I started using the Matt Smith Cosmic Experience name sometime in late-2019. I relentlessly explored music production over the following year, without actually bothering to figure out how it worked. Although I started out playing music with a distinctly guitar-oriented, punk attitude, around this time I was actually making mostly electronic music.
Tracks from this era include “Trip Me Down,” “Catch Me” and most of the second half of “Home Recordings Vol.1.” I think the earliest recording of mine available anywhere is “Astral Travel.”
My first EP “Becoming A Rock Star is a Dull Aspiration,” came out in summer 2023. It’s my most punk sounding recording, with harsh and trebly production because I didn’t know any better.
Listening to artists like Beat Happening, Daniel Johnston and Syd Barrett (on Opel and The Madcap Laughs) gave me the confidence to record with low production values and without a rhythm section. I was also influenced by my beginnings as a (bedroom) punk musician, which is sort of what the whole EP is about, and so I tried to only record songs with chords I could have played when I was thirteen.
Here's a song from the EP, actually about the whole teenage bedroom punk musician fantasy:
Shortly after releasing my first EP, I recorded and released a couple of singles. “Lord Can You Hear Me,” a cover of Spacemen 3, is one of my favourite recordings I’ve made. Here it is:
I’m now at Exeter University studying religion, anthropology, that sort of thing. In my first year I directed much of my musical energy towards an indie band called Half Cut that I played bass for. The song “Concrete Island” off Sungazer was co-written with their singer Lucas Shaw, and we used to perform it live (I also sang “Head On” by the Jesus and Mary Chain with them). Here's my version of 'Concrete Island.'
I’ve also spent time playing with a loose collective of musicians called Various Artists, which at one point was the vehicle for songwriter/producer and friend of mine North English’s solo music. Here’s his EP, which we used to play live together. I've included a link for the hell of it and because I dig it, but I'm not featured on this record. Various Artists are by no means over, too, so keep an ear out for us in the future.
In the summer of 2024, I recorded my second EP Sungazer. This EP has a slightly less rough-around-the-edges sound than the previous one, although it also features no rhythm section. It’s also much more decidedly psychedelic, with less down-to-earth lyrics and more of an overall cosmic atmosphere. That's everything up to date! Have a listen to my favourite (at the time of writing) track off Sungazer below!