Matt and Kim have been steadily gaining an audience since their formation in 2005. With four albums under their belt, the duo’s energetic performances have crowds moving, and their witty banter creates an atmosphere of pure joy.
And yeah, they’re in love, too. You get that vibe from the way they catch each other’s eye on stage, Matt’s references to Kim’s sex appeal, and the way they find an opportunity to grind on each other mid-set. The point is, Matt and Kim are true performers. Live, you won’t know what to expect and honestly, isn’t that the best part of a show?
Matt was kind enough to field some questions for us via email.
How do you challenge each other to continue to grow and evolve your sound?
I don’t know if we challenge each other. I will say, when starting this band, we were just learning to play our instruments, so for many years it was evolving because we were actually figuring out how to play.
Was there a change in how the writing process was approached for Lightning, as opposed to previous albums?
For this album we wrote some of the songs on guitar and were getting the bases down as chords and melody, but this is something we used to do when we were writing earlier songs.
How do you get the audience involved in your live performance? It feels so personal.
We try to put light on the audience so everyone can see each other and we can see them. We talk to the audience and don’t censor ourselves in any way. We try to make it feel like a giant party. It is what we’ve done from the beginning and what we continue to do.
Your music videos are clever and never what you expect. How important do you think it is to push boundaries and exercise freedom of expression with your videos?
I just think it’s important to start a video with a good idea and bizarrely, I think there’s a lot of music videos that didn’t have strong ideas to start.
Who has inspired you to make music?
Musicians, artists, film makers, etc. that are making cool shit. If I see other people making cool shit it makes me excited to try to do the same.
Do you think the return to vinyl as a predominant medium is a good thing?
I think it was always a great physical format—way better to hold onto or look at than a CD. It’s collectibility has always stood when every other format has come and gone.
Why do you think playing live is important?
We love playing shows. It is the reason this band began.
Matt and Kim are touring with Passion Pit early this year. Their tour dates are here. If you’re in Cleveland, you can catch them on February 19th at the Masonic Auditorium, hosted by the Grog Shop. Let’s go!
