As a musician, writer and filmmaker, Matt now has multiple outlets for his own unique brand of storytelling but it all began for him within the realm of music. With parents that were huge music fans, he grew up around multiple genres, leading to a natural fascination with how songs are put together and who writes them. As he notes, “I didn't necessarily grow up a fan of a style of music; I just grew up as a fan of songs”.
From a young age, he was constantly writing stories when he could, eventually putting them to music in the bands he had started with friends as a teen. But it was soon apparent that these stories needed to be told by a singular voice that could draw from within to fully express the urgency and sentiment behind the words. And this is when Brownbear was born.
Brownbear’s 2014 debut single ‘Dead Or Alive’ was the initial spark that led to positive attention from radio and other media outlets, resulting in support slots with The Libertines at venues like the Barrowlands and Alexandra Palace, as well as several European dates. From this point until the release of debut album ‘What Is Home?’ in 2018, Matt worked on building up a solid fan base for Brownbear in Scotland and further afield. As his first record, ‘What Is Home?’ acted as an accumulation of all the highs and lows that Matt had experienced in life until that point, taking listeners on a broad journey that traverses themes of love, loss and identity.