INTERVIEW: Matahara Says Her New Song ‘Missify’ Is Like Paul Rudd
Matahara. Photo by Anindya Apsara.
Naarm/Melbourne musician Matahara has just released her second single, Missify, and it’s been in the works for a while now. It’s a post-breakup song that won’t get you down, but will get you ready to take on the world.
I spoke to Matahara about her music, being able to relate to her past self and how to best get over a breakup and move on with your life. I loved this chat - Matahara radiates positivity from both her music and her answers.
Ben Madden: Firstly, can you introduce yourself and your music?
Matahara: Hi Ben! Thank you so much for having me! I’m Marissa and I make pop music under the name of Matahara, which is derived from the Indonesian translation of “the sun” - matahari. I’m based in Naarm/Melbourne. I began posting music that I recorded in my bedroom to SoundCloud back in 2016. I just officially released my debut single independently last month!
I wanted to talk about Missify. It was written when you were 16 years old – what led to you revisiting it in 2020?
It was actually more of a, “I kept it with me and just me for four years until I was ready to finally put it out”. I always believed in this track ever since I wrote it, and so I’ve just kind of waited until I found the perfect collaborator (producer) to work it - that could enhance the sound the way I want it to sound and to bring my track to life. Thus, I thought “ok, I’m almost done with uni, might as well put these songs out now (along with my debut single What A Waste). I think I’m mature enough to get criticism from strangers and be ok with it” hahah!
It’s a post breakup song, and it sounds bubbly and effervescent. Given the emotions that the track captures, as well as the time that’s passed since you originally wrote the song – how did you re-capture those feelings when recording the song?
It really was interesting now looking back at it. When it happened 4 years ago, I was in a state of complete sadness, mixed with bitterness - I was so young too. However, I then realised that every time I try to find a new melody, the initial sound is ALWAYS happy and optimistic. The dynamic between the two (lyrics and sound) has always been that way. So I guess I kind of left the initial emotions that I had when I was recording the song this year. I thought it’s fine, it gives the track a whole new light and while recording it, I just felt a huge rush of nostalgia more than anything. *insert the Paul Rudd meme on Hot Ones where he said “Look at us. Who would’ve thought?”
What are your top 3 tips for moving on after a breakup?
Have a ‘just dance it out’ or ‘it’s their loss’ mentality. I think more than anything, you want to feel good about yourself after a breakup.
However, that does not mean, suppressing your feelings. If you need to cry it out, cry it out. Feel the pain and it will teach you something.
I guess my last tip would be to try to find the balance between the two.
I wanted to talk about your influences. There’s a lot of interesting perspectives on pop music in Australia – and many artists try and re-categorise themselves to avoid being labelled a pop artist. How do you feel about the way Australians discuss pop music, and what place do you think pop music has in Australia in 2020?
I think pop music is cool as hell! I think it’s universal and inclusive. If you listen closely, many many songs released this year that are labelled anything but pop, are actually very much pop-derived - the melodies or the production. So I guess pop music is everywhere whether you like it or not, I mean how do you not like pop music? It’s so catchy! I believe there will be a lot more innovative and radical pop music coming up in Australia!
Missify is a bedroom recording, but it’s polished and lush – where some artists might try to lean too far into the lo-fi aesthetic, Missify does the opposite. Does recording in a bedroom offer you freedom that a studio might not?
100%! Not that I know how recording in a studio feels like but recording in a bedroom with someone that I trust the most with my music felt so good and natural. It didn’t feel like work, it was just me doing something that I love the most in life, no rush, no nothing. It felt good.
I’m really intrigued by the artwork for the track. Can you tell me a bit more about it, and the meaning behind it – including how it relates to the track?
Yeah! The artwork is done by one of my favourite illustrators ever, Phantasien. Her name is Anindya Anugrah, she’s a Jakarta-based illustrator that creates these delicate and full of life medieval-inspired fantasy artworks. This artwork speaks for my 16-year-old self (same with the one that she did for my debut single What A Waste). That girl in the artwork is me, with my MIDI keyboard that I use to record my demos. There’s a softball ball as well - I used to play softball pretty seriously when I was younger. So yeah, it’s pretty much a personal narrative or an era in my life put in a cute little artwork.
READ MORE: Albert Salt’s New Single ‘25’ Will Get You Thinking About Your 20s
Finally, what do your next few moves musically look like?
It will look like success! Hahaha no I’m joking! But also amen to that! This is the final single that I’ll be putting out this year, and the rest is the EP! Michael, Allan (my mixing engineer), and I worked so hard on this little project and we can’t wait for everyone to listen to the full thing. Thank you so much for your time Ben! Loved these questions! I appreciate it! Lots of love!! Marissa
You can follow Matahara on Instagram here, Facebook here and Twitter here.