It’s difficult to pin down the type of music that Matt Chapman (aka After The Thought) makes. He calls it “ambient-electronic-dronegaze-minimalist-fuzzcore-experimentalism,” but that’s just him.

Regardless of how it’s described, there’s plenty of evidence in these home-produced tracks of a unique craftsmanship, culminated from the sincere respect he has for the artists who influence him.

“I think almost every bit of music I’ve ever heard comes together in what I produce,” the 25-year-old from East Oxford says. “Acts like Four Tet, Sigur Ros and My Bloody Valentine are strong influences. Locally, Flights Of Helios and Listing Ships keep giving me ideas and things to aspire to.”

Matt first started playing music during his school days, where he took double bass lessons. “My parents couldn’t afford to buy me my own upright bass, so they bought me a bass guitar. “Almost instantly I began writing my pieces. It felt less limited, less constrained by the weight of the classical canon.”

As a teenager, the aspiring songwriter played in bands, but there was something more liberating about constructing entire tracks from scratch by himself. Branching out and into the more technical terrain of music production, Matt’s ambition expanded and he realised the infinite possibilities that come with professional recording software. Naturally, these experimentations soon grew into a collection of songs, becoming a base for After The Thought to grow from.

The technical approach that Matt has adopted easily translates into his live performances, without the need for a backing band.

“The great thing about the software I use (Ableton Live) is that it is designed for performance as well as writing and mixing,” he explains. “I consciously designed my home set-up so that I could move it easily to performances, and work easily around other acts at gigs.”

listen to ‘The Oxford Mail talk about After the Thought - The fabric’ on Audioboom

 

Writing and recording his music from home is an advantage that Matt has over many of his fellow artists – constraints such as booking studio time and working around the schedules of bandmates don’t apply to him. Having gradually built up a respectable collection of audio equipment, the producer now has everything he needs to push his musical ideas to the limit.

Not that good music relies solely on the expensive gear you’re willing to invest in. “Until recently, I was using the same speakers for my music as I use for my television,” Matt confesses.

“You don't need to spend loads of money to make great music. “There are some great bits of free software out there, and if you carefully choose affordable hardware, you can cover a lot of bases without a huge outlay.

“You can let your limitations become your advantage.

“There are so many ways to make acoustic and electronic music, but your limitations – whatever causes them – are what shape your sound.”

It’s an exciting prospect to see all this technical wizardry in action.

  • CHECK IT OUT After The Thought plays the Port Mahon tomorrow with Blue on Blue, Kid Kin and Lee Riley. Matt is also releasing an EP of remixes on the day of the gig, which is free for anyone who attends. Tickets cost £5.