ROOM + WILD NATURALS: MATADOR
Written by Nicholas Valsamis
In R+W Naturals, we connect with extraordinary people making waves in sustainability, design, architecture, wellness and wildlife — from travel and hospitality industry icons to acclaimed architects, designers, influential artists, forward-thinking musicians and media thought-leaders. In this installment, GAVIN LYNCH (better known by his stage name MATADOR) draws on inspiration from his homeland to transport us across the Irish coast through an ethereal collection of original music from his latest LP — Tuesday.
Gavin Lynch
In the current state of the COVID-19 pandemic, being grounded in the confines of your home has become a reality, and with that comes new challenges, and for many, a very different way of life. Alongside the immense impact on our public health, the economy and our overall well-being, we also face the mental and societal effects of physical and social distancing. With travel currently on hold, we look to the talented artists who are capable of taking us on a journey with nothing more than a pair of headphones.
A revolutionary musician, Gavin Lynch comes with a gleaming reputation for versatility and unwavering craftsmanship. The Dublin-born producer’s signature sound takes on many shapes, styles and moods, propelling his worldwide success and allowing him to explore the very unique and organic compositions that we share with you today.
“Rendering field recordings from the North Atlantic seascape, the album’s 20 tracks are an ode to Gavin’s homeland, complete with evolving, climatic storytelling and originality. The collection emulates natural phenomena. Seamless ethereal ambiance marries organic soundscapes rich with earthy undertones; from birdsong to windswept harmonies.”
Meditative music | Matador
Wild soundscapes become vehicles for teleporting us to beautiful, remote regions of the world. The same raw, untouched surroundings that emulate the spirit of Room + Wild also give birth to ideas in all areas of creation. By examining the connection between landscape and music, we uncover how sound can enable travel, escapism and interconnectedness for both the listener and the creator.
“What sounds transport you to a memorable place? Water droplets, crashing waves, sweeping sandstorms, reverberating bird calls. Infinite other frequencies, tones, pitches and spectrums travelling in every direction across the globe. While we often associate sights and smells with remarkable places, it is the sound of a specific location or moment that offers a true sense of spatial dimension, awareness and lasting impressions.”
The topic of sound as it relates to our human psyche is a profound subject. Of all of our known senses, hearing is considered the most widely used tool in aiding practices for reaching enlightenment. Through mindfulness and meditation, sound does not require one to look outside themself, but gives one the ability to travel within.
What memories from your lifetime stand out to you the most? The silence of a vast ocean before a storm; the thin, sharp echo of the wind in elevated rocky chambers; the low thundering vibrations you feel upon approaching a massive waterfall. These special moments most often coincide with being in natural surroundings — fishing on a secluded lake, driving in the countryside with your parents’ favourite song playing on the radio, hiking through the lush jungle in the tropics, dancing in the rain.
Diving deeper into the exploration of transformation and growth as it aligns with sound, we find ourselves in the realm of ancient rituals, ceremonies and healing practises. Almost all of which, in every culture, involve sound — whether it be drumming, chanting, singing, spoken word or imitating animal sounds and other calls of the wild.
With the notion of a human aural experience through perceiving patterns in 3D, we begin to understand how it acts as a mechanism to connect with the oneness of the universe, a place without ego. Inner growth through detaching ourselves from societal constructs and connecting with our natural environment (as described in our Elements Series) also sheds light on how creative expression can be a necessary part of self-care and healing. Modern day electronic music clearly resembles the unified, meditative and captivating sounds of ancient healers who valued the earth, our collective home, as the single most precious gift to mankind. After all, the idea of audible sound waves as we know it, ceases to exist in space, making sound on earth a most unique and harmonious human experience.
“We invite you to join us on a journey to the North Atlantic’s wild coast of Matador’s homeland. Below Gavin chats with us about life, music and his latest album, inspired by nature, perhaps at a time we need it most.”
NV: For those of us that are unfamiliar, tell us a little bit about where you currently live and work?
GL: I’m back living on the east coast of Ireland, after 10 years of living in city centres, another small fishing village, and my house is on the beach. We open the back gate and are literally in the sand dunes. We’re under the main flight path into Dublin airport (which is actually how I found the house!), which on a really hot summer’s day, gives it an Ibiza vibe. There’s plenty of wind and rain though, and you really can get four seasons in a day. Lots of fish and shellfish, birds, bees (there’s an apiary up on Howth head), seals, plant-life — it’s a very diverse environment to immerse yourself in. My main studio faces onto the ocean, we’re in a bay here, so there’s a backdrop of the next village over, and Ireland’s Eye and Lambay Island out to the east too.
NV: Can you describe your first memorable connection to the ocean? How did it influence your expression as an artist?
“I grew up in a small village on the north east coast of Ireland where our house was about 500 metres from the sea, so the ocean has featured pretty much throughout my life. ”
GL: It’s one main street facing the shore, and everything happened on it — pubs, barbers, restaurants, the supermarket, the arcade and, in the summertime, the fun fair, raft races and generally just hanging out at the beach wall. I played on the beach, swam, kayaked and lived a really easy going life. I was very lucky to have it on my doorstep. I actually bought my first set of decks from a small music shop on that main street. For me, there’s something about the mood of the ocean that relates naturally to the music that I write; sometimes it’s wild and unpredictable, sometimes peaceful and still. Every day is different and I think my music follows suit. I’ve often woken up, looked out the window at the waves crashing and thought, “I think I’ll write some techno today.”
NV: What made you want to (literally) bring the sounds of the sea and your natural environment into the studio?
GL: For this latest album Tuesday, the ambient one, I had dinner with friends planned in L.A. so I wanted to write something that was easy on the ear whilst we ate, or whilst reading, travelling or generally just chilling out. Initially it wasn’t something that I had planned on releasing as a collection, it was just for me. But I’d sent it to a couple of artists and friends and they enjoyed it, so I decided to release it as a stream only. I gathered some of the bird song on walks with my dog, put microphones out on the balcony for hours to see what I could pick up, and sat in the forest at Deerpark with my phone to capture the wind through the trees. Evening strolls along the shoreline at the beach, timed with the tide coming in, enabled me to record the sound of the waves lapping on the shore. So I had a pretty extensive collection of field recordings which I could place in some of the tracks I’d already written, and then some which inspired tracks that I wrote around them.
NV: What was the creative process of writing this LP?
GL: I’d say so far it’s my most authentic work, because it was written for myself and a couple of friends to accompany dinner. It’s been liberating in the sense that it wasn’t written with a particular label in mind. There was no thought given to promoting it or touring it, it’s not club orientated or for the festival circuit. It’s free flowing, organic music for music’s sake, but with the same technical attention to detail that I give to all of my productions.
NV: With the current state of the entertainment industry, has this been your way of moving people without having a dance floor?
GL: I’d written this album last year before the current issues that we are facing worldwide, so it was more a reflection of how I was feeling at that time. At the end of 2019 I’d decided on the stream release date of March this year… And then the world went into lockdown — maybe that was the universe at play. I think we all went into overdrive longing for the clubs, and live streams filled this void, but I guess the Tuesday LP resonated with people and offered them an opportunity to relax and reset away from the dancefloor. It was a release like no other I’ve done before, in that there was no real PR or press campaign. I’d posted a couple of snippets of it on my own social media channels but didn’t really think too much about it. It was there for people to listen to and take what they wanted from it, if anything. Then Mixmag were interested in doing an hour’s live stream of it from my studio at home and I thought, “why not?” I get a couple of messages every few days from different friends and fans saying that they’ve listened to it whilst doing yoga or tidying their house, and that’s really what it’s for.
Meditative music | Matador
NV: There are so many nuances that resemble electronic music in nature. For example, the repetition of waves, and how they can go from calm to intense in a flash. What brought this album to the surface and what have you taken away from it?
GL: I’ve toured pretty much non-stop for the last eight years, and that’s been incredibly intense, fast paced, lots of fun, but also very demanding personally. I needed to spend some quality downtime on myself so I began painting, just to unwind and do something different, and I guess that set the tone. I feel my musical style has definitely evolved over the last 12 months since writing this particular album, I find myself being drawn more and more to the melodies of music, the chords and the technicalities that lie within. My own musical tastes span across many genres, and when I’m writing techno only, I don’t often get to explore these or how they would play out against the backdrop of a particular electronic track. So this album has definitely taught me to be more explorative when writing, and to be creative for myself as much as anyone else who might be listening. It’s put me on a path of writing from my gut, or my soul I guess, and that feels good musically.
NV: Outside of Ireland, what place has been the most memorable to you?
GL: I was in Tulum in January for a holiday, my first time there. Friends had told me how amazing it was and I’d been meaning to go for years. I’ve played the BPM festival many times and had wanted to head to Tulum straight afterwards, but I always had other shows to play so could never really make my dates work. I stayed at a hotel called LUV Tulum — small, boutique, beautiful. It’s right on the beach, tropical clear waters, palm trees, locally sourced food. The staff are wonderful, friendly and focused, really attentive yet know how to give you your space. Plenty of wildlife too for recording. There were a couple of birds there who I wished I’d been able to feature on the album! It’s a place I’d go back to in a heartbeat.
NV: If you were to play this album live in the near future, what would be the most ideal setting? (With no limits to budget or reality.)
GL: That’s a tough one. Perhaps The Cliffs of Moher, over on the south west coast of Ireland overlooking the Atlantic ocean. It’s such a dramatic location, one of the UNESCO geo parks, and home to protected seabirds and rare plant life. I think it would be the perfect landscape to accompany the Tuesday LP.
Ireland
Matador’s Tuesday LP transports you to the island of Ireland and effortlessly encapsulates the contrast of man and machine with the untamed, raw and organic sounds of his coastal landscape. The LP draws sounds, field recordings and inspiration directly from the seascape outside the producer’s home studio. We leave it up to Gavin and his work to speak for itself and inspire others in the process.
Wherever you are right now, let Matador take you away from your everyday and to a place of healing. Perhaps to also inspire your next trip to the welcoming lands of Ireland.
WILD STAYS
One of our favourite landscape hotels of Ireland is Cliff House Hotel. As you can guess from the name, the hotel is built into a cliff, with all the rooms overlooking the navy blue sea of the beautiful Ardmore bay. The six floors flow down to the sea, with no interruption of the view. Ardmore Bay is an old-world fishing village and called Ireland's "gourmet heartland." Cliff House has existed since the thirties and is the only five-star seaside hotel in Ireland. Here you will find a lot of history, rustic charm as well as contemporary Irish luxury. Enjoy modern, yet warm design of moss-covered roofs and limestone floors. Choose between 39 sea view rooms and suites, with a naturally inspired colour palette and design elements. Enjoy the marine blue and sea green of the dramatic coast from your private balcony.
The Cliff House
The Cliff House
Room + Wild is the leading content platform for landscape-enhanced architecture, ecotourism, nature-based destinations, and sustainable travel experiences. We work with extraordinary retreats all over the world to inspire, influence, and spread awareness of landscape architecture, environmental initiatives, and earth mindfulness.
