Step into Matt-Felix’s monochromatic world
Where music leads, Matt-Felix follows.
Photo: Briony Graham-Rudd
Alt-rock artist Matt-Felix lives his life in black and white. From his high-contrast imagery to his creative philosophy, there’s rarely any middle ground. In fact, there’s only ever two options: follow the music or get in its way.
Much like a black-and-white photo, where stripping things back makes emotions hit harder, his approach is simple yet striking. Nothing is added unless it’s needed. Nothing stays if it doesn’t belong.
On previous release Seconds To Love — a track built on driving drums and gritty guitars — the London-based artist leans into a heavier soundscape than we’re used to from him, simply because that’s exactly what the song demanded. At just two and a half minutes, it refuses to overstay its welcome. It arrives fast, hits hard, and disappears just as quickly.
But rather than over-explain this shift in sound, or claim some grand design, Matt-Felix hands control over to the music itself: “It doesn’t really want to go on for longer than that,” he says. “It wants to just stop for some reason.”
That sense of surrender — to the song, to the moment — defines how Matt-Felix works. Most days are spent writing, almost by default and, if not, he’s not entirely sure what else to do in London. “I usually just sit here and write music,” he says from his home studio. “So, if I’m not going to do that, what else am I going to do? Go to the museum?”
It’s a mindset that naturally shapes how he views influence, too. Instead of borrowing sounds, he gravitates towards ideas, with artists like Bob Dylan acting as a benchmark as opposed to a reference point. “It’s not really that I want to sound like Bob Dylan … that is literally just an acoustic guitar and some gorgeous lyrics,” he says. “That’s greatness, and so that’s what I aspire to be.”
The same reverence extends to Nick Cave, whose career he admires for its refusal to settle in one direction: “When you look at Nick Cave, there’s no direction. It’s just songs that he writes at a certain point in his life. And I like that.”
It’s no surprise, then, that Matt-Felix doesn’t see himself settling into a fixed lane either. His latest song The Carnival continues the heavier thread of Seconds To Love, built on rocky guitars and a sense of fighting to reclaim something lost. But the next track? “Really ballady,” he says.
Despite the contrast, there’s no desire to force cohesion between them. Instinct always comes first: “I just kind of be myself and trust what I like and my taste, and hopefully people get it.”
His visual world works in much the same way. The stark monochrome imagery that defines his aesthetic isn’t the result of some artistic manifesto; it’s the by-product of ideas that simply feel right. Often, those ideas start small, even ‘stupid’ by his own admission, before being brought to life through collaboration.
Working closely with his fiancée, photographer Sophia French, he’s built a visual language that is whimsical and cinematic, yet still DIY in spirit. With little to no budget, the pair rely on taste, intuition and a tight-knit network of friends to turn rough concepts into something striking.
In his Kingdom Of You & Me music video, he buys the moon from two men on a boat. The Leave, Just To Stay video was filmed in a huge ballroom that they “rented out for like no money,” with just five hours to capture everything. Yet, these limitations don’t bother him: “I don’t think it’s hard to make something interesting with no budget,” he says. “It’s just a matter of taste.” After all, there’s nothing worse than another band photo in an alleyway.
Soon to be on tour with Balancing Act — a band he counts as close friends — Matt-Felix brings that same balance of structure and looseness onto the stage. As he puts it, “We rehearse, and we’re very tight, but I think that allows it to be a bit free.” As a result, a song he hasn’t played with his band in ages might suddenly make the setlist. A moment might stretch or snap without warning. And “that’s when the fun starts”.
Offstage, however, his focus sharpens. Everything revolves around the performance. “I don’t let myself smoke, and I don’t let myself drink too much. I just kind of preserve all my energy,” he says. “Sounds very boring, but I’m just excited to play the gig, and that’s all I care about, really.”
For Matt-Felix, touring isn’t about the lifestyle that surrounds it. It’s about the music itself. Anything that risks getting in the way simply falls aside.
That clarity doesn’t come at the expense of ambition though. His goal is longevity above all else. “I want to be doing this when I’m 80,” he says. Of course, there are more immediate and familiar milestones, but scale also has a way of creeping in. When asked what success would look like for him, he decides to keep it simple: “If I quit my restaurant job and can do this all the time … but I want to play Wembley at the same time.”
Still, with those dreams quietly tucked away, Matt-Felix is just doing what he loves. He doesn’t pretend to have a roadmap. He doesn’t even want one. Like everything else in his world, he’s just following the music and trusting that it takes him somewhere worth going.
The Carnival is out now.
Matt-Felix’s debut physical release, Secrets From The First Floor — a double LP gatefold vinyl, which brings together his debut and sophomore EPs Kingdom Of You & Me and Dark Enough To See, alongside two exclusive new songs Nightmares & Queens and Stay With Me Now — is set for release on April 22nd.