Kat Harlton
Just over a year ago, Matt Lang was on his way to Nashville to record his first English album, ‘Matt Lang’. Produced by Danick Dupelle, a Québec producer who has lived in Nashville for nearly 18 years and is a member of the popular group Emerson Drive (several CCMA Awards, Billboard Top New Artist, Academy of Country Music / Top New Vocal Group, etc.), the album quickly made its way to No.1 on the iTunes Country Albums chart for multiple weeks in early 2019.
Matt’s first single, ‘Love Me Some You’, now has over 1,500,000 Spotify plays and 2,500,000 all-time streams. Building on the success of his first single, Matt then released ‘My Final Pour’, which now has over 500,000 Spotify plays; 665,000 Apple Music plays; and 1,200,000 all-time streams. Proudly from Maniwaki (QC), Matt has always wanted to bring Nashville to Quebec – he performed over 75 dates in the past two years, and has more than 25 dates for the remainder of 2019.
Matt has long dreamed of having an international career. His warm and powerful voice, combined with his undeniable talent, quickly got him noticed by the Canadian country music community in English Canada, and in February 2019 he was signed to new record label and management company, Jayward Artist Group Inc. Based in Toronto, Jayward was founded by successful singer, songwriter, and producer, Tebey, and veteran artist manager/label executive, Jill Snell. The label is distributed by The Orchard and promoted by Sony Music Canada.
Recently Matt relesed “Water Down The Whiskey”, the upbeat country track is the first single off of Lang’s upcoming fall EP, combining Lang’s incredible soulful vocals with a catchy melody and addictive lyrics. “Water Down The Whiskey” has been featured on high-profile Apple Music and Spotify playlists raising it to the Top 5 iTunes single chart in its first week of release.
We had the opportunity to chat with Matt and discuss his new single, being signed to Jayward Artist Group and what’s next.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your latest single “Water Down The Whiskey”?
Matt: The song was written by Tebey, Tommy Cecil and Jay Brunswick. To me, this song is all about being real and straight forward. I drink my whiskey straight, and I like when things are simple. I think this is how it should be. What you see is what you get kind of thing.
Kat: In February 2019, you signed to new record label and management company, Jayward Artist Group Inc, founded by successful singer/songwriter/producer, Tebey, and veteran artist manager/label executive, Jill Snell. How has that changed your career so far?
Matt: It has definitely taken my career to another level and opened doors for me outside of Quebec. We are starting a brand new chapter with a new EP coming out, and I feel very lucky to have this power team by my side.
Kat: Is there an artist you would like to perform with, that you haven’t had the chance to yet? Or is there a song you’d love to do a cover of?
Matt: I would love to collaborate with Dean Brody. I love his work and I’ve been listening to to his music for a while. I had the chance to meet him at the CCMAS and he seems like such a cool and nice guy. Doing something with him would be pretty awesome.
Kat: Your music has been featured on multiple radio stations across Canada and has received millions of plays digitally, how has this affected you as an artist? Has that success changed your music or direction in any way?
Matt: It definitely was a surprise, but it hasn’t changed the way I see things. It felt more like a confirmation that I was doing the right thing, that following my heart and singing country music was what I was supposed to be doing. When you do what you love, I think people feel it. I feel so lucky that people are supporting me the way they do.
Kat: What are your upcoming plans?
Matt: We are planning on releasing a music video for Water Down the Whiskey very soon and we are working on releasing the EP by the end of this year. I still need to get to Nashville and record some more with Danick Dupelle and Tebey. I can’t wait for everyone to hear those new songs! I am also still touring all over Quebec and we are working on some dates in the rest of Canada. The past year has been very busy, but I think the next one will be even better! :)
For more on Matt Lang, visit: www.mattlangmusic.com