Matty Sun

Matty Sun: Brightening Up the Tufts Music Scene BY LOLA NEDIC

If you’re a Tufts student, you may be familiar with the ubiquitous music scene here, and more importantly, you might be aware of how oversaturated it is with indie bands. Luckily, Matthew Harrison, class of 2020, is bringing a new energy into the scene with his own project under the moniker Matty Sun. We sat down with Matthew to talk about how he’s bringing art rap into Boston.

Matthew’s always been surrounded by music—he grew up with a jazz musician father and played the piano and trumpet as a child. However, it wasn’t until much later in his life that he developed a newfound appreciation for rap music. He started out listening to artists like Chance the Rapper, Childish Gambino, and Mac Miller, but eventually discovered that he preferred more poetic, experimental rap. Matthew credits artists like Aesop Rock, Milo, and Open Mike Eagle for showing him the more abstract side of a genre he already loved.

While his songs sport buoyant, eccentric beats, it’s Matty Sun’s gritty, tongue in cheek lyrics that set his music apart. Matthew integrates his personal experiences into his music any chance he gets. His song “Crater Face” details an occurrence we’re all familiar with–someone pointing out something on your face. Matthew manages to take the inherent awkwardness of someone commenting on his chicken pox scars and turn it into a sharp, catchy tune about learning to accept your flaws. “The Worst Geocache Ever,” a single he released in 2019, boasts a similar phenomenon. Matthew raps about his experience recovering the body of a suicide victim in the woods, ingeniously dubbing it “The Worst Geocache Ever.” Despite the song’s quippy tagline, the message behind it is far more sincere. The song is a nod to Matthew’s own battle with mental health–he is grateful that he was fortunate enough to be able to overcome his own struggles.

Oddly enough, Matthew doesn’t find writing and producing music to be the most difficult part of his musical career–witty lyrics and catchy beats seem to come rather easily to him. Instead, he found entering the music scene at Tufts to be one of the more intimidating parts of his newfound pastime. On one hand, musicians at Tufts are welcoming to newcomers and always willing to help. On the other, it can be discouraging to be surrounded by others who are veteran musicians: “It seems like everyone has it more figured out than you,” Matthew says. Everyone already knows each other, and it’s scary to enter an already tightknit community as a newcomer. But, despite all the big bad scary college musicians out there, some moments make it all worth it. In February, Matty Sun played his favorite show to date as the opener for WFOC and Housecat. Together, the three artists sold out the Burren, a local pub and music venue. It’s nights like these that Matthew feels like he’s finally made his mark as a musician. So far, Matty Sun has only released a handful of singles. Be on the lookout for his new EP, “Sisyphus’s Chrysalis,” set to release on June 30th.