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I started to listen to Phish and that's what musically developed me and allowed me to start to feel the atmosphere of music. Then, I started to beat box to music I was hearing. After a Phish concert, when you'd be driving to another show, there'd be this music, the residue of the music [and] I'd just start beat boxing. It was how I translate this music that I'm hearing, how the basslines and melodies interact with the beat. -Matisyahu |
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I know that you recently switched up your band. Tell me a little bit about the process of putting together a like-minded group of musicians and making that whole process as cohesive and simple as possible.
 Matisyahu by Jamie Soja |
I went to school at the New School in Manhattan and I had run into Aaron [Dugan, guitarist] there. I kind of knew these guys' music and I would sit in with them. Then, I would just say, "Here's $100, can you come play my songs?"
And it was that simple?
I just started to feel a certain kind of negative energy and we were touring a lot. For some people it was a nice idea but they're not happy doing it. I did it again later on, and I found guys I knew would be happy playing music. And it turns out I feel that I got musicians that are top quality guys that can play. Then, I just found guys that I felt were humble people that could learn reggae. Jason [Fraticelli, bass] grew up with Aaron and he can play hip-hop stuff really good, he can play jazz, he can play experimental. I had always been impressed by Rob [Marscher, keyboards] from Addison Groove Project. I right away went to him to see if he'd be into it. Skoota [Warner, drums] is this old school guy. He played with Mary J. Blige, The B-52's and Cindy Lauper. He's the hardest hitting drummer I've ever heard. I wanted to have a jam kind of sound that could be experimental and go out but have a really solid drum backbone that could hold its own.
For these Festival of Light shows in New York City I have a bunch of different people sitting in to extend the band a little bit for those shows. I don't like to tell anybody what to play. I try to find people that feel the music and hear the music in a similar way.
So, how does the music feel right now?
I'm having more fun now than I've ever had making music.
As far as the converting to Hasidic Judaism and how that both affects your mind and your music, give me a little insight into your religious beliefs and how they affect your songwriting and overall, the music that Matisyahu plays.
 Matisyahu |
I'm trying to take classic ideas in Judaism mixed with some more controversial ideas about God and spirituality, also based in Judaism. One of the themes I've been dealing with a lot is sort of the insanity of this world and the insanity of God. That fits in a lot with my view of the way the world is right now. Take classic stories, fairytales almost, I took "The Seven Beggars" and used it for the inspiration for the record. Take these stories and bring in the modern day counterpart of these stories - how we are all connected, how darkness comes in and affects each of us in different ways.
I just felt that to live you have to take a chance. You have to trust your audience, and if the audience is impatient I have to build a different audience - take this chance where the music doesn't have to be tight, it doesn't have to be like a TV show that grips you every second. There has to be this lull where the music kind of dips down, a down for the up to happen. The studio stuff I tried to make really good songs with really good parts, where everything I sing is meaningful and you feel the tension in my voice.
You brought in these new players for the album. Do you kind of act like the bandleader and point and tell people what to do or how to sound, or is it more free form and improvised?
This record is totally different. I don't try to tell anyone what to do. I let everyone feel it out and feel what they think is right for the music.
To finish up, what were the first influence, the first sound, and your first seduction into music?
The first thing that really brought me in was Bob Marley. Right off the bat, I was kind of like writing lyrics and being myself as someone who could be a vocalist someday. Then, I started to listen to Phish and that's what musically developed me and allowed me to start to feel the atmosphere of music. Then, I started to beat box to music I was hearing. After a Phish concert, when you'd be driving to another show, there'd be this music, the residue of the music [and] I'd just start beat boxing. It was how I translate this music that I'm hearing, how the basslines and melodies interact with the beat. Then, I started listening to Sizzla. I've kind of tried to figure out how to incorporate the voice in a way where it doesn't distract from the music. It really kind of adds and pushes further.
You can get discounted Festival Of Lights tickets here. Complete Matisyahu tour dates available here.
Check out our exclusive video interview with Matisyahu on JamBaseTV.
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