MATTHEW MOLE

The talented South African musician talks about his latest album, Run

HTell us a bit more about Run.

By LINDSAY DE FREITAS E’S ALREADY experienced the sweet smell of success – at just 21 Matthew Mole became the first South African artist to have an album debut at No 1 on iTunes SA. Three years after the runaway success of his debut album, The Home We Built, we met up with the muso to chat about his recently released second album.

Run was officially released today – how are you feeling?

I’m super excited to be releasing new music and also excited to see what people think of the new direction I’ve taken. I wanted there to be enough of a change for it to sound different but still be true to the kind of music I make.

Your debut album did incredibly well. Does that make you nervous about how the new album will be received?

I do feel a little nervous, especially because people kept asking me when my second album was coming out. But feeling pressured to deliver is actually a good place to be in. I only hope people are going to like it! A while back my dad told me he’d had a dream where I was running a race and he had to help me by pushing me forward or something. He said he thought it meant he had to support me with what I was doing and that really stood out to me. I’d always wanted to start a band and call it Run, so that’s where the name of the album comes from. But the songs are probably more about running towards problems and facing them than running away.

You’ve said that the album was inspired by your family and the people in your life. Are there any other surprising influences?

Well, I don’t know if this is surprising but I wanted this album to be about other people and not me. Over the past three years I’ve just been overwhelmed by people buying my album and I want to engage more with the people who support me.

You’ve performed at some amazing venues, like London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Do you still get nervous before you perform?

Absolutely! It really goes away only after the first song – that’s when I start to feel like I can actually relax. I think it’s more excitement than nerves.

Where do you write your music? And do you need to be in a particular mental or emotional place?

I wrote the songs for The Home We Built while just sitting in my room over a period of about four years. But with this album I had to fit in writing music while touring and it was quite difficult. It got better when I moved into a house in Johannesburg. After that I got used to writing on the go. But mentally there isn’t really a specific place I need to be – I can write a song in whatever headspace I’m in. If something inspires me, that’s all I really need.

What were your musical influences growing up?

My parents weren’t really that into music and I didn’t grow up with The Beatles or Pink Floyd, much as I wish I had. My dad used to play guitar and that was probably my first introduction to music. These days I’m influenced by the rock acts of my generation like 21 Pilots and Coldplay.

You got married in September last year – how’s married life treating you?

Oh, it’s the best. It’s really been awesome.

What do you and your wife do for fun in Joburg?

Jess and I try to spend as much time together as we can. We do dinner dates when I’m not travelling. But the best thing for me is just to hang out with friends and take my mind off the music for a bit.

Is there any artist or band you’d love to collaborate with?

Locally I’d love to work with J’Something from Mi Casa, especially because our genres are so different and I think the results would be quite interesting. He and I have played a few corporate shows together and we always say, “When are we going to write a song together?” So I really hope that happens. Internationally I’d love to work with Chris Martin from Coldplay.

If you hadn’t ventured into music, what do you think you’d be doing?

SWell, I don’t really have a plan B so I hope this keeps working out for me. If I weren’t in music I’d have loved to still be doing something creative. I love illustrating so something in the visual arts would have suited me.