Mat Kearney

In a music world longing for a new voice, Mat Kearney represents the singer-songwriter for the 21st century music lover. While keeping an acoustic base, Kearney incorporates a wide range of influences that color his songs with unique textures.

At the same time, Kearney captures the lyrics that stir the deepest universal emotions.

On his forthcoming Aware/Columbia/Inpop album, this Oregon-raised artist delivers style without sacrificing substance. The album features hip-hop beats, pop choruses, acoustic folk and spoken verses all moving effortlessly together.

“When I set out to write, I want to write something that will rip your heart out,” says Kearney. “Hopefully there is a depth and intimacy of the songwriting that goes beyond the novelty of a funky guy with an acoustic guitar. Great songs connect beyond genre and style.”

Kearney’s song “Undeniable,” a beautiful pop number with an epic chorus and an unforgettable hook, is one example of those universal songs that spans genres. The song was inspired by a troubled young man who told Kearney about his desire to make a life change. He was a student at Tennessee’s Franklin High School, which was under construction at the time. Kearney, who drove by Franklin High every time he went to the studio, turned the school’s demolition into a metaphor for the uprooting of the young man’s life.

Elsewhere on the album, Kearney references country legend Johnny Cash on “Won't Back Down.” He explores Cash’s spiritual side in this lush, piano-driven ballad. The song “Bullet” taps into Kearney’s hip-hop heritage with emcee vocals and drum loops that carry lyrics about the ultimate love when one sacrifices their own life for another. The album reaches an artistic high with “Middle,” a song that mixes spoken word over live drums, elegant strings, and sublime piano.

While his musical prowess is exhibited on the aforementioned tracks, Kearney’s lyrics show additional depth. Describing the song “Renaissance,” Kearney says, “The song is about a friend who was in a car wreck and another who got dumped by his girlfriend. The lyrics touch on these moments in people’s lives when they hit rock bottom and question what’s going on. In that place of total uncertainty, they start to look for something that's real.”

Nashville transplant Kearney left Eugene, Oregon, eight years ago to play soccer at Chico State University, the school once notoriously dubbed the “No. 1 party school in the nation.” Kearney exploited the university’s reputation before he eventually hit rock bottom. “I lived it up and did what everyone said you should do in college,” he recalls. “I discovered the depth of depravity and the bleakness of that lifestyle. It just wasn't working. I finally started to realize that there must be more to life.”

After getting his life on a positive spiritual track, Kearney began immersing himself in the local grassroots music scene. The singer, who actively participated in hip-hop culture as a teen, began fusing his vast influences into a revelatory new folk sound. During this same period, Kearney started studying poetry and writing journals of prose about his life. When he fused the two worlds, Kearney forged a songwriting style that was distinctly innovative.

Kearney concludes, “My artistic goal was to write something that’s 100 percent real and true to me and to this world. I tried to touch on universal truths that really connect with people from every avenue of life. Ultimately, when you write from a vantage point of humility, and you are open to the world around you, people have to respond because those same truths are instilled in them. Honestly, I don’t have any agenda other than being sincere, real, and passionate about these songs and the music I make.”

Courtesy of Inpop records MatKearney.com