Matt Carmichael Q&A
“I just want to move people emotionally with my music”
Scottish saxophone player Matt Carmichael emerged from the vibrant Glasgow jazz and folk scene, alongside bandmates Charlie Stewart (fiddle), Fergus McCreadie (piano), Ali Watson (bass) and Tom Potter (drums)
24-year-old Scottish saxophonist Matt Carmichael merges improvised jazz with folk melodies to create emotional soundscapes that connect with his audiences. With an upcoming showcase appearance at Womex 2023 in Spain, he told British Underground why it’s time to share his spontaneous style of music with the world.
How did you discover the sax?
In school, when I was 11, I was lucky to be offered free music tuition. Saxophone was the one instrument I hadn’t heard of and it just seemed like this exciting and exotic thing to me. I went home and obsessively learned all the notes. I got into jazz a few years later when I had a teacher who introduced me to improvising and the freedom of expression within that.
How would you describe your music?
I’d describe it as improvised, melodic, emotive folk music with the history of jazz running through it. The melodies are simple which gives lots of space for improvisation at gigs. My background in jazz is always underlying but it’s more influenced by folk music and singer-songwriters – I went to music school in Glasgow, which is one of the best places for folk music.
What’s the music scene like in Glasgow?
I think there’s a lot of cool music coming out of the jazz scene in Glasgow, which is testament to the jazz course at the University. It’s not a big scene like in London – there are people with their own musical visions dotted around. There’s a lot of cross-collaboration with singers, pop musicians or classical, or folk musicians that always leads to interesting new music.
How does improvisation work on stage with the band?
At a live gig, we don’t need to rehearse – all the material is a springboard for collective improvisation. There are a lot of strong melodies that are the centrepoint and we improvise around those. It means the live experiences are all very unique. I’ve just got the mixes back for our new album, which will be out next year, and we’ll be playing a mix of old and new stuff at Womex in October.
“With music, I just want to move people emotionally – that feels more meaningful than selling out a big venue”
Your music is mainly instrumental, have you ever been tempted to add vocals?
I’d love to be able to sing well and write songs, but I don’t think I have an interesting enough voice. As a saxophone player, I’m trying to play melodies and sound as much like a vocalist as I can through the music. It’s nice not to have lyrics in lots of ways because it can leave it more open to interpretation. It’s been exciting to work with some new people on the new album – so we have Innes White on acoustic guitar, and Brìghde Chaimbeul [Scottish bagpipe player] and Rachel Sermanni on vocals.
How do your Scottish roots influence your music?
While I was inspired by jazz saxophone players, I was also inspired when I discovered whistle, bagpipe and fiddle players – the ornamentation and ways of playing melody… because in folk music, melody is the supreme thing. With jazz, often the tendency is that you play the melody, then you go straight to a solo, then the melody comes back. I’m drawn to the fact that the melody is the focal point the whole time.
What’s been your most memorable gig?
A few different things. Maybe the first time playing with our fiddle player Charlie was really nice, because we were playing with a quartet before. Charlie’s a really special musician – he’s an out-and-out folk/trad fiddle player but he also studied on the same jazz course, but on bass. What I love about his playing is that he’s got the folk melodies but can go off and improvise – he adds a lot of cool textures, so it’s always exciting playing with him.
What has been the most memorable moment of your career?
There was a cool thing when I released my first album, the WDR Big Band in Germany invited me to play with them. They wanted to arrange music from my album, so that was a really crazy thing for me because it wasn’t something within my realm – I thought this is something only select people do, so that gave me a bit of confidence to think, maybe I can dream a bit bigger. That was a really cool moment in my career. Living in Scotland, you see people in America and other countries and it seems far away, but when that happened, it felt like it’s possible to go beyond the UK.”
What are you looking forward to about playing at Womex?
Womex is an all-encompassing place for world music, so it seems like the perfect opportunity to branch out from what I am doing at the moment. It’ll be cool to meet lots of people from different places, hear new music from different cultures, and meet people who are passionate about my music.”
How do you see your sound developing in the future?
I’ve spent the past four months intensely writing this album and having a clear vision for that, but now I want to collaborate with more new musicians. I don’t have specific goal to play particular venues. I guess, with music, I just want to move people emotionally and reach new audiences. There was one person who got in touch who had drepression – and said they had been listening to a specific track of mine which had really helped them – that feels more meaningful than selling out a big venue.
What do you love about music?
“I love that it brings people together. You don’t have to know the same language as someone else – especially with improvised music – you can get five different people in the room from different countries, if they are open to improvising you can just make some music together,and it can transport you to different places within your mind. That’s what got me into music – the strong emotional effect of music on you. That’s what I love about it. So it’s the emotional impact and the universal language of music that connects people from all around the world.”
“It’s the emotional impact and the universal language of music that connects people from all around the world.”
You can see Matt and his band perform on Friday 27 October at 9.30pm on the Teatro Colón Theatre stage at Womex in Spain.
You can read more about Scotland’s presence at WOMEX on the Creative Scotland website.