TFN Talks with Matt Lange
TFN Talks caught up with Matt Lange, a multi-platinum selling producer and DJ whose best known work includes a Grammy nominated album. Matt has created and licensed music for films like Ford v. Ferrari, Ready Player One, and Blade Runner 2049, as well as video game franchises Counter-Strike Global Offensive, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and DOTA II.
Matt, what inspired your journey in music and when did it start? Can you take us on a bit of a timeline sweep from when you were a child to present day?
Essentially, music is truly all I know and I’ve been involved with it down to my earliest memories. My parents had me take piano lessons when I was young, although much to my chagrin now, I didn’t practice much. Soon after that I joined a boy choir and that became a significant part of my life for the next 6 years. When my voice changed (I went from a treble to a baritone overnight) I picked up the guitar, which to this day is still my favorite instrument - obsessively so at times. I started playing in a band in high school, and we so adolescently and arrogantly thought we were doing something totally new, labeling our genre as “Teenage Innovators Of Post Post Post Hardcore” if I remember correctly. While playing in the band I became fascinated with recording, mainly at the time so that I could record demos to bring into the band, and my nascent interest in recording, programming, and sound design is ultimately what led me to Berklee. For the sake of cliché, “The rest is history I suppose!”
You studied Music Synthesis at Berkelee College of Music. Most producers I have encountered have gone the ‘renegade’ route and learned their skills from YouTube and studio internships. Why did you choose to go to Berkelee and what advantages do you believe those years have given you in your craft?
First of all, Youtube didn’t exist in the form it exists now back then. I graduated in 2007, and electronic music as we know it today certainly didn’t exude the same omnipotency that it does today. That all being said, it wasn’t even a question about going to college in my family. It was a given. For a while I didn’t want to go to college at all. I was having a miserable time in high school back then, and briefly thought I wanted to become a professional skateboarder at one point. Soon after a skateboarding injury where I tore the cartilage in my right ankle ended that dream. Ultimately, Berklee was the only school I had any interest in going to at all, and before I went I attended a week long summer guitar program there in Boston which really solidified it as the choice for me. It was the first time I ever saw actual professional grade studios, and a community of all musicians. Finally a place where I thought I would belong at 18 years old. It was all so very seductive and to this day I’m so grateful for the experience. I don’t want to criticize the YouTube generation too hard, because the wealth of information out there is truly incredible and not like anything we ever had growing up. The downside of course is that the sources aren’t always the most credible. Also, being in a room with other people changes the dynamic of everything, whether it’s playing in a jazz ensemble or a songwriting session. Physical presence changes everything, not to mention a physical community of likeminded folk instead an online one. These are also the things I miss most today due to the pandemic.
What are some of the biggest challenges and obstacles you have had to overcome as a professional in the music industry? What have you taken away from those situations?
They’re endless, honestly. Everything from being taken advantage of by people you thought were on your side or cared about you, to bad deals, to overinflated egos, bouts of financial insecurity, not to mention the occasional crippling self doubt and insecurity that comes with being an artist and putting your heart out to the world on a regular basis, only to potentially see it crushed by a harem of the YouTube senate who want you to only make the same kind of music you were creating a decade prior and somehow feel that your art should be democratic. Some artists are really good at separating themselves from their art. I’m not one of them. I sometimes wonder if it’s easier to if you work underneath the guise of an alias. Maybe it doesn’t matter at all and you feel it just the same. The music industry can be a very ugly place at times, and that classic Hunter S Thompson quote about it is really quite marvelous. That all being said, I wouldn’t work in anything else. As far as what I’ve taken away from it all... well, like Nietzche said about women, the highs are higher and the lows more frequent! But the highs are so damn good that I can’t have it any other way. So you persevere. Your skin grows thick, and a you potentially develop a tendency to be distrusting of those who want something from you. It’s good to be protective of yourself and your work. The trick is not to let that interfere with your work. Cynics are just scorned optimists after all. Sometimes the ease of that is alluring. However, the moments in which I’ve succumbed to total nihilism, I’ve accomplished nothing except a headache every morning.
What is the most gratifying part of being a professional producer and musician?
Minus my brief romance of being a pro skater, this is all I’ve ever wanted. For all the complaints and difficulties at times, I truly love what I do. Sincerely. Even when things don’t go the way I hoped, I’m still living my dream. It’s a sobering realization to keep in mind when I get too lost inside my own head, frequent as that may be. The fact that I get to write music, and once upon a time perform it, to make a living is really quite amazing. Also, I still go skateboarding at least 3 times a week. I’ve got a really good kickflip.
In 2011 you founded your own label IsoRhythm. Seven years later you partially inspired me to start my own label Taksu Records because I was tired of dealing with the dark side of major record labels, (like bureaucracy and not getting paid on time or ever). What inspired the decision to start your own label for you and what pros and cons are there to releasing music through your own label?
Necessity is the mother of invention, after all. I had some music that no other record label would release, as well as a collection of field recordings and samples that I didn’t want to release with another company, so I created my own. One of the beauties of the current world of online distribution is that it’s so incredibly easy to set up your own avenue. I didn’t initially think of it as a true “record label” in the traditional sense, I never signed any other artists or anything like that. Isorhythm was simply an outlet to release whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and I didn’t have to go through any red tape, release schedules, not being the priority, not to mention the opinions of A&R’s whose priorities include looking after the reputation/identity of a record label. Ultimately, IsoRhythm represents freedom. Fast forward 9 years and I release nearly everything I do independently, mainly because I can, and the records I do myself versus a traditional label tend to do just as well, sometimes better, and I control all of it and own 100% of it, which is not how a traditional record deal works. Given, I’m in the position to do this because I also have worked actively in this industry for quite a while now and I owe much of this position to the record labels I worked with who promoted me in ways I couldn’t have myself at the time. So it’s not to say I’m anti record label, far from it, and I’m very grateful for those who took a chance on me when I was all so new to the industry. For where I’m at these days, I prefer to be independent, but I still find time to collaborate with label friends from time to time.
You are about to release two new albums Dichotomy and Isolated, can you talk about them and let us know when we will be able to hear them?
Yes! Unexpectedly I ended up with 2 albums this year, although initially it was just supposed to be Dichotomy, which features you on a couple tracks of course. Dichotomy wasn’t supposed to be an album at first, but I had a collection of music that I had been making over the course of a year, and while presenting it to my manager he said “you realize you have an album here...”. So that was the beginning of it. Naturally, the album went through various iterations after that, including having you here for a week and the songwriting that entailed. All in all, it was probably a year and a half after that initial meeting before the album was truly done in the form that everyone will hear. Dichotomy is very much a hybrid record, stepping the lines between the club and DJ world that I existed publicly in for a decade, and then the more cinematic and film side of my career which was less public. It should be out around February of next year.
Then there is Isolated... When the pandemic hit I had no idea what to do with myself. I had been on the road, on tour, every weekend for 2 months leading up to the lockdown in California, and when the shut down happened I literally had no idea what to do with myself. So I started writing. I used the current events as they were unfolding as inspiration, as well as a relationship, and it led to countless sleepless nights and obsessively working until I couldn’t anymore. The first half of the album was written and released in near real time to the current events, every week a couple tracks would come out, and the titles reflected what happened the previous week. Eventually after 8 weeks of releasing music like that I completely collapsed and needed a break. 6 weeks after that I finally got my act back together and eventually finished the damn thing. It’ll be out at the end of this month, just before the election...
You and I are about to release our third single collaboration “Running Through My Veins” and there are two more on one of your upcoming records that i personally can’t wait for the world to hear. I appreciate the magic that happens when we collaborate, there’s a flow to the sound and a vibe that I really really love. Here is a double question. What do you think it is about our creative dynamic that just works so well in terms of our relationship as artist and artist/producer? And, what usually catches you about a singer or a singer/songwriter where you have this “aha” moment which makes you want to work with them?
Chemistry, simple as that. You and I have a bit of a history at this point, you’re a dear friend and we’re very comfortable with each other, so when it comes to writing together it’s very easy to be vulnerable. That’s where the gold lies. And trust. Some collaborations come out better than others, and that really does come down to how well you both click. I’ve always found that moment for me to be when I’m working with a songwriter, such as yourself, and while working on lines together you lock eyes and realize you completely understand each other in that moment. It’s a beautiful thing. So very intimate.
If you could build a recording studio anywhere in the world, where would it be and why, what would it contain and and what would it look like?
I’d still be in LA. I love California, I really do. If I had an unlimited budget, it would just be a bigger house over the ocean or something of the sort. Inevitably more guitars, more speakers, more instruments, but I certainly don’t need anymore as it is. It would basically be what I have now... just bigger!
What advice would you give someone who wants to become a music producer, what courses would you suggest and what is your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) of choice and why?
Perseverance is the biggest one. Not stopping for anyone and pushing through all the various obstacles mentioned above. Besides that, studying a traditional instrument. Even though computers are capable of being the musician for you... why should you? It’s your art. It’s your expression. Once again, like physical community, I truly believe having a physical relationship with an instrument changes how your write, and in the process makes you a better producer and engineer, let alone musician. I personally use Pro Tools for everything, and that’s because for my workflow it works best for me, but honestly none of that stuff matters in any objective way. Whatever best helps you create the music you want to make is the most important thing.
I know that you can spend entire days, if not weeks on end in the studio. How do you break up the flow? What are your favorite activities outside of music production?
The idea of that is far more romantic than the reality of it. I promise you that! Everything’s different now. A year ago I would’ve said hang out with friends, go see a band, etc... obviously those things are a figment of our collective imagination at this point. These days I still have the aforementioned skateboarding, which does wonders for my brain, albeit horrors to my body. Worth it. I live in a hilly part of LA, and being able to walk to a hiking trail from my house has been a luxury. I do also live a few blocks away from an absolutely fantastic brewery, dare I say the best in LA, so on the days when they’re open I’ll often go in the late afternoon, bring headphones and catch up on music I’ve been meaning to listen to (the irony of being a musician is that if you’re working on music all day, you rarely get to actually listen to music), or FaceTime my family, whom I haven’t been able to see since February. The simple pleasures at this point are the things that keep me grounded, and in retrospect, likely always have been.
What are your goals for the next five years? Where would you like to see yourself and what kinds of projects would you like to work on?
Working more regularly in film composition is the next frontier for me. That’s been a goal ever since I first moved out to LA 8 years, and while I certainly have done some of that, getting to a point where that could become a regular job and source of income is really appealing to me as I’ve gotten older. I tend not to make concrete plans, especially now with all of the uncertainty in the world, and I’ve always looked at plans as “A list of shit that doesn’t happen.” So that being said, I have goals and my personal priorities really have shifted in a fairly significant way in the last couple of years, but I suppose that’s all part of being in your mid thirties. Most importantly, I’m really looking forward to how Dichotomy and Isolated are received. They’re the most significant bodies of work on a personal level that I’ve done, and working on them truly did change the course of everything moving forward. Where that road leads, however... time will tell.
What is the biggest piece of wisdom you have taken away from the past three decades of your life?
No one owes you anything and you know absolutely nothing. To quote my favorite line from the film Little Miss Sunshine, “Do what you love and fuck the rest.”