Finn Matthews

Photo by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

Connecting with Finn Matthews

Interview by Ken Morton - Photos by Vivian Ortega of So Finch Photography

Finn Matthews is a recording artist on the rise you’ll be hearing a lot more from in future days. Having moved to Los Angeles on his own at the age of 16, one of Finn’s very first singles was Pinned To The Cross, collaborating with the one and only Rich Ross. Finn has recorded a full length album entitled Things I’ve Been Going Thru, and is primed and ready to release a new collection of songs in 2023. Highwire Daze caught up with Finn Matthews to find out more about this amazing new solo artist. Read on...

What do you think about our local Los Angeles music scene. You moved here when you were 16.

Yeah. Super diverse music scene. Any crowd you want to find, they’re pretty much here. I think the dopest part about LA in general – like not even including music – is that there’s people from all over the world here. You can have so many different cultures clashing, and that makes for some new shit. The music scene is cool. I’ve been doing some shows with Breaking Sound and We Found New Music – and that’s a really cool way for smaller artists to get their shit out there.

When you moved out here when you were 16, did you move out here on your own or with your parents?

Yeah, I came out here by myself. Dropped out of school – did the whole thing. sent it over. The idea was that they were going to have another artist do it and that I was just going to have writing credit or whatever. And then Ross was like “Who is this singing? We want to just keep it the way that it is.” So literally out of them liking what they heard, they kept me on the record – and we made it happen. They flew me to Atlanta to do the music video. It was so surreal to be honest. But that was definitely my highlight of 2020. Highlight of my life low key.

You have a new album that came out recently called Things I’ve Been Going Thru. Tell me about that title and what it means to you.

It’s honestly exactly what it sounds like. It’s just a bunch of things I had been going through – still currently going through. That album I wrote between 2020 and the end of 2021, so almost two years of my life in one album. Going from 20 to 21 doesn’t sound like a lot of some people, but you do learn a lot in that span, and you do grow – it’s one of the most expanding times in your life when you learn the most and you become who you are – 20-21. So, it’s just an amalgamation of all of the things I went through in that year – from heartbreak to being in love – being mad at the world – being hopeless – not believing in God – believing in God – all different types of things and just going through all those emotions.

All that and a worldwide pandemic too.

Yeah, it gets amplified for sure.

Was that scary? What was that like?

At the time, it felt just right – but looking back it was actually kind of nuts – you know what I mean? I think I was just so focused on the goal of being an artist that I would do anything it takes. Any fear I had subconsciously I kind of ignored it. This was what I want to do, so I’m going to do it.

Let’s go back to Pinned To The Cross with Rick Ross. How did that come about and what was it like working with Rick Ross?

It was crazy random. I think it was just fate. My boy Elijah Blake – he’s been a mentor of mine – like a big brother to me. He’s written for Ross a bunch of times. They sent him some records – Elijah was like “You want to write these hooks with me?” I said “Sure, fuck yeah, I’m with it – Rick Ross!” I ended up singing the demo for Pinned To The Cross and we

The single The One You Can’t Forget – what was the inspiration behind that one?

My ex-girlfriend – as you could imagine. It’s just one of them songs. The thing I like about that song is it’s asking questions. In the chorus – what if I could change? Nothing is set in stone. I think sometimes when you write a song about something that you’re too far removed from, then it could kind of remove the essence of uncertainty that makes a song beautiful – at least that type of song. I think with that one, I wrote it in the midst of trying to understand everything I was going through, so there’s a lot of questions in it. Like the whole thing is basically a question. So, I think that really captures that emotion and that uncertainty really well.

Stay The Night featuring Michael Cimino who was in Love Victor. How did that collaboration come about?

It just started with us being really good friends. I’ve been friends with him for almost four years at this point. I was friends with him before he was even in the show. I got to see him go through his whole journey, and he’s killing it now, which is fuckin’ sick. He’s always been interested in music – I’ve obviously been interested in music. One day we were hanging out and I think I started playing the chords on the keyboard – we were with Nate Huff as well, who is our good friend – who is also a songwriter – he wrote the record with us. So, I started playing it and the whole thing just kind of flowed – and over the next 2-3 hours we just laid it down. It was just one of them things.

Have you ever thought about acting? Is that something you’d like to do? Or have you been there, done that?

100 percent have not been there, done that. I definitely want to get into it. It’s something that I think requires a full-time commitment. It’s not really in my focus right now, because I want to make this music thing happen. Down the line when I’m already established in music and I’ve the right connections – hell yeah, I’m with it! I definitely want to get into acting. It’s just another expression, so I’m always looking for new ways to express myself.

So, for those who haven’t been yet, what could one expect from a live Finn Matthews show?

It’s lit! They just gotta come. I don’t use a lot of backing tracks in my vocals – so you’re gonna get live vocals. You’re just gonna get good music and good vibes. I like doing live shows because I’m a goofy ass person – as you might be able to tell – or maybe not. I’m pretty goofy, so I get to show that side of myself onstage, which I like. Sometimes in music, it’s easy to take yourself too seriously. But when I’m jumping around having fun, there’s nothing holding me back from just being weird.

If you could open for any band or artist, who would it be and why?

Honestly, I’d love to open for SZA on a tour. If I went on tour with SZA, I’d be happy.

What advice would you give to a 16-year-old wanting to move out to Los Angeles to pursue their dream – besides “don’t”?

I would not give them that advice. I would say “Do it 100 percent!” With that type of thing, you never know until you try. If you come out here and you decide it’s not for you, you think when you’re 30, 40, 50 you’ll be like “I wish I didn’t do that when I was 16?” No, no, you’re going to look back on that fondly and you’re going to be happy that you did it – and you probably learned and grew from the experience. So, I would say that anything you want to do, no matter how impulsive – obviously not going over the line of being reckless – just follow your dreams. You’re never going to regret that – even if it doesn’t work. Because that’s what gives you substance. And you might even end up figuring out – maybe you’ve followed your dreams and you realized you don’t even want to do that, but you would have never known that if you hadn’t pursued it. So, you might come out here and be like “I want to be an artist” but then be like “Nah, I actually hate the music industry. I want to be a painter.” You would have never found your calling if you didn’t go after what you was trying to do. So that’s my perspective on that. Don’t think too much. If I could give myself advice when I was 16, it would be “Stop thinking so much.” As a kid, I was always overthinking.

Do you still overthink?

From time to time. I’ve learned how to manage it.

And what’s up next for you?

I have an albums worth of songs I’ll be dropping, and it’s definitely a step up from the old album in a good way.

https://www.instagram.com/finnmatthews/