Matilda warms up for a shot at the Hottest 100

The federal and state elections may be over but there’s still important votes to be cast this month in the Triple J Hottest 100. Get ready to vote local for the Mornington Peninsula’s own Matilda Pearl and her shortlisted single Nice To Know Ya, with voting open for the popular annual music poll conducted by Australia's national youth radio station.

Known for the rare combination of possessing an amazing voice as well as being hardworking and as humble as they come, Matilda has been taking part in songwriting and recording programs since she was 14. After completing VCE in 2020, she was promptly signed with Unified Management, under the label Sweat It Out and with Lonely Lands booking agency, and launched into songwriting sessions with artists, writers and producers in Melbourne. In mid-2021 she was paired with Tim Tan and Keeks, who are now her main collaborators.

“We got together and wrote Nice To Know Ya in two days,” Matilda says. “It was such a cathartic process because I was writing this song about a bunch of people from my high school who had been, you know, not the best, and then I ended up making two of my closest friends and collaborators through the process. We released the song and Triple J obviously took note of it and they've added it to the short list. It's a big step for me because it's another goal checked off. It’d be cool in the next few years to try and make the 100.”

When it comes to what 2023 has in store, Matilda is excited about her plans. “I’m doing a lot of songwriting sessions with other artists and collaborators because it's such a good way to network and get to know people within the industry. I'm really loving the opportunity to write for other artists because it keeps it interesting. As an artist, only writing for yourself can get a little bit stressful and almost limiting at times, but getting to write for different genres and kinds of artists with different stories is really fun.”

Not one to waste a spare minute, Matilda is also studying a Bachelor of Communication (Professional Communication) at RMIT, which encompasses media, PR, journalism and advertising – all useful skills for a career in the music industry whether you’re in front of or behind the microphone.

Next year Matilda is looking forward to performing a lot more live gigs after the frustrating stop-start of live music over the past few years. She’ll also continue to develop as a songwriter. “At the moment I'm doing a lot of toplining – adding lyrics and melodies – for dance and disco artists, which I really enjoy, but I'm keen to start working with some acoustic/singer-songwriter artists too.”

Now it’s your turn to get behind one of the Peninsula’s most promising young singers and vote for her single Nice To Know Ya in the Triple J Hottest 100 – just head to hottest100.abc.net.au. The list will be unveiled on January 28 during Triple J’s Hottest Weekend show. You can also follow Matilda on Instagram @matilda_ pearl, on TikTok @matildapearl and on Facebook @ matildapearlmusic