M. Ward
M. Ward
Matthew Stephen "M" Wardis a singer-songwriter and guitarist from Portland, Oregon. Ward's solo work is mixture of folk and blues-inspired Americana analog recordings, releasing eight albums since 1999, primarily through independent label Merge Records. In addition to his solo work, he is a member of pop duo She & Him and folk-rock supergroup Monsters of Folk, as well as participating in the recording, producing, and playing with multiple other artists...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMusician
Date of Birth4 October 1973
CountryUnited States of America
I learned a long time ago that fame and money is not a ticket to happiness.
I treat the act of making a record very much like working in a laboratory, experimenting with sounds and ideas... Whoever chooses to latch onto it, great; whoever doesn't, that's fine, too. The reaction always pales in comparison to the weight of the act of production.
I'm somebody who doesn't feel the need to be in the driver's seat all the time. I appreciate the perspective of being in the passenger's seat sometimes, and I feel fortunate for that because I've learned a lot from that perspective.
When you work on a record for three years, it's a great sense of relief when it is finally out in the world. It just feels good.
As a producer, I like to bring in unexpected voices, unexpected musicians, like Watt and Joey Spampinato of NRBQ.
The South of France is one of my favorite places in the world.
I definitely don't see myself as much of a singer, because my upbringing is really based around the guitar, learning chord progressions and that sort of thing. So the singing aspect of what I do has been a secondary adventure.
Every record turns into whatever the listener gets out of it.
Even though someone has died, a piece of their spirit can still be alive. That's an exciting world for me to take music into, or to attempt to do that.
It was endlessly amusing to me to try to imitate John Lennon and Paul McCartney's harmonies using the guitar.
I don't like the way recording to digital sounds.
I got into one Metallica record. That was about it. I never got into AC/DC or Black Sabbath or any of that. I was interested in the side of heavy metal that had interesting guitar ideas, but that was a very short-lived thing.
I went every Sunday to church when I was growing up, and I think that music had an affect on me before my memory can recall.
The way that I'm working now is basically the way I've been working since I was a kid: Find the greatest artist in whatever you do, and rip them off with respect. I think there's a big difference between ripping off with respect and ripping off in disrespect.