Artist Spotlight New Orleans Music

An Intimate Chat with Matt DiMona [Exclusive Interview]

When Matt DiMona stopped in New Orleans early last month, he blessed us with a chill and intimate set at Gravier Street Social and bumped his new EP, “Up All Night”. He was on the heels of its release and this EP marked a change of direction in his music. Better known for his tropically infused house sounds and catchy remixes, DiMona took it back to his musical roots with “Up All Night”, by writing, producing and singing the entire EP. We got to talk with Matt DiMona about the inspiration behind the music, his change in direction and what’s next for the talented music maker.

Let’s jump right in with your EP, “Up All Night”. What were the influences behind your new music? 

“I put out this original song called “I Just Want You” about eight months ago. I’ve been writing songs for a really long time, and before then the only music I had put out on my Soundcloud were just remixes. I was ignoring this big part of my creative musical output, so “I Just Want You” was my attempt to be like “Hey, I write songs too, and I sing, and I hope you like it.” And then the EP was an attempt to just take that to the next level. Here’s me writing five songs trying to tell a story and making a cohesive package which is something that is sometimes ignored by a lot of DJs. A lot of electronic producers focus on putting singles, and I wanted to put out a neat little package of my songs. I wrote all of the lyrics, I sang, I produced it. The two collaborators are girls who are friends of mine from school, and we wrote together. It was really an organic thing, just trying to tell the story of my last six months of college. I was really happy with how it turned out.”

What made you switch up your style with the new EP?

“It was less about taking a new direction and more about just experimenting and doing whatever I was feeling. For a while, I was doing all four or floor house. I had this tropical phase that I kind of regret. I was just shamelessly band wagoning and then realized it and needed to put a stop to it and go more in my own lane and on my own wave. Eventually, I just got bored making house music and was getting frustrated and didn’t care about that much that to be a strictly house guy.”

What was the creative process like making the EP?

“When I started making music in the first place, I was making beats and writing songs with friends, freestyling. Doing all sorts of stuff. So with the EP I really just tried to get back to that and just make whatever I was feeling. I was listening to all different types of music and would build off of whatever feeling I had. Just let it happen. The five different songs on the EP are all different tempos, different styles but they all sound like my style, which is this cool new thing that I am trying to develop.”

Will this be more of your new style or will we also get some house goodies in the future?

“I wouldn’t rule it out. I definitely still love dance music, and I love dancing in general so I would say more four on the floor stuff along the way but not typical stuff, something with a twist. For now, I’m just having fun with it.”

What can we expect next?

“Now that the EP is out, I feel free to start working on new stuff again. My idea is to write a new EP, and I’m really in the very very early stages of doing that. I have a couple of cool sounding things. Maybe a couple new remixes I’ve been messing around with.”

Who are you listening to right now?

“My tastes are really all over the place but lately just been loving listening to as much non-electronic music as I can. Tame Impala is my favorite band right now. They are life changing-ly good. I love the band, Unknown Mortal Orchestra. My biggest all-time favorite is Frank Ocean, so it’s been really hard for me to stop playing Blonde.”

What are three things you have to have with you at all times?

“One is my phone because it has all of my music on there. I still carry an MP3 collection, and I listen to music everywhere I go. I’m pretty simple, the only things I usually have on me at all times are keys, wallet, and phone. That’s it.”

Check out some pics we snapped during Matt Dimona’s intimate session at Gravier Street Social.

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