Every song on Matilda Mann’s new EP is a kind of love letter to love and feeling feelings – even if they’re a little bruised. Having a crush on a stranger, dealing with a long-distance relationship, and loving who you love; it’s all here. There’s even a song about running away, inspired by Gossip Girl and their many glamorous trips to Paris or wherever when things got tough. Give her ‘Because I Wanted You To Know’ EP a listen below, and find out all about it from Matilda herself, too.
Happy Anniversary, Stranger
‘Happy Anniversary, Stranger’ was written in Rich Cooper’s studio with Matt Maltese. It was of our first session together, and on the way to the session, I saw this guy, that I used to see every day on my way to school at the bus stop. We started talking about interactions with strangers and how quickly you can develop a small crush on someone from a distance.
We wanted it to be upbeat and friendly, like how you would first want to appear to them, if you were to ever eventually speak to each other.
The whole anniversary thing is basically realising it had been a year since you had secretly had a crush on them, and being kinda sad you had never said anything before.
As It Is
‘As It Is’ was also written in Rich’s studio. This time with Laura, and we got chatting about long-distance relationships, and how it can make you realise so many things.
Sometimes you need space and time to accept thoughts you didn’t want to come to terms with about your partner. Sometimes it makes you realise how much you love them, and how life sucks without them, but I think a lot of the time with long-distance relationships, it can start to be more and more clear that it just wasn’t meant to be and you don’t miss them as much as you feel you should. Not all relationships are meant to last forever, and that’s okay.
Rich added some really cool vocoders, which in the first few demos was a lot more obvious. Then we turned it down and it kinda just added an effect of making the vocals sound warm and fuller.
Robbed
I wrote ‘Robbed’ at home, in my room on my bed, when I was 18. It was one of those songs where I just sat down and sang the whole thing. I think I had a lot going on in my mind and I’m lucky enough to have an outlet such as music.
Love does make you blind. It stops you seeing things you normally would’ve instantly picked up, or it makes you more forgiving of the person. I felt like I had been robbed of all my senses, like ignoring rumours I’d hear or not listing to my gut instincts.
I wanted the track to be really raw and simple. I wanted it to focus mainly on the lyrics, but I also wanted it to have in impact instrumentally, which Fryars did perfectly with the piano and bass parts.
Japan
Over lockdown, my boyfriend Steve and I binge-watched a lot of a TV show called Gossip Girl. It’s basically about very rich teenagers living in NYC. Whenever they were heartbroken, they would always fly off to Paris or do something extravagant, and I thought, if I were 17 and heartbroken (and rich), I’d fly to Japan to cry and distract myself till I got over them.
Ironically it has kind of a French feel to the track, but we wanted it to be quite chilled and indie.
The lyrics are basically romanticising a breakup.
Paper Mache World
Finding love isn’t easy, so fuck the people who make it harder. Love who you wanna love.
I think it’s ridiculous that, still to this day, people think they should have a say on who you can and can’t love.
‘Paper Mache World’ is basically loosely written about how fragile this world is, particularly the older generation, when it comes to change. Change is inevitable and in fact, is needed because our world most definitely isn’t perfect. I wanted it to be a bit of an angry song, but also fun because finding the person you want to be with is such an adventure. So it had elements of rock in the track, but also has lots of warm harmonies, to bring out the joyful side of finding love.
Most of the time it’s hard to find that person you want to spend the rest of your life with, but when you do, you feel like it’s fate and that you would’ve found them in any world.
Matilda Mann’s ‘Because I Wanted You To Know’ EP is out now.
