EMQs With Matt Finucane
EMQ’s With Matt Finucane
Hi Everyone! Welcome to another EMQs interview, this time with UK Alt Musician and Songwriter, Matt Finucane. Huge thanks to him for taking part.
Can you tell us a little bit about your musical history?
I’m 48. I have too much musical history, to the point it’s getting embarrassing, but briefly: in a band in London, drum n bass with guitars – about two years ahead of the curve, so we got nowhere. Then we went post-punk by accident, made a few records and split. I became a functional alcoholic and went solo with acoustic guitar, moved to Brighton, went a bit mad and levelled up to drug addict. Cleaned up and put a band together. Lost the bassist, kept going with just the drummer. Doing better.
What Country / Region are you from and what is the Metal / Rock scene like there?
Brighton UK. The metal scene’s very healthy and currently seems to be centered around this mad venue on the seafront called Dalton’s.
What’s your latest release? (Album, EP, Single, Video)
A 6-track EP on Eyeless Records which came out in late September as a download and limited-run cassette in sexy brick red. It’s the best thing I/we’ve ever done.
Who have been your greatest influences?
Velvet Underground, The Fall, krautrock, faceless acid techno.
What first got you into music?
Being weird and having no friends aged 17.
If you could collaborate with a current band or musician who would it be?
Someone electronic that no-one’s heard of yet, for the snob appeal.
If you could play any festival in the world, which would you choose and why?
I hate all festivals. I’ve never had a good time playing or attending one. Has anybody?
What’s the weirdest gift you have ever received from a fan?
I have never wanted, nor received, any gifts from fans. I’ve had a couple of stalkers, if that counts? People buy my physical records occasionally, so I guess they’re gifting me more of their time and attention – a rare commodity now.
If you had one message for your fans, what would it be?
Stop stalking me.
If you could bring one rock star back from the dead, who would it be?
Arthur Lee, because he wore such nice shirts.
What do you enjoy the most about being a musician? And what do you hate?
I hate the encroachment of AI and the fact most people will accept it, the stupidity of social media popularity contests, the short-sighted greed and cowardice of the industry, the never-ending ripoffs of all these middlemen and platforms pretending to empower creators (like Spotify, for instance) and as a corollary to that, the various ways pay to play comes creeping back in… and pretty much everything else. I’m thinking of becoming a sex worker instead – there’s more money and dignity in it. What do I enjoy? Well, it’s fun being onstage, then going home.
If you could change one thing about the music industry, what would it be?
I’d have all the trust fund Indie bands dropped – actually, I’d have all their parents’ assets sequestered, that’d really mess them up.
Name one of your all-time favourite albums?
The Velvet Underground & Nico. I’m very limited in my tastes, or is that loyal? The internet’s smashed my attention span to bits though, so I can’t listen to full albums anymore.
What’s best? Vinyl, Cassettes, CDs or Downloads?
It doesn’t matter as long as it gets heard.
What’s the best gig that you have played to date?
No joke, but maybe the launch gig a few days ago for that EP I mentioned. It was a lovely, affirmative experience, really intense, and the performance made me happy. For a change.
If you weren’t a musician, what else would you be doing?
I’d still be a drug addict, which was a full-time job in itself.
Which five people would you invite to a dinner party?
A bunch of bros off Youtube or wherever who moan about ‘’woke’’, or leftists or the ‘’trans agenda’’, any of that right-wing garbage, and they can eat dead rats and fag ends and put that on their crappy propaganda channels.
What’s next for the band?
More recording in December, and hopefully a new bass player. We don’t have a great track record with bassists, for some reason.
What social media / Website links do you use to get your music out to people?
There’s a long-standing food-based debate here in the UK. And we’d like your help. So… A Jaffa cake – is it a cake or a biscuit? Discuss!
It’s a biscuit. A disappointing, sponge-textured biscuit that tastes like diabetic urine.
Thank you for your time. Is there anything else that you would like to add?
Music sucks. Noise is the only good.
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