From L.A. to the world, Paper Idol is Matan KG’s indie-pop project. After his graduation in Neuroscience, Matan turned his full attention to music and I don’t know if we lost a great scientist but we sure got an excellent composer and musician.
In the last couple of years, Matan was able to release a handful of singles and a 4 track E.P. (Mania Days), always gravitating towards danceable and friendly energy but without losing the alternative and independent textures of his unique sound.
Now, releasing “Hey You“, Paper Idol is giving us a little sample of what is set to be his most ambitious project to date: “The Playground” (November 18). The album is a journey about Matan’s childhood and is composed of 8 tracks, each song for a different step of his upbringing. To make such an introspective work, the artist is recording, mixed and producing the whole thing by himself with the help of his bandmate Adam Rochelle. Even the artwork is Matan’s own creation and truth being said, it is paired perfectly with the music.
While we wait for The Playground, we have the hypnotic and chilled vibes from “Hey You“, a track completely drenched in coolness: The bassline makes me instantly grab my guitar and jam along with it; Matan’s voice timbre is highly smooth and sexy but friendly and frail, entirely out of the typical singer’s box; The attention to details like the little bells and soft synths makes the whole track an absolute dance-masterpiece, easily lifting us to his world, to his own playground.
Speaking about it, Matan wrote:
“Most of the songs on The Playground are carefree and upbeat, whereas “Hey You” is about the dark side of growing up. I spent most of the pandemic isolated in my music studio, and this song just flowed out of me one night. It started with that bassline and two simple drum sounds on loop… there was something so dark and hypnotic about it, I knew I had to finish the song. I wrote it for anyone struggling with depression, anxiety, addiction, or loneliness. The song is about the cures society sells for our problems – medication, television, social media – and how they usually just make things worse.“
Find out more about Paper Idol: https://www.itspaperidol.com/