Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsea Matte.
Hi Lindsea, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As my parents love to say, I could sing before I could talk. Growing up I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by an environment that fostered my creativity from a young age and enabled me to learn about how to make better music. I fell more and more in love with music until it became one of my biggest motivators. It was the one thing that I was passionate about throughout the entirety of my youth. Growing up in Los Angeles gave me a lot more exposure to the idea of being famous and having the ability to lead a life entirely about music. I feel like I knew deep down since childhood that if I could just perfect my craft and connect with the right people, I could make it big. Naturally, I did everything I could to learn more about how I could make better music.
I started writing my own music at 10 years old. It was nothing like what I do now, but if I had to estimate that’s about when I started. Back then I would sit down on my paisley Pottery Barn comforter with an acoustic guitar entirely too big for my prepubescent frame, strum a simple chord progression and sing about anything I could think of. I had a lot of fun with it. I hadn’t lived enough life before then to write better songs, but now at 20 I’ve lived through a lot and known so many people who’ve been through a lot too. I do my best to write not only my own experiences, but to relate to the people around me and hopefully to connect with them too.
The game changed when I was a freshman in high school and I met my choir teacher, Kevin Albright. He was the first adult I had met at that age that had been that knowledgeable about music. I totally geeked out in his class, and even audited AP Music Theory the year before I actually enrolled in it simply because I thought it was so interesting (I did end up getting a 5 when I took it). Mr. Albright was the biggest mentor figure I had in my life at that age and it was his encouragement and teaching that lead me to arrange and compose for the first time. I started off by arranging silly little Acappella/choral arrangements of popular songs I liked, but with practice and growing inspiration, I learned to produce my own demos of beats. My upcoming single, “Sensation” started as one of those beats. I wrote it at 16 years old as a diss track about a senior I had a crush on my sophomore year who had unintentionally broken my heart, which makes me laugh because with the progression of the lyrics and themes over time it is nothing remotely like that first draft! I remember the euphoria I felt hearing the final mixing on that first demo. I was ecstatic. It was the first time I had ever written an entire instrumental track by myself.
My writing took a hit when I left for college at 17. I was in a difficult situation involving a roommate who had a drug problem. My mental health deteriorated for the two years following that until I was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). It was just within this past year that I’ve begun to take up writing again and I’ve never been happier. The combination of the passion I’ve always had, the skills I’ve honed, and the experience I’ve gained has proven to be an excellent formula for songwriting.
So here I am. I’m 20 years old. I’m producing my own debut record, “Sensation” with the help of Evermore Sound and will be releasing it June 24th, 2022. I have several other records I intend to release this summer as well, and I am hoping to sign a record deal by the end of the year. I am so proud of how far I’ve come, but know this is only the beginning.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I have struggled with borderline personality disorder (BPD) for the majority of my life. My symptoms first appeared around the age of 13, which is way too early to be officially diagnosed with BPD, so as a result, I spent my entire adolescence thinking that I had depression but couldn’t even do depression right! My symptoms were exacerbated when I started college and became largely responsible for my roommate who was battling severe addiction problems. Living in that environment ended up making me so depressed that I had to medically withdraw from the university and move back home. I was finally diagnosed with BPD a little over a year ago at the age of 19 and since then things have improved a lot. I’ve finally been able to get treatment for what I’m actually struggling with and it has made a world of difference.
Now that I’ve escaped the worst days of my mental illness, I am finally able to use the emotions I felt – the paralyzing fear of abandonment, the agonizing grief of losing loved ones, the horror of splitting on someone you care for – and channeling it into my music.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a pop star! I sing, write songs, compose and produce music, and look good doing it. Seriously, what I am most proud of is how many parts of my music I have been able to create with my team of one. I have recently begun to partner with other artists outside of myself in the hopes to build a catalog worthy of a record deal so that I can afford to keep making music. Right now, I am most proud of my first single, “Sensation”. That’s my baby. I wrote the music for that 5 years ago and the fact that it’s finally going to see the light of day makes me beyond proud.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love Orlando because it has all my favorite pros of a city without as many of the cons. I4 excluded, I don’t typically find much of an issue with the traffic. Maybe that’s just the LA girl in me, but in my experience, Orlando traffic isn’t half as bad as most other cities. I love that there is such diversity in options for things to do. I can go party around UCF with my friends on Friday night and then get brunch and visit the farmer’s market in Winter Park the next morning.
Contact Info:
- Email: lindseamatte@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lindseamatte/
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/lindseamatteofficial
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/lindseamatte
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCC3LqZ7vaqFT-5ANYLnT2kg
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.app.goo.gl/4VZ9rcWs8Rf5VaJx8
Image Credits
Alexa Dickerson (@alexa.Dickerson on Instagram)
