There’s an alarming elegance found in Gann Matthews’ music, even on a first listen. The local music fixture has spent five years finding himself, writing music and nailing down his voice. And as he releases his “Silent Sound” EP tonight at the Hi-Dive, Matthews’ celebration is twofold.
Not only has Matthews, 24, captured a sound he considers his own, but he’s also moving next week to New York, a city with which he has had a love affair for as long as he can remember.
“At the end of every semester, I always felt the pull to move to New York,” said Matthews, who graduated from the University of Colorado at Denver with a degree in vocal performance in December. “I’ve always wanted to live in a really big city. I love the energy of dense urban environments.”
Local audiences know Matthews as a thoughtful pianist-singer-songwriter with a voice that resonates richly and equates to his lush, hooky music on a surprisingly simpatico plane. He has played in other bands, including an 18-month stint with Joshua Novak. But now he’s stepping out.
Matthews is renting a car for the one-way trek eastward, but the vehicle for his musical progression is “Silent Sound,” an EP that is intelligently conceived as a preview to a full-length CD to come. He wrote two songs specifically for the EP, but the rest are hints at his forthcoming record, which he hopes to use to court indie labels in New York. Produced by Ian Hlatky, the work represents the first time Matthews has given up creative control.
“In the past, I was always all about having complete control,” Matthews said, sitting outside on the 16th Street Mall earlier this week. “Ian’s role in this whole process was to back me up wherever I wanted to go and also to push me further than I might normally go.
“With my songs, I hear them very big, almost over the top, almost to the point where you’re worried you’ll be embarrassed about it. In the past, I’ve played it safe. But with this EP and full length, the goal was to be a lot more ambitious and push myself.”
Matthews already knows what he’ll miss here: the supportive, growing music scene and walking alone into Sputnik and ending the night surrounded by friends in a booth having conversations that moved the evening forward.
“It’ll be difficult to rebuild that community,” he said, “but I’m ready for the adventure.”
Saying Goodbye
Two beloved Colorado music-makers are leaving us this weekend.
GANN MATTHEWS|Hi-Dive, 7 S. Broadway; 9 tonight|$6; hi-dive.com
CALL SIGN COBRA|Larimer Lounge, 2721 Larimer St.; 9 tonight|$7; larimerlounge.com
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GOGOL BORDELLO The Slavic-styled punk rock is stylized and sweaty, but these immigrants living in New York City never disappoint. They play Sunday at the Fox in Boulder.
THE DIRTY PROJECTORS If you’re not familiar with the name “Dave Longstreth,” don’t miss the masterful lo-fi songwriter’s show (under the name Dirty Projectors) on Tuesday at the Larimer Lounge.
THE DRESDEN DOLLS Graduating from the school of gothic cabaret punk rock is this keys- and-drums duo from Boston. Their new “Yes, Virginia” is a solid artistic statement that proves the Dresden Dolls have more in them than the simple, schticky material that dominated their first record. They play Tuesday at the Bluebird with Uphollow.
SEAN PAUL The Jamaican dancehall MC will bring his show, focusing on new songs from “The Trinity,” to the Fillmore on Wednesday.
– Ricardo Baca
