Matilda Mann

It’s a Thursday night in the throes of LA’s ‘June Gloom’ but the Moroccan Lounge is all a’glow. F wait patiently in line outside to see British indie folk musician, Matilda Mann, headline for her first  time in the United States. MERDE meets up with Matilda backstage where she’s finalizing her setlist and gently strumming her guitar in blue jeans and a white tee next to her boyfriend Ben. Her modest demeanor is juxtaposed with surprising quips that add to the raw charm she brings on stage.

Photography by Kid Circus

MERDE: Where are you from and when did you develop an interest in music?

MATILDA: I’m from Shepherd’s Bush in West London, I don’t really have a musical family but my parents were always really interested in Joni Mitchell, The Beatles, David Bowie, they were always playing the classics. I went to the BRIT school, where Adele and Amy Winehouse went. It’s like Berkley but for 16 year olds. I put out a little E.P by myself when I was 18, that’s when my manager found me and it all kind of snowballed from there. It’s been really fun. I didn’t think you could actually be an artist as a job, but I’m really enjoying it. 

MERDE: What is the most recent thing you’ve learned about yourself?

MATILDA: Probably that I can’t have a normal flight. I need to prepare for chaos. Recently all of my flights just went crazy. But I also think I’ve learned that I’m ok in stressful situations to think quickly on my feet.

MERDE: Who’s your favorite writer or poet?

MATILDA: They’re a lyricist, but Adrianne Lenker is a genius. I love her music. I think she has a crazy, insightful way of looking at the world and how she captures it in words. 

MERDE: When did you start writing music?

MATILDA: Probably when I was about 10. You know when kids learn a word and they become really obsessed with it. I had just learned ‘decade’ and a lot of my songs had the word decade in it. They were really bad songs. I probably wrote my first ‘song’ song when I was 12 and I played it at school. I don’t know how I had the guts to do that. I started doing writing sessions when I was 18 and I met Fin, my manager.

MERDE: Describe your music writing process now.

MATILDA: I put lyrics I think of day to day in the notes app on my phone. I watch a lot of movies and I like to write about scenarios in movies, not necessarily from my own experience in life. I like to incorporate other people’s thoughts and feelings just to make it the most relatable content that I can. 

MERDE: If you could collaborate with anyone on one song, who would it be?

MATILDA: It changes a lot, but I think someone that’s quite different to me, Paolo Nutini has a really iconic voice, and he sings very differently than me but I love his music and I’d be really interested to see how that goes. Or maybe Still Woozy.

MERDE: What are some things that you can always count on for joy or pleasure?

MATILDA: My boyfriend Ben. *he says ‘appreciate you* she says ‘fuck off’* and take-away food.

MERDE: Describe your ideal date.

MATILDA: It’s probably on a saturday, we go to a food market that has lots of good clothes as well, and we go there to eat and shop, and I get bought flowers there. It’s a whole day. Then we have drinks by the canal, before going home later in the day to watch a movie and order take-away. That’s most of our Saturdays. 

MERDE: What do you like to wear on stage?

MATILDA: You know I always wear dresses, I don’t know why because I can’t attach the pack to hear my vocals, so I don’t know why I do that, I make it really hard for myself. If I wear trousers, I usually wear really baggy trousers because my legs get nervous and I get shaky knees. Never heels. 

MERDE: If you were stranded on an island and could only bring one musical album and one accessory, what would you bring?

MATILDA: Probably Paolo Nutini’s album Sunny Side Up because it has a lot of range, and emotion. It’s got sad songs, it’s got funny songs, it’s got weird songs. You need something for everything. And this sounds really fuckin silly but I’d probably bring a bic pen, that I can take apart into like 10 bits and put it back together again. It’s a fidget thing.