Touring around the world, packing as many shows as possible in such a short amount of time can be an exhausting feat. We’ve seen the toll that it can take on artists health mentally and physically, but there are many that have learned to uphold a balance of bringing the “party to your place” and staying healthy. Matoma exemplifies this feat. His upbeat energy and attitude is contagious not only in the music that he creates but the pure joy he can bring to a crowd. Between a mixture of clear love for what he does and his appreciation for fans, Tom Lagergren is an artist not to be under estimated.
I had the chance to catch up with him and chat about the tour as well as his fans after a sold out show the night before in Washington D.C. and before his set in Richmond at Kabana Rooftop.
A: What is the hardest part about touring?
M: Being away from home and also living on the bus with 12 people for 40 days. You really need to respect others personal life and you need to get along together very well and also communicate. Communication is the key, I remember when I was on the tour with The Chainsmokers me and Stian communicated with everyone and just spread good energy all the time and listened to the head tour manager, Clancy. It’s just about communication and having a good time.
A: What’s the biggest thing you’ve learned:
M: To never take things for granted. Every single day is an adventure. You shouldn’t think like, “oh today I’m flying I’m so tired,” because you’re flying to a destination where people are waiting for you and see you and want to meet you for the music and the artist you are. I’ve probably done 15-20 Norway to US trips so far this year and will prob do 15 more and its tiring. I do it because I know when I reach a destination people are waiting to see me.
A: What’s your advice on keeping up the energy and hype while touring?
M: Spread the love, having good energy, we saw that last night when we had technical problems, shit happens sometimes and you can’t control equipment, especially electronic equipment, sometimes cables fall out or people spill. It’s a party, that’s why we call it Party at Your Place because it’s intimate and people get close to me and I just want to have a party with my fans. It’s all about spreading good energy and love.
A: So Do you have a any rituals then before you play?
M: We do the whole everyones hands in the middle and chant spread the love
Matoma’s crew included three other artists, tour managers, managers, photographers and more making up a total of 12 people.
A:What was the process in choosing the people who came with you? Were you a part of it?
M:Yeah I was a part of that but it was mainly my manager. They are all like brothers. So me and my manager and his team chose the people to come on the bus and I was part of it but mainly my agent and manager. Im too busy with music and traveling so that’s why I have my manager but I trust him with all my heart.
There was a small moment of laughter as Baynk decided to dance in the background, stating he was having a silent disco moment to Matoma’s “False Alarm,” then continuing to hum it, incorrectly, playfully getting called out by Tom himself. It was clear these artists treated each other like family.
A: Looks like you guys have a lot of fun…does that help keep the stress level down?
M: Its very stressful traveling as an artist and playing gigs, like two days ago I played for 10,000 people and now I’m in Richmond a very intimate crowd. I’ve done big festivals but I really like doing the intimate, smaller shows because that’s where you connect with your real fans and the people who support you from morning to night.
A: Do you work on music while you’re touring?
M: I finished my new single on the bus! I started producing Monday and it’s finished. It’s coming out soon. I’m going to play it tonight!
Matoma ended up playing the new track. It was breezy and free, much like Matoma himself. The track was something new from his last single “False Alarm,” and was representative of his ever changing inspiration on his music, yet held that signature Matoma sound. We talked about the label side of music for a bit before moving on to his appreciation for fans.
A: What it’s like working with Atlantic Records and Big Beat?
M: It’s nice to have big people in the music industry that believe in your music and support it, but also give you the opportunity to go into the studio and meet songwriters that have taken my career to being a better producer. From doing remixes to having big songs as my own singles. To have a big label that backs you up is a very big thing for an artist like myself.
A: That’s great that you’ve found such a supportive label, sometimes your artistic integrity can be compromised with big labels, but you don’t seem to experience that.
M: Yeah, sometimes, but if you have a good team behind you and you don’t fuck around and you don’t get fucked and you have your vision and believe in it then you’re good…sometimes I had to trash some tracks and ideas and some just rise and “False Alarm” was one of them.
The longer I spoke with Tom the more I could tell how passionate he was about what he does. I don’t discount other artist’s passion, and it has to be there in order to make it in such a tough industry such as music, but his joy for what he does became much more obvious when talking about his fans. This ended up being my favorite part of the interview, an artist that remains so down to earth and keeps that connection with fans instead of turning them into a number makes you want to show your support regardless of the music that’s being produced, support for whatever they decide to do. If the music that Matoma creates hasn’t caught your ear then I ask you to attend a show, experience the energy and how this artist connects to a crowd and I’m sure he’ll become a favorite by the end of the night.
A: You seem to connect with your fans very well. Do you think that’s important; to keep that distance between you and them at a minimum?
M: It’s everything! Without my fans I wouldn’t be sitting here. Artists, big artists, that have this sky rocketing career where they haven’t built in the proper way and being up close with the fans, they take it for granted and they look at people as a subject, 60,000 is hard to get in touch with. It’s hard to focus on one face, I started playing for 150-200 people building up so I could apply for a US visa so I could play, that tour i did three years ago really really made a change, people were just having so much love for me and telling their stories how my music affects their daily lives.
I remember, this girl had cancer and wanted to see me play so we helped her out, she came back stage and met me and only saw about five or six songs because she was so tired and she had to leave, but just hearing her story how my music gives her the biggest motivation of getting through her day, it really means everything to me. When I wake up tired after flying I think about those stories, because not every person in the world is as lucky as I am, being in the position where I’m living my dream and to actually be able to change people’s perspective and motivation in life that’s really humbling.
A: That’s so amazing, okay, last question: What advice would you give to your younger self?
M: To take life more easy and live…take it day by day. I learned that after being in the army and laying in the hospital, life is too short to think about when you’re 40 or 50 years old. Take one day at a time and be focused and work hard and be true to yourself.
Check out Matoma’s official Facebook page below for a full list of tour dates and pictures and videos from different stops!
Photos by: Martin Litwicki
Connect with Matoma:
https://www.facebook.com/matomaofficial
https://twitter.com/MatomaOfficial
https://soundcloud.com/matoma-official
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