Blowback
LA-based Danish artist Galimatias has been featured many times here on The Music Ninja. Known for his decadent piano chords and swirling melodies, Galimatias makes some of the most soulful tunes out there today. Transcending genres, he effortlessly blends together aspects of soul, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B. Galimatias has always hit us with sultry, emotional tunes that can instantly set the mood.
To help kick off your week, I’m excited to share Galimatias’ new sinful single, “Blowback”. Paying homage to one of his main musical muses, Matias samples Barbara Lewis’ 1963 soul classic “Hello Stranger”. Subdued electronic elements overlaid on pulsating rhythms and tight R&B beats create some characteristically sensual vibes on this track. Galimatias throws in his own ad-libs and vocal riffs; part of his effort to incorporate voice as part of his musical arsenal. Lewis’ sensual crooning is not overpowered whatsoever– showing Matias’ mastery of blending together such different musical elements.
As a TMN favorite, Galimatias has been interviewed by us before. I was lucky enough to catch up with him again, as he enters the newest phase of his solo career. Listen to the track above and read up on the interview after the jump:
Q: Your production style is amazingly soulful and seductive. How’d you come to develop this sound? Any influences you care to share?
Thank you. I’ve always been inspired by soul and jazz of the 60’s and 70s which in and of itself is usually quite intimate. That’s one sound I’ll always come back to. Stuff like The Temptations, Barbara Lewis, Smokey Robinson, Stan Getz etc. Hmm I started working a lot with texture after listening to UK producer Sorrow. Started developing a lot of my own sounds. To me, sound design has always been the most interesting aspect of music production, creating sounds that are unique. I think that’s when I started to really hone in on my own sound, back in 2014.
Q: Barbara Lewis is one of the OGs of soul, and I have to say you really did “Hello Stranger” justice on your new track “Blowback”. How did you come to choose her music to sample?
Many years ago I used to listen a ton to her track “Baby, I’m Yours”. I kinda rediscovered her with “Hello Stranger” from watching the movie Moonlight. All the music and sound in that movie was amazing by the way, most of it was composed. Anyway, I didn’t think of sampling it really, I just saved it to my Spotify and I was listening to it for a few months. I was actually gonna put it in my next Voyage mix and I was like “Hmm, it would be fun if I added some drums halfway through the track” and so I started working on that. When I made my drums I was like “Damn this is a jam, I’ll have to make a whole track out of it”. And the theme of “Hello Stranger” fit well with me writing a song about leaving behind everything and everyone I know, to pursue my career. Which is what I did, when I moved from Denmark to Los Angeles.
Q: If you could hop in the studio with any artist (historical or contemporary), who would it be and why?
Would be pretty cool to make a track with Marvin Gaye.
Q: As a Danish artist that’s (relatively) recently moved to the U.S., what are some of the differences you’ve noticed in the music scenes?
Good question. Generally hip-hop and r&b thrives way more over here. Which I love, cuz thats what I listen to myself. A lot of boring pop in Denmark, some good. Interestingly though, as you probably wouldn’t assume this, there’s also a lot of good reggae and dancehall in Denmark, people dig that. To be honest though I haven’t kept up too much for the last good while.
Q: According to you “galimatias” is a Danish word that translates to “ludicrous” (Google Translate says “gibberish”). How’d you come up with this name for yourself?
My first name is Matias and “Galimatias” is a word in danish that means somethings is kinda crazy or out there. You’ll see it in newspaper headlines every now and then.. like: “Politician says new health reform is *galimatias*”. My uncle came up with it actually, I showed my music to him from my Sony Ericsson walkman phone when I was a lil 13 year old beatmaker, and he said “When you start putting out this music you should call yourself Galimatias”.
Q: I have to say as a fan that your Urban Flora EP was incredible to listen to and was how I (and many others) came to discover you as an artist. Can you briefly describe the creation process behind that work? Any takeaways or lessons learned?
We made the whole EP before we met in person. We were both very inspired by each other and it came together somewhat effortlessly. A takeaway is that you don’t necessarily need to be in the same room to make music. I think it speaks to the power of the internet. It was still very much a collaboration even though we didn’t sat in a studio together, cause we were sending things back and forth to each other all the time, but we also got time and space to be alone with our craft.
Q: I know you’ve been exploring your voice more as both an instrument and a foundation of your music. What’s it like making that plunge?
It’s exposing for sure. But it’s also inspiring and it reignited my love and interest for music. Cuz singing is an area where I can still learn a lot. I’ve been composing, producing, mixing and mastering for a long time. I feel very comfortable in those areas, singing is relatively new for me. It makes it a challenge to make music again. I’m still a sound designer before all else, but the voice is the most incredibly versatile instrument of them all, it’s only about time I started using it.
Q: Can we expect to hear your singing voice live any time soon?
I’m not playing any live shows yet. I want to make the music first, enough to base a whole show off of it. I haven’t started thinking much about live yet but one thing is for sure: it won’t be DJ sets, I will never do that. It will be a live show once I do it.
Hope this song brings you good vibes this week. You can stream/buy this track on Spotify and iTunes.
