With the release of her new Kim Ann Foxman remix, SLEEK catches up with Matisa as she opens up about her Italian upbringing and the desire to follow her true identity in fashion and music.
Tell us about your upbringing in Italy.
I was born in Rome, my parents are both state executives, with very academic jobs, that I think they wanted me to follow in their footsteps, but music was always my calling. However, I am very fortunate that they allowed me to follow my heart in the arts but it wasn’t always easy to explain to them what made me really happy. At the age of 5, I started taking piano lessons, I loved it and kept playing until I was about 13 years old. I still remember that feeling, the musical buzz from playing and I honestly still get that feeling when I perform as a DJ – it’s addictive! Unfortunately, I had to give up playing the piano due to a physical problem and at the age of 23, my passion for vinyl began. It was quick to take hold and before I knew it I was buying 10-15 records a week, and still to this day, I can’t help myself digging for records.
What I am trying to say is: to love music, have a passion for playing, or even collecting, you don’t necessarily have to be born with artistic parents. I studied political science for 5 years and I was good at it. I even moved to Brussels in pursuit of a job in social and political issues, but I soon realised I couldn’t go forward with this path. When I returned to Italy in 2017, the desire to follow my true identity exploded. I enrolled at Polimoda, an international fashion school that gave me the basis to look at the world of aesthetics with different eyes. I always say that knowledge is important in our lives. These choices of mine are the product of the person I am now. Being a DJ in Italy was not so easy for me, partly because there is still some prejudice on gender and also because people don’t share musical experiences like they do in other countries around the world. There are no great stimuli or sharing hubs for people, and as in my case, I try to do it alone. I have a great vinyl collector friend with whom I often talk at length, exchange ideas and music and this is so powerful, music really is the answer.
You mentioned your desire to follow your true identity. What came first? Fashion or music?
It was actually music that came long before fashion. However, it is fashion that inspires me, the expression, the fact that there are no boundaries, and it’s this that influences music production. I believe that creativity comes from observation, be it listening or experience, from collective connections and shared stimulus and so I observe, listen and learn, keeping my creative artist fulfilled. Everything around us can be a point of inspiration – we just need to be aware of it.
"Everything around us can be a point of inspiration – we just need to be aware of it."
How do you channel your creativity through fashion and music?
I channel my creativity in fashion through the study of colours, fabrics and textures, these are key parts of any creation. Just think of my first record on Optimo Music entitled Organza and Honey Comb, the lead track from the EP, it was simple; these textures and fabrics inspired me to write the music. How fabrics move, how textures feel, what colours mean. So, the first source of inspiration is fashion. I then start listening to vinyl and look for artists that can give me insights into harmonies. It is only then I start producing something that is 100% me. I do find myself wanting to explore this creative process which means trying new things, new processes, you might be able to tell this from my discography. I hate making two identical products, it’s like a game I play, I want people to be curious about what’s next.
Can you tell us more about how one influences the other?
It changes…there is no exact rule. At the moment it is fashion that influences my music. They are two worlds so vast with so many combinations and paths that can very well be interconnected and crossover.
You released your EP Matisa ‘Peace Building’ (On Loop) and Kim Ann Foxman – Magic Magic (Matisa Remix). Tell us about the differences in your approach to producing and remixing another artists’ track. What draws you to another artist?
Good question! When it comes to doing a remix you have to feel the track you’re remixing, it could be a chorus loop or a key change, something that catches you. In my case I really like Kim Ann Foxman’s work, I respect her as a person and as an artist. So I decided to participate in her project alongside the genius of Luca Lozano. It was my very first remix and the approach came easily, I started playing with the stems of Magic Magic and it just came together naturally.
In my solo EP the approach changes a bit. It took a lot more time and a lot of research to develop my original idea. This does not mean that the remix is not as hard, but they are different. The remix is my version of something that already exists. Peace Building was born when Moxie asked me to start creating something magical. I am a little nervous but I hope I have succeeded. However I am very happy, I like it, it sounds good, each track has its own energy.
The topic of our new issue is ‘truth.’ What does this mean to you as a creative?
Truth means respecting the secret of reality for me. It allows us to experience a feeling of freedom as it makes us face things as they are, and not as we hope or imagine they will be as a result of our manipulation. Not telling the truth is not only a way to lie to others, it is also a way to lie to oneself.
Creativity is the ability to express what one is (being oneself), through thinking, intuition, acting, where “being oneself” is understood as a profound and authentic dimension of our subjectivity, made up of emotions, feelings, intuitions, affections, experiences, needs, drives, desires: in a word, its vital world.
All in All: if you decide to be yourself, you cannot lie to yourself.
Can you tell us one truth (fact) and one lie about yourself? We’ll try and guess the right one!
Dualipa follows me on Instagram and I’m allergic to shrimp.
Pre-order Matisa’s ‘Peace Building’ EP out on On Loop on 29 October
Listen to Matisa’s Kim Ann Foxman – Magic Magic Remix
Credits:
CREATIVE AND ART DIRECTION: Sarah Venturini
PHOTOGRAPHY: Paoli De Luca
VIDEO AND SOUNDTRACK: Vincenzo Pone
FASHION: Sarah Venturini
PRODUCTION AND FASHION ASSISTANT: Claudia Chiarolanza and Benedetta Cresta
FASHION AND SET ASSISTANCE: Lucrezia Bargellini
SET ASSISTANCE: Nicola Pittera and Pasqualino Iovanna
HAIR & MAKE UP: Susy Carducci
HAIR & MAKE UP ASSISTANCE: Nicole Sorti
SPECIAL THANKS: Eduardo Secci Gallery and Simone Begani