#oli deakin

[fyeahcmat]

CMAT breaks down the process behind her 'EURO-COUNTRY' album, plus 'Running/Planning' (1hr, 2025)

11 August 2025

CMAT sits down with her producer Oli Deakin to talk about how she made some of her most iconic songs. Together they discuss the ideas around the creation of 3 tracks - Running/Planning, Jamie Oliver Petrol Station, and I wanna be a Cowboy, Baby!

Chapters:

00:00​ Intro

01:00​ 'Running/Planning'

02:42​ A messy voice note from 2023, possibly recorded at 4am

08:30​ John Lennon and Little Simz were inspirations behind the sound of the drums

29:46​ ‘Jamie Oliver Petrol Station’

30:18​ An early voice memo from 2023 reveals a more ballad-like version

36:12​ Explaining the influence of Scott Walker and Ennis Morricone

50:13​ ‘I Wanna Be A Cowboy, Baby!’

51:10​ “This is the reason that CMAT exists”

53:04​ How the song kickstarted a songwriting process CMAT still sticks to

55:10​ CMAT watches back a video demo of the song

For more CMAT, head to BBC Sounds as she picks a selection of songs for her 6 Music Artist In Residence show. She spins her favourite tracks across four of her favourite genres: Indie, Pop, Euro, and Country. Search 'CMAT' on BBC Sounds to hear all four shows.

[cmatarchive]

cmatbaby: the first pic is the day in the lake district in August 2024 that me and Oli first discussed possibly making EURO-COUNTRY together. i played him the title song in question on my omnichord in an entirely wrong key, and we went from there.

the middle pics are of the view that i spent most of the making of this record staring at. the new york skyline at sundown from our comfortable spot in the light show studios in greenpoint in brooklyn. when the album was feeling particularly difficult to make we would escape to the three decker diner for the most perfect food and/or bloody marys that money could buy. sometimes i would go line dancing in brooklyn too, to remember how to use my body and not just my brain. she was running like a hamster on a wheel trying to get this album to make sense .

the last pic is me and oli in the k-hole in dalston the other night, at the album launch party, drunk on alcohol and the fact that we actually managed to get the album to make sense.

today is the day that EURO-COUNTRY is out in the world. i am so happy that we made it even though it was the hardest job i have ever had in my life. i hope you can hear how much work went into it, along with a genuinely quite large part of our souls. I love my friend Oli and i am so happy i met him when i was 18. he is for some reason always willing to help me be heard.

lots of love,

CMAT x x xx