In Interview: Ghostly International's Matthew Dear

Texan DJ, producer, and avant-garde electro maverick Matthew Dear has done more in his brief career thus far than most artists can balance across their entire creative output. Releasing material under his own name as well as False, Jabberjaw and Audion, touring frequently and creating a respected label imprint, it's fair to say that this is one of the hardest working men operating in music at the moment. So where to begin – with the founding of Ghostly International along with Sam Valenti in the late 90s, perhaps?

“Sam and I met at a very opportune time in each of our lives,” Dear recalls. “We were both hungry for output, but in our own respective ways. After having met, it seemed we had a place to develop each of our musical narratives. Sam's attention to detail and desire to craft the label as an art form, paired with my production drive and need to endlessly create music established a suitable environment. It's worked well ever since, and Sam is still the first person I share my new music with.”

A great emphasis is placed on the visual element of the work at Ghostly. Everything from album artwork, the look of the website, the aesthetics of his shows as Audion and the fact that visual artists are listed alongside musicians on their roster – all suggesting that the look is taken as seriously as the music.

“Absolutely,” he confirms. “We've built some amazing relationships with artists over the years. I don't think my music would be received as intensely without the aid from Will Calcutt's design and photography. Creating a world surrounding the music is important, and this is where visual elements play a big role."

What marks Dear our from so many of his peers, however – and probably the most fascinating aspect of his music, aside from its consistent high quality – is his use of so many monikers to explore different styles and sounds.

“Keeping the monikers separate allowed for more clarity for the audience,” offers Dear. "I didn't want every release to be under my own name, and sound completely different than the last. Having them spread out into different aliases allowed for creative freedoms within each in the studio. Lately though, I concentrate mostly on the music as myself, and find it difficult to escape. It's a bit of a therapy of sorts, to sit in the studio all day and let it work on you."

Upon suggesting that his lyrics are cryptic, I ask if this is a deliberate attempt by Dear to further mask his identity and music.

“I'm never intentionally cryptic,” he suggests. "I just don't find it entertaining to be told what to think, or to tell people how to receive a story. It is also connected with this way of working in the studio. Lyrics are tied into that therapeutic process, and each line comes from an immediate emotion. I try not to dissect them outright, since it becomes more fun later down the road. Often I'll understand the implication far later. Gem [from his latest album] for example makes a lot of sense to me now, although I wrote it eight or so years ago. I leave things open-ended for the listener too, since I think there is an invariable amount of questions in all of us. Our vocabularies may address each situation differently, but we're pretty much all trying to figure the same things out. I can't tell anyone how to do it, but I can share my maps.”

True to form, Dear's latest album, Black City, is a departure from his last under his own name – 2007’s Asa Breed – with the former offering being a slower journey through a world that he created from scratch. It seems pertinent to ask which differences between the two he can hear with his own ears and what equipment and recording techniques were employed.

"Black City takes longer, deeper breaths than Asa Breed,” he starts. “My albums reflect where I'm at throughout various points in my life. Asa Breed sounds anxious, and excited, where Black City is a bit more subdued and thought-out. I'm eager in a different way now. I rely heavily on an Eventide H8000, a Roland Chorus Echo, and a Korg Polysix. For vocals I simply add a bit of width and small varying pitch shifts on the left and right channels. I do each vocal in a low, high and normal register, and then find the mix that works best. I'm always trying to record my voice in different stress levels, or conditions as well. I like the fact that I don't know how it will sound until the day of the recording.”

This month both Edinburgh and Glasgow will welcome Matthew Dear and his live band. As a man who wears so many masks, what can people expect from the performances?

“The new show with the band is a bit moodier than in the past. I won't give away too much, but be prepared for all points east and west of energy. I felt it was equally important to recreate the atmosphere of Black City, but also move into a bit more aggressive territory at points. I think it's good for our souls to be loud as fuck every now and then.”

Amen to that.