New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, Vancouver-hailing jazz singer Mathew V releases the original song "My Boy," a Marilyn Monroe-inspired track and fan favorite on tour, compelling Mathew to include it on the album. The song was written spontaneously with Mathew's co-writer and collaborator Ben Dunnill. Of the process, Mathew recounts, "Ben was in
Europe at the time and sent me a voice note for a chorus idea from a public train station piano. From there the voice notes flew back and forth, and 'My Boy' came to life."
He continues, "I wanted to write an original song that
Marilyn Monroe would have sung. A bit of tongue-in-cheek, playful yet glamorous. I also felt that it was a powerful title considering the fact that it was an instant outing to the listener. Something a straight artist would never have to think about, I made a firm decision to stand in my truth."
"With [Mathew V's] new album, he is not only leaning into his vocal jazz talent but is creating queer space in a musical genre that is not known for being queer," says GLAAD in a recent interview with the Vancouver-based jazz artist.
"We also chose a handful of traditional "female standards" because lyrically they lined up with my experience as a gay man," Mathew tells GLAAD. " It was an interesting juxtaposition delivering these songs exactly as they were traditionally written, while still making such a bold statement now delivered from a same-sex perspective."
Read the full interview here and learn more about Mathew V's take on subverting jazz's expectations — oftentimes at the intersection of camp, musical theater, cabaret, and burlesque — with his new album of American classics.
Already Mathew has released his own glitzy rendition of Peggy Lee's "Big Spender," written by Cy Coleman and
Dorothy Fields originally for the musical Sweet Charity, along with a take on
George Gershwin's "The Man I Love." Upon release the latter was included in the New
Music Friday Canada, Contemporary Blend and Sweet Jazz playlists. The single also reached #1 on the Canada iTunes Jazz Chart. Recently the Canadian crooner has also taken to Tiktok with a brand new genre he's coined "jazzba," otherwise known as jazzy ABBA. Thus far, he's put his playful take on "Money, Money, Money" and "Mamma Mia," racking up over one million views along the way.
Read more about Mathew's artistry and the sentiment behind 'Anything Goes' out April 14th on 604 Records here at Atwood Magazine: https://atwoodmagazine.com/mtwv-mathew-v-music-interview-2023/
