This isn't going to start out like your normal music article. You know, when the writer is describing what is going on with the artist, what the scene looks like, ect. I can tell you what i was doing when i first heard Mateo. I was browsing around Myspace as usual, it was late, and i was probably on the phone. I'm on an artist page and I see Mateo in his top. "Thats a good looking guy," i'm thinking. But there are a lot of good looking guys in the industry, is this guy actually talented? I'm thinking i'm about to hear this guy sing about meeting girls at the club, probably done over a beat by a Scott Storch wanna-be. So i take the change and i click in his flick, at the top of his page I see this youtube vidoe, and before his music player can start, I stop it. "He's covering Crazy!" I had to hear it. I was surprised, to take a song that was so beautifully crafted and sung by Gnarles Barkley and make it hs own, I thought this guy has to be talented. His falsetto was so pleasing to the ear. I had to hear what else he was doing. What I heard was a man influenced by not only R & B, but an Alternative root as well. Mateo finds a way to infuse what he feels into his music, and its done so well that the listener feels this themselves. Take "Human" for example. Through Mateo's vocals you can sense the urge of a man who wants to be loved despite his short comings, "If you look at me a little bit deeper/And see that I need you to understand who I am. The beautiful guitar and melody make the song a triumh and sets it apart from other male R & B vocals. Yes, its a theme we've all heard before, but when was the last time you've heard it done so well?
Myspace Q & A's are not fun, they don't have the same spotenaity as being in person, but sometimes these are the cards you dealt. What i got from Mateo's answers is that he is someone who really loves his craft. He's the kind of person that you know has talent and you pray for his success, because he deserves it.
I just wanted to start out by saying thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I won't be editing anything out, unless its grammatical lol, so the answers that you give is what i am going to show, just so that there is no issue of misinterpretation. I really appreciate this.
I love your rendition of "Crazy", what made you decide to cover the song, and make a video for it?
Well..."Crazy" has always been a favorite song of mine, so I couldn't wait to do my own version of it in my shows. So one day I was at the studio with my guitar player, Adam Rader, and we were playing around with the song and came up with dope new acoustic version of the song. Immediately, my JL was like we should tape you recording it in the studio. That idea ended up morphing into "Why don't we just do a video for it" We literally got together in a coffee shop, wrote up a treatment for it, and then shot it in all of 8 hours. We were really happy with the end result and it seems that everybody else is really loving it. It was fun for us...so its something we would definitely do again. Actually, I've heard that Cee-Lo has seen it and also liked it. Def a good look.
How did you're time in Atlanta, shape your music?
Atlanta is full of talented singers. When I moved to ATL from Ohio...I was amazed at the amount of musicians and singers that were around...that were off the hook. I mean, doing runs and riffs for days. Thats where I learned how to push my voice to another level. It was a good experience.
When you made the decision to leave "Cooperate America" did you have your doubters?
Yeah...I did. My family was pretty supportive but some of friends definitely were like "dawg...what the hell are you doing". Most people think of music as a far fetched career because there's no structure to it....no easy pathway to it. But the support me now.
Who are you listening to right now, and what do you think about the state of R & B?
I'm loving the new Alicia Keys album. I have never been a big fan of hers until now. I felt like the music really thought out and heartfelt which is different from most rnb music today. Now, artist don't take the time to develop their own style and vibe...they just go around a get hollow beats for known producers and make the album that the previous person made. There's no sincerity or feeling in it anymore.
Many artist are very critical of themselves, do you ever find yourself listening to your music saying you could have done better?
Always...i'm the most critical person when it comes to my music. I always think that i could've done something better.
What is the one thing that you would want your fans to know about you, that they may not be able to read on your page?
That just like everyone else...I get discouraged and scared about my journey into pursuing my dreams but I continue to believe no matter what and visualize it. Making the leap into your dreams may seem like the most far fetched and unattainable thing but what you find is that if you just take the leap without over thinking it...you'll get farther than you think.
Will you be doing any shows soon, and how can fans find out?
We're putting together a show schedule which will be posted on my MySpace page. So definitely check it every so often.
Last but not least, this one is for the ladies...Are you single....lol you don't have to answer that.
haha....yeah, I'm single. Its kind of hard to do the relationship thing and grind music 24/7. But I definitely have my fun in Hollywood...date ..kick it.
I really want to thank you for the opportunity, hope its turns into a budding friendship!
Hey...no problem...thank you for the request. Talk to you soon.
The song that i currently have on my page is called "Complicated". Something that all of us has gone through before. Not expecting to fall in love but you did, and now you don't know how to deal with the feelings, "I just wanted to be/I never wanted to fall. The piano intro is amazing and then the drums come in and you're soon mesmerized by not only Mateo's voice but the lyrics.
You can find "Human", and "Complicated" on Mateo's myspace page
www.myspace.com/mateosongs
Brittani Cooper
