Getting To Know... Matilda

After cementing herself with a flurry of bright and euphoric releases these last few years, Swedish artist Matilda returns once again to unveil her mesmerising new offering 'Dreaming Of You'.

Capturing more of that rich and uplifting alt-pop direction she is known for, 'Dreaming Of You' makes for a wonderfully warm and embracing listen. With her soaring voice layered amongst a beautifully alluring production throughout, she has delivered one of her most captivating works of her career so far.

So with the new single available to stream now, we sat down with her to find out more about her background and what has inspired her most over the years.

-

What was the first instrument you fell in love with?

The first instrument I had was the flute, I picked it up and got a clean sound on the first try and I loved it and kept on playing it for years. However it wasn't until i started singing and writing song on the piano that i truly fell in love with music.

What kind of music did you love when you were younger?

I didn’t listen to alot of music when I was younger, I kind of loved making up my own stuff, but when I did listen to music it was mostly acoustic stuff, very raw, emotional songs. Just vocals and a few instruments.

What was the first album you remember owning?

I had two albums that I always listen to on the record player we had in the bathroom. One was a Swedish artist Ted Gärdestad who had a great emotional voice and songs. The other was the gold hits from Abba (of course) and I remembered I lip synced all the songs in front of the mirror.

What is the one song you wished you could have written yourself?

There’s a lot of great songs out there that I wished were my own, but I must say that the two songs I sang the most when younger were ‘Someone like you’ by Adele and ‘The winner takes it all’ from abba. Both of them are such emotional songs with strong melodies and lyrics.

Do you have any habits or rituals you go through when trying to write new music?

Mostly I write when I have something to get out, to understand my feelings. So I usually sit in a dark room, start with some chords and sing melodies, melodies are my favorite part! After a while all the melodies just turn into keywords and after that it just flows out.

Who are your favourite artists you have found yourself listening to at the moment?

Right now I'm listening to alot of pop electronic music, but with an artist who has something to say. A Lot of Tove Lo, Susanne Sundfor and Billie Eilish.

If you could open a show for anyone in the world, who would it be?

I would have to say Tove Lo! She’s just extremely captivating on stage and her songs are perfectly sculpted pop songs and I love how she is herself on stage. That would be the dream and a huge honour.

What do you find is the most rewarding part about being a musician?

Being in contact with yourself and your emotions. It’s like a diary of all the things you can’t write down or say in words. You understand yourself and others in a deeper way.

And what is the most frustrating part?

It’s two things. Just like the best part, It's also frustrating being so into contact with yourself, your profession and what you love is always on display. Also the industry, you need to always find people to love what you do and unfortunately sometimes being a product. I’m trying so hard not to fall into a box and let people change me but if you want to succeed a lot of times you need to sacrifice some of that.

And what is the best piece of advice you have received as a musician?

Always be kind to yourself, it’s okay to not always be perfect and driven. Also not focusing too much on the business stuff, have fun with what you love. When you do everything else comes naturally, your drive and passion will pick up people's attention when you are in love with what you do.

-

Matilda's new single 'Dreaming Of You' is available to stream now. Check it out in the player below.