By Deaglan Howlett | Posted Saturday, May 7, 2022
Matthew Kessig has been releasing his fuzzed-out and introspective rock and roll under the name hollowboy since his first single under the name in August 2019. Since then, Matthew has released a handful of more tunes, ranging from early-era Weezer to modern bedroom pop. Throughout these releases there has been a constant with which hollowboy gets its unique sound; that constant being Matthew writing and performing all the instruments on his recordings. His latest single “something in the air” was self-produced and part of the Voices of Freedom: Artists in Support of Ukraine put together by local NJ artists Luke Lenczuk and Nicolas Palermo (Have a Good Season). I reached out to Matthew to tell me more about hollowboy and his songwriting/recording process. Thanks again, Matt!
Who were your influences when first starting hollowboy? How have they changed over the years?
Honestly, there are a million bands that I could say I have taken inspiration from, but my friends have been my biggest influence. So many of my friends are incredibly talented creatives and push me to be a better musician at all times. There's almost a sort of mushy-competitiveness about it where we all are trying to achieve our own versions of 'success' while also supporting each other. I'm really, really lucky to be surrounded by so many great people that also happen to make great art, so it feels like my music has been shaped by those relationships. But also 1994-2001 era Weezer.
How does hollowboy differ from any of your past projects and bands?
hollowboy essentially began because I was sitting on a stockpile of unreleased songs. I have been in a few bands in my life and loved all of those experiences, but I was never the core songwriter for any of them. I just wanted to have an outlet where I'd have 100% creative control over the music and not have to try and fit my pieces into somebody else's puzzle. It's a blessing and a curse. Sometimes it's nice to have another mind to keep yours in check, but I find myself more attached to these songs than anything else I've done because of it.
You play all the instruments for your own songs. Which instrument do you start with first? What usually follows?
I would say almost all of my songs are written on acoustic guitar. I am an enigma in that I am a musician that gets anxious about being too loud, so if I'm playing at home it's almost always acoustic. That being said, drums are lowkey the most important thing to me. I spent so many years playing drums that it's just a part of my soul now, can't be separated, so while I'm writing the guitar parts I'm envisioning what the drums will be in my head. It's not until I lay down the guitar and drums in GarageBand that I start to figure out any additional parts, which there are typically many of.
Your latest release "something in the air" was part of the Voices of Freedom: Artists in Support of Ukraine compilation. Can you tell us about that track and how you got involved with this compilation?
Two of my very close friends Nic and Luke put together this compilation. Luke approached me with the details and asked about possibly contributing a song and obviously there was no other answer than yes. 'something in the air' was one of those previously mentioned stockpiled songs that I had written at a time when the world just wasn't feeling right to me. It, unfortunately, felt relevant again, so I sent it over to Luke. They did such an incredible job putting this compilation together and got so many great artists to be a part of it. I recommend everybody please go check it out and donate to the cause. It would mean a lot to us.
"something in the air" is also self-produced and sounds amazing. What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of self-produced recording?
The advantages/disadvantages are essentially the same as the band vs solo question. Working by myself is nice because I have complete creative control and unlimited time to be able to tinker it to how I hear it in my head. Explaining the sound in your head to someone is not easy. The downsides are that I have no idea what I'm doing and nobody can help me.
All of your songs have a distinct feel since you are the sole instrumentalist. Any plans to record a hollowboy release with other musicians? And how do you think that would change the sound, if at all, to you?
I've always tried to make hollowboy at least somewhat collaborative throughout. I always send my music to friends and encourage them to give me feedback or even contribute some parts if they have ideas. Speak of the devil, you've ripped a few guitar solos and bass lines on hollowboy tunes. It would be a massive waste for me not to utilize all of the talent I'm surrounded by, so whenever I get the chance I try and get my friends to add their own touch to my songs.
The thing is that I don't have any plans at all. I pretty much have been operating on my own out of necessity. I sadly don't have unlimited time to dedicate to music even though I wish I could drop everything to do it, so gathering members and regularly practicing is not easy. hollowboy may be a 5-piece one day, who knows, I'm honestly just here to have fun. The second it stops feeling fun is when it'll be over.
Who have you been listening to lately that you can see influencing hollowboy music going forward?
I'm always trying to listen to new bands. Fast, slow, light, heavy, whatever. As long as it's catchy or makes me feel something, it's going to make me want to write a song of my own. “Baby Bye Bye” by Beauty is a hell of a song, though.
You can keep up with all things hollowboy here and support Voices of Freedom here!