Chapman singer-songwriter Matte blends pop and R&B for the perfect sound
While he spends his days on campus as Matthew Liner, after class the student-musician transforms into Matte, a rising artist who will release his second record next week. Photos courtesy of Matthew Siskin
Matthew Liner spent most of his childhood in Los Angeles writing birthday songs for his family. These songs would not consist of themes of scrumptious funfetti cake and balloons. Instead, Liner would write songs commemorating a specific memory that tells a very specific story.
One of his favorite original birthday songs was written for his father, titled "Pushups at Panera."
"When I was little and I was in trouble, (my dad) used to drive me to school and we would stop at Panera and he would make me do push ups in the parking lot," Liner said. "That was my punishment. So I made a song about it for his birthday, just for laughs."
Although it was just for fun at the time, all those years of writing songs lead Liner to developing a blossoming career in the music industry under the alias of "Matte." Not only has Matte emphasized his ability to tell a story through music, but he also blends the genres of pop and R&B effortlessly into a unique fusion.
His following slowly began to grow when he was a freshman at Chapman University, and now — four years later — he has almost 2,000 followers on Instagram and more than 130,000 views on his music video for his debut record "Innocent" released back in April.
With his second record "Changes" coming out Sept. 9, the future of musical storytelling is in Matte's favor.
When it came to thinking of a stage name, Liner wanted something that would emphasize his love for matte black cars and give a slight twist to his legal name.
Matte's latest record "Changes" will be available to stream Sept. 9.
He came up with "Matte" as the perfect moniker. Plus, there was the bonus that he could achieve Hannah Montana's "Best of Both Worlds" by living two different lives under two different names.
Even though Matte is an integrated educational studies major with a philosophy minor, he told The Panther his dream was always to be a musician. While his studies have been a great way to increase his love for helping children, his drive to become an artist was omnipresent.
"I remember going to Lollapalooza in 2017 and I saw A Boogie wit da Hoodie perform," Matte said. "I saw the crowd was loving his music and I was like, 'That would be very cool to do.' (Music) is the first thing that I was truly, really passionate about… This is the one thing I was like, 'Oh my God, I would love to do this for the rest of my life.'"
Although there are many artists in the music industry that focus writing on their personal experiences, Matte said he strives to share memories and stories from other people. "Innocent," which is based on a true story of Matte's friend, revolves around a girl who is unaware of her boyfriend cheating on her.
Through Matte's platform and a guitar-laden 808 production, this story can echo the painful breakups so many others have gone through in a melodic fashion.
"You have your own perspective on everything, but allowing other people's perspectives to help your creative flow is always good," Matte said. "I think that writing about other people's lives can help resonate with more people. Not everyone's going to agree with what you say or agree with your thoughts. So having other creative influences is always good."
As Matte's fanbase skyrockets, he notices nuances of fame incorporated into his life like he has never experienced before. Examples include gaining connections through his management company and having his summer song "Dance A Lot" become a TikTok dance. But the one that shocked Matte to his core was having one of his favorite artists volunteer to feature on one of his records coming out in October.
He’s keeping the special guest a secret until the song’s release.
"I'm here, just this kid who just made birthday songs, and now this big artist is like, 'I want to make a song with you,'" Matte said. "You make music and people tell you it's good and you have your friends and family tell you that it's good. But someone who's been doing music for a while and has actual fans and goes on tours and has the dream that you want is telling you that you have what it takes and hearing 'I want to help you' feels really good."
Justin Bishop, Matte's manager, said that even though Matte's time in the industry has been short, he has noticed immense growth and continues to be impressed by the powerful story held within each of his songs.
“It’s been a blessing to work with Matte," Bishop said. "He is one of those talents that once you are in the room with him you understand that he is a star in the making. Over the last year and a half, I have been able to watch Matte develop as a man but also as an artist. His specialty is his storytelling and as he keeps sharpening his skills his pen will make him one of the best songwriters.”
Despite Matte not having performed at any venues yet, he said he aspires to perform in stadiums, festivals and, of course, Chapman-oriented events. Wherever the performances are, Matte said he hopes audiences and listeners find a connection to his music and feel the power of a good beat and empathetic lyrics.
"There's a story and a real person behind the music, and it's not just trying to be flashy or anything," Matte said. "I want people to resonate and be like, 'Oh, my God, that happened to me, too' and relate and just enjoy it and hopefully have fun with it. Music is a very emotional thing, so you got to feel all the emotions."
Matte's latest record "Changes" will be available to stream Sept. 9.