Matthew Nowhere - Crystal Heights
California electronic-synthpop artist Matthew Nowhere presents his debut album 'Crystal Heights' - a sonic love letter to the 1980s, a 13-track hook-laden record that celebrates and pays homage to new wave classics with lush synth-crafted songs and tape-laden production style.
Originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and producer Matthew Nowhere explores sounds of the 1980s with inspired reverence, his unique music bringing good vibes, poetic lyrics and gritty new wave beats. Currently residing in California's Nevada County in the forests of the Sierra Mountains, Matthew Nowhere uses analog production styles in creating deeply authentic and soulful music that speaks to the power of love to overcome all obstacles.
Matthew Nowhere has also unveiled the color-soaked sunlit video for 'Transforming' feat. Lunar Twin, directed by Zoey Nguyen with additional footage from Simona Lonardo Cinematography in Italy, where neon-lit electronica mixes beautifully with Boudreau’s emotive, broody vocal style. Nowhere notes that this video “is deeply resonant and captures something ineffable about the experience I was trying to convey with the song itself".
Dreamgaze mainstays Lunar Twin, made of up vocalist Bryce Boudreau and multi-instrumentalist Christopher Murphy, also feature on the track 'Persist3nce', weaving a superb silky layer into the fabric of this retro-futuristic music. Here, Murphy's darkwave synth stylings are complemented the angelic choral tones by the Antonio Family Singers.
“I was swept away by the grandeur of Matthew’s music on this song and immediately envisioned a coastal night world populated by dreamers and drifting souls caught in between the dusk and dawn of coastal neon. The rest of story wrote itself. I’m excited to finally be able share this song," says Bryce Boudreau, adding "I relate to this video a lot having spent so many years living there. It’s like a dream. I love the emotion and images she has used to craft this secret world".
A self-described "lover and mystic", Matthew Nowhere's lyrics on 'Crystal Heights' explore themes of wonder, transcendence and mystery, consistently emphasizing the importance of love. Though some songs are introspective and melancholy, overall, 'Crystal Heights' is an uplifting album, following a palpable arc of love, growth, and redemption.
With gritty drum machines and analog synths, 'Echoes Still Remain', ‘Crystal Heights’ and 'Love Is Only What We Are' recall synthpop greats such as OMD, Depeche Mode and New Order. Elsewhere, on ‘Ruby Shards’ and ‘Everything’s True’, Matthew Nowhere delivers a more band-driven sound with echoes of The Church or Psychedelic Furs.
“This album takes another look at something beautiful once rejected. I decided to return to the music that was all around during my childhood, and to explore the entire emotional landscape of those incredibly formative years. 'Crystal Heights' represents an embracing of a forgotten part of early childhood, and a celebration of all the incredible creativity that was everywhere at the time," says Matthew Nowhere.
"Music to me is literally magic. I am transforming feelings into sounds. And if I’m going to do that kind of alchemy, the feelings I want to share are ones that are meaningful and transformative. Life is wild and mysterious, and it doesn’t always make sense. But the important things - connection, love - are always grounding and I can’t think of anything else I want to focus my life on."
As of May 23, 'Crystal Heights' is available from fine music platforms, including Apple Music, Spotify and Bandcamp. Now available for pre-order, this record will be released digitally and on Limited Edition transparent blue vinyl.
