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Matthew E. White<\/strong> has been musically active for many years, including collaborations with Megafaun<\/strong> and the Mountain Goats<\/strong> and three albums with avant-jazz group Fight the Big Bull<\/strong>. But as an artist recording and touring under his own name, he’s a relative newcomer.<\/p>\n The story making the rounds is that White’s debut \u2013 2012’s Big Inner<\/em> \u2013 wasn’t really intended as an album at all. White recorded the collection of songs to demonstrate the capabilities of the Spacebomb House Band<\/strong> and his record label of the same name. That record caught on with critics and listeners alike, and effectively launched White’s career as a name artist. \u201cI think that story has gotten lost in translation a little bit,\u201d says White. \u201cBy no means is Big Inner<\/em> a ‘demo’ in the sense that we didn’t work as hard on it as we might a normal album.\u201d White makes it clear that the album is intended as \u201ca purposeful and intentional personal artistic statement.\u201d<\/p>\n The success of Big Inner<\/em> did attract some high-caliber artists to the Spacebomb label, most notably singer\/songwriter Natalie Prass<\/strong>. “I try to be successful both personally and with the Spacebomb team,” White says. “And I work pretty hard on both of those things.”<\/p>\n Born and raised in Virginia Beach, White grew up listening to pop music. \u201cI listened to Chuck Berry<\/strong> and Beach Boys<\/strong> as a little kid, Pearl Jam<\/strong> and Soundgarden<\/strong> in middle school, and all kinds of stuff in high school: good and bad,\u201d he recalls. He discovered jazz while in college, and subsequently \u201creally went back, started at the beginning, and connected it all.\u201d The result of his talent filtered through those influences is music that’s tough to describe. \u201cIf I have to say one thing, I say ‘soul’ or maybe ‘r&b.’ But I know that’s not quite right. Sometimes,\u201d he laughs, \u201cI say ‘gentleman’s psychedelia from the New World.’\u201d I suggest that to my ears, he’s sort of a cross between Isaac Hayes<\/strong><\/a> and Berlin<\/em>-era Lou Reed<\/strong>. He smiles and says, \u201cI’m just going to start saying that. Perfect.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Photo credit: Shawn Brackbill<\/p><\/div>\n On the just-released Fresh Blood<\/em>, White builds upon the sonic foundation established by his debut. He concedes that he didn’t want to repeat himself musically. \u201cBut at the same time, I don’t believe in just changing variables and setting a completely different course. There’s a vocabulary that I’m working on, and I want it to develop.\u201d On Fresh Blood<\/em>, White sought to create an album that \u201ccontain[s] bits and pieces of old vocabulary as well as pushing the language farther into something new.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/musoscribe.com\/images\/matthew_e_white.jpg\")