From anthemic, big stadium sing-along melodies, to introspective psychedelia driven sound, classically trained musician Matthew Sedivy has something for everyone. Read our discussion with the artist below!
Describe your sound in three words
First off thanks for having me. If I had to pick 3… dramatic / atmospheric / layered.
Tell us a few things about In Your Debt and your upcoming debut album. What is the main idea behind the track and the album in general?
In Your Debt is the 2nd single from my album, SEDIVY, which is a 10 track concept album. A lot of songs are big and dramatic with sweeping orchestral arrangements.. but I wanted to have a couple tracks that were fun and relatively simple. In Your Debt still has fast guitar rifts and time-changes… so it’s “relatively” simple haha
I wrote, performed and recorded about 90% of the album myself, which took 6 years to finish. This was of course significantly longer than I planned. I told myself I was going to do it right and do it my way. It feels so great to have it done.
Your sound is very heavy but synth driven too. What’s more important? The song, or heaviness. Tell us a few things about your creative process.
Music is fun and should be entertaining; that “entertainment” can express itself in any style or emotion. I want to build towards something and I’m okay if it takes a few minutes to do that. I would take “the song” between those two. The heaviness is just a byproduct of getting there. Creatively speaking, it almost always starts with guitar (acoustic or electric). From there, its crafted and molded; over and over. Lyrically it starts with gibberish and it forms as I figure out what I’m trying to say and feel. From the start I’m always working on the production (which is arguably my favorite part).
Which is the biggest guitar riff you wish you have composed yourself?
For whatever reason so many Mars Volta riffs come to mind. Tetragrammaton around that 8min mark is so fucking hard. But Jesus, TOOL has so many; Jambi gets me every time. So does that King Gizzard “Mars for the Rich” riff. And don’t get me started on the Psychedelic Porn Crumpets… I get straight-up upset listening to them because they’re so good.
If you could change anything about the music industry, what would it be?
Hmm. I’ve engineered and produced with massively huge bands… I’ve also worked with folks you wouldn’t know.. I’ve worked with big budgets and little budgets… big studios and small studios… world-famous producers and no producers…. I’ve seen a lot of process, talent and skill… and I find I’m still bewildered about the principles of surviving the industry. There’s so many ways to go about surviving; especially with the internet. Money has a lot of influence yet there’s little effort going into developing long term evergreen artists. So, when you find an artist you love; share them with your friends. Support them.
You are classically trained. Is songwriting a talent or a skill?
Wow definitely both. Basic talent is everywhere. It’s the bed in which songwriters grow with their skill. Skill is a practice, technique and time. A few are lucky to have amazing natural talent… however I feel those who really do this on the next level put in the work.
If Johann Sebastian Bach were alive today, what kind of music would he compose?
Honestly who knows. He might’ve ended up being a gamer for all I know.
What is the story behind your name?
SEDIVY is my last name. For whatever reason, once you capitalize all those letters it feels a bit bigger than itself.
Thank you!
Follow SEDIVY
Website/Instagram
Follow our Spotify Playlist “Amplify Eclectic” feat. SEDIVY
Secret Eclectic 