Matthew Gooden has been blessed with the fortune of growing up in the midst of the thriving music scene in Los Angeles, California. Exposure to an overwhelming concentration of talent both within the realm of electronic music as well as in other styles such as hip-hop, alternative, and jazz has allowed Gooden to take in the various styles, analyzing the intricacies of each, which he has utilized to craft the guise of his musical exploration under the profile Emzhi.
While Gooden himself is a particularly humble personality, his talent in production and his sonic capabilities as an artist shine through in even the short number of releases he totes to-date. Earlier releases such as his standalone original ‘Paranoia’ demonstrate a proclivity for crafting mesmerizing soundscapes with powerful buildups and innovative drops, while his collaboration with fluxxy and Attic Beats ‘On Your Own’ illustrates equivalent proficiency working alongside a vocalist.
The latest from Emzhi expands the boundaries of his creative capability even further, weaving a delicate, emotional introduction into X&G’s ‘Gravity’, which exquisitely accentuates the soft vocal melody and effortlessly launches into a complex drop composed of dark, dangerous waves of bass and playful string fills.
Undeniable creative range and an ability to craft insatiable dark, grimy drops presents a promising future for Emzhi, and we look forward to seeing his style evolve even further in the coming year.
Check out the full interview with Gooden below where he shares some advice on surmounting uncertainty and anxiety in the industry as well as a brief look at what’s ahead for the talented LA-native and be sure to grab the free download of the remix here.
Your bio on SoundCloud reads ‘an introvert making extroverted music’ — expand on this thought a bit further, in what ways has being a more reserved person given you an advantage as a producer?
Since I’m introverted, it’s hard for me to freely express my thoughts because I like to take the time to think about what I want to say or do. For instance, if I’m in a group discussion, I’ll usually spend the time absorbing all of the things being said. After I do that I use that information to help myself formulate an idea that can build on the discussion. I think that this part of my personality relates back to my ability to be patient, which can be a really great asset for a producer to have. The aspect of my music that I like so much is that I take the time to be really detailed and methodical with every step of my production. I find that it allows me to make better music because everything is done with a specific goal in mind. So as far as advantages go, my personality allows me to focus intensely on details because I’m really patient in developing ideas. In regards to the ‘introvert making extroverted music’ phrase, I like to making energetic music because it’s just me channeling my thoughts into my music. I use music as a medium to let things out since my introverted personality makes me want to keep things in. So as a result, my music tends to be really loud and somewhat in your face because it’s me projecting all the things I keep bottled up inside my head.
Growing up in Los Angeles, which is arguably the hotspot for EDM in the United States, how has the thriving environment around you influenced your own path as an artist?
The thing with LA is that even though it’s EDM heavy at the moment, there are a lot of other genres that are really popular in the area. There’s hip hop, r&b, rock, jazz, alternative, etc…. I do my best to listen to a wide array of music because I appreciate the different vibes and feelings that come with all genres of music. The songs that I’ve released so far don’t really reflect that since they’re really EDM heavy. But for this coming year, I want to make an effort to incorporate more non-electronic instruments and elements into my music so it can be more unique. I think the Gravity remix is a step in the right direction since the main musical element in the intro is comprised of a guitar and a Rhodes piano. But as far as my path as an artist goes, my eclectic taste in music stems back to my childhood. My parents always played all kinds of music throughout the house, which shaped my perception of what music was and what it could be. But going to EDM events around LA was what really drove me to want to make bass music, even though I like listening to everything.
How do you compare your debut solo release ‘Paranoia’ and the latest remix for X&G that have a slightly darker, bass-woven influence to the more uplifting, vocal-heavy tracks such as your collaboration with Attic Beats and fluxxy?
My debut release was the first step that I took in order to take my art in a darker direction. These days I consider dark and bass heavy tracks to be more interesting than happy and uplifting tracks. When I first started making EDM I was producing upbeat and vibrant future bass songs like my collaboration with Attic and Fluxxy. It wasn’t until I started listening to artists like Noisia and NERO that my perception of electronic music changed. At that point. I started watching sound design tutorials on YouTube that taught me how to make the synths that Noisia were famous for. I haven’t looked back since.
What aspects of ‘Gravity’ initially inspired you to create your own rendition of the song? Was there a sound or technique that struck you particularly that you hoped to expand upon or preserve within your own remix?
There were three things about the song that caught my attention: the first were the chords in the intro, the second were the vocals, and the third was the sound design. The vocals were what stood out to me because they gave off an airy and mysterious vibe that contrasted well against the saturated/gritty synths and guitar. Before I started the remix, I decided that I wanted the vocals be prominent, and for the remix to be really simple. I made sure to remove a lot of supportive instruments and sound effects that X&G initially had in the song, because I wanted to isolate the main chords, vocals, and guitars. Once I did that, I then focused on highlighting those elements while complimenting them with my own synths and instruments. So the remix was more about preserving elements and making them stand out more, rather than expanding on one element of the song.
If your take of X&G’s ‘Gravity’ were a dish on a menu at a restaurant, what type of cuisine would it be and why?
I think it’d be Italian food. Italians do a really good job of keeping their food really simple, and you can easily pick out the basic spices and ingredients that they use. For instance, if you eat a meatball you’ll say, there’s ground meat, probably oregano, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, eggs, and some mystery ingredient. I just think that their food is no-nonsense and that it gets straight to the point. Even though their cooking is classified by the region of the country, there’s still an overall sense of simplicity and quality in it. I can’t really think of food that tastes dark so that’s my guest guess lol.
With only 3 tracks released thus far, there is a lot yet to be revealed about Emzhi, what do you have in store for 2019 to really allow the project to take shape in the New Year?
As far as planned releases go, I have a collab with my homie D-SAB coming out in February, and I’m currently working on another X&G remix that I’ll release around March/April. Aside from those two, I plan on writing more original tracks and working with vocalists that will help shape the Emzhi project. I also plan on doing more live shows around LA in the summer, and I want to work with graphic artists to create a visual experience that will compliment my music. I just want 2019 to be the year when I solidified the groundwork for what I want this project to be, so I can build on that for the future.
