“I’m just here to do whatever you guys need me to do!” Countless times we have heard this phrase from Matt Rowles.
Just after the release of Megaphona in the summer of 2012, I ran into a guy on the grounds of the Goat Farm Arts Center. Literally… we ran in to each other. You see, Rowles and I are both always going at full speed which sometimes equates to a collision. And in our case that collision turned out to be destiny.
The band had been filming Beacon Sun and designing the concepts for what was soon to to be An Ode to Lost Souls. We knew we were on to something special and we wanted it to reach as many people as possible. After briefly meeting Rowles we exchanged contacts and agreed to reconnect. Our first phone call was about 2 hours long and by the end we both knew we were about to do something inspiring and it was going to sound really good! As it turns out it looked pretty awesome as well. Matt and his IndieATL crew of college students filmed, recorded and live broadcasted the entire event to great success. This was the first of many collaborations we would soon undertake.
I later remixed the audio from the show and Rowles did a video edit from the raw camera footage. You can watch I Get Up live from the Goat Farm here. While you’re there check out the great work Matt’s been doing with IndieATL for the past several years.
While celebrating the success of Ode, Rowles told me he had went to school for audio engineering and was a trained “Tape Op”. This was really exciting to me, I am always looking for new avenues to learn about my own craft. The idea of using analog machines and elevating the recording process to a new level was exactly what i wanted for the band. After more inspired discussion we decided he would be a part of the next QH recording process. That process became The Wild Hunt. I learned so much during the time we spent recording that album. From building an entire studio in an old farm house to live tracking in Southern Tracks to actually cutting the lacquers for our vinyl, Rowles has been there every step of the way.
Shake Don’t Shatter is no exception. Once again he and I built a studio in my house and pushed ourselves to make the best recordings we could make.
Matt we are so happy to have you as a colleague, a mentor and as a friend. Thank you for all that you do!
