A Dirty Dozen with MATTI from BLACKTOOTHED – June 2022

According to a recent press release: “Leipzig-based rock outfit blacktoothed will issue their debut album JULI, out July 29 via Arising Empire. Today, the band has shared the video for “Between You and the World.” With its calm verse, energetic chorus, and screaming guitar solo, “Between You & The World” deals with the worries and fears of today’s society. JULI was created in collaboration with the producing team of Sawdust Recordings (Christoph Wieczorek and Julian Breucker) and finds blacktoothed wholly focused.” We get guitarist Matti to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

I think it’s quite hard, since we wrote “BETWEEN YOU & THE WORLD” already in 2020. There’s this line in the chorus “these fires, they will burn us down” – which actually refers to these insane wildfires that happened in Australia that year. These are the events that made me start writing the song. It’s really about how we as humans twist the world in our heads so that we don’t have to change anything, even though it’s so desperately needed.

2. What got you into music and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

My parents got me into music. Had no choice actually, I took violin lessons, piano, music theory from 6 years on, then changed that to guitar when I was 15, but I’m incredibly grateful to them for that. The moment I realized that I wanted to be a musician however was only a  few weeks ago. I recently finished my studies with the aim of becoming a teacher – unfortunately, that doesn’t fit in with school vacation times and tour dates. It was clear to me then what I would rather do, so I had to change my future plans to make it possible.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

I discovered “Sweet Child O’ Mine” on YouTube one day when I was 15 and this was the start of my relationship with heavy music. That’s something I share with our singer Hendrik a lot. We both got a thing for 80’s rock and heavy metal. That’s also why we always sneak in a heavy metal style song on our albums! So if you’re into that, you’re gonna love the first track on JULI!

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

For me personally, I would love to collaborate with people from different genres, I think it adds a lot to a heavier song. I love  pop- or rap-voices like nothing.nowhere or Doja Cat. But I know Hendrik for sure would love a feature with artists of heavier music, like Brent Smith from Shinedown for example, and honestly, I think that’s what we will always aim for – no genre restrictions in blacktoothed.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

At the moment, I love writing shitty beats and EDM or pop-songs when I’m not doing anything for the band. But writing music in general is what keeps me unwind, I could spend a whole day writing a chorus hook and it would still feel like 5 minutes.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Honestly, it is so hard to describe, that’s why I either say we’re making modern rock music and leave it there, or I’ll straight show them a song so they can make up their mind about it. I mean, if you say rock music, it could be pretty much anything from Linkin Park to Kiss or even Machine Gun Kelly nowadays. I know that we’ve been compared to Breaking Benjamin, Asking Alexandria, Being As An Ocean & even Nickelback and I think it beautifully displays how hard it is to put us into a specific scene. I guess they all have a point so I would never disagree on someone’s personal impression.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Gotta say, we could straightly replace cooking with “who is ordering”. We always tend to have major discussions about who wants to eat what kind of food, so it’s a lot easier if we can choose from a menu, it’s pure chaos, haha! We are a lot more compatible when it comes to drinks though. We are definitely a mate and coke based band, no one really drinks alcohol, unless we have somewhere to stay and do not have to drive. But it’s still rare. Since Hendrik is definitely the life of the party in these situations, he’d get drinks somewhere. For the acoustic guitar part, it would definitely also be Hendrik, unfortunately, we never really have one around, so he rather sits behind a drum kit (and makes noise)…

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

I guess when my boyfriend got me into Annika Wells about a year ago. I guess he sent me a picture, stating we kinda look alike (for this picture, may be true, but I would disagree in general :P) Great voice, absolutely talented songwriter & very relatable character. Also kinda influenced me on wearing overalls.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Giving people something to relate to, listen to when walking down a road or giving them unforgettable moments during concerts! These are things I enjoy the most about music in general and I love that through my songwriting, I can give the same things back. Dream job besides music would be doing research on early childhood developmental psychology. I’ve already written my thesis in this field and it’s very fascinating, plus I love working with kids.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

One thing I’m tired of is questions related to my gender, it just shouldn’t matter in terms of me being a musician. For the other part of the question, I’m just happy to answer questions people are interested in, I can’t think of a particular thing I want to say if no one is asking about it. 🙂

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

There was a situation when we played a big festival for the first time. Let’s put it this way, always have spare batteries with you, kids. It was great, as the first band, when our bass player suddenly had to get out his 5m cable and was therefore stuck somewhere in the middle of this huge stage. So yes, do over, please!

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Yes, definitely the recording of Blood Sugar Sex Magik by the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992 (so even a year before I was born)! I basically started playing guitar because of this band, I remember especially jamming this album with my first guitar, a Squier Strat and our neighbors ringing our door because it was too loud for them. Classic. Good times.

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Category: Interviews