favourite tracks [laughs]. They were each a real gem to work with, great artists working hard in the industry and all round lekker mense.
Alastair: “So the theme of ‘If You Love Me Back’ I guess would be love. I got out the shower one morning and my little pup was just diligently waiting there for me. The love a dog has for their human is astounding and it’s that amount of love that I want to feel for someone else (another human, at least. I love my dog that much already!) Which is why, in the chorus, I refer to the person as my pup. The verses are more about how you can’t stop thinking about someone you’re in love with, just like in a horror movie, you want to look away but you can’t. You’re like a bad dream – you keep me up at night. It’s all love, man”
Jean Louise Parker: “’Structures’ explores the shift in consciousness that is happening around the world. The ‘western man’ is becoming more aware of his surroundings and his impact on others. The lyrics explore the idea of moving forward even though it makes some feel uncomfortable”
What does the release of Leftover Dreams signify for you as an artist when considering the direction you are moving towards in the future?
HELLO BEAUTIFUL Interview: It’s still straight up synth music, eighties & early nineties inspired. Of course, there are collaborations, but mostly instrumental songs. I’ve discovered a lot of new music (old and new) in the last year or so, that I really like and get inspiration from. I have learned to play keyboard and other instruments better in the past year. I’m a producer, I write music for artists, so from the writing side of things I feel I have improved in that department. I’ve decided to do less collaborations for this EP in particular and keep it more instrumental. All in all, I didn’t want to leave any stone unturned on the EP, hence why it took me so long to get ‘Leftover Dreams’ completed.
Listen to HELLO BEAUTIFUL – Leftover Dreams preview.
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