Ahead of his performance at C2C Festival next month, Matt Stell has released his brand new EP – One of Us. Following the release of his previous EP – Better Than That – on which Stell appeared to have found his lane in country, this new EP shows an artist in full command of his own artistry, pushing that gear up into full force and digging deeper into his American roots.

Much of the record is born for an arena stage. So, ‘One of Us’ is a full throttle searing country rock track about inclusivity and celebrating your blue collar roots, ‘One of us got a chain if you get stuck / One of us got a cooler full of cold Busch / In the back of his truck / And if that sounds like you / You might be one of us.’ Elsewhere, fiery ‘This One’s Gonna Hurt’ offers a rip-roaring, rock-tinged hell raiser of a track about celebrating today, despite the hangover’s of tomorrow. ‘There’s proof in the bottle / That this ones gonna hurt like a buck from a bronco / But tonight, we’ll live it up ‘cause tomorrow / we’ll be laying low, no we ain’t gotta go to work (hell naw).’ It’s riotously fun and is bound for an arena performance (adding this to our C2C wishlist…) Of course, there’s other slick tracks to add to the mix – ‘Shut The Truck Up’ is an easy flowing track, where Stell tries to erase an ex-lover’s memory ingrained in the interior of his truck. ‘All my playlists, I can’t play em / From the A to the F to the XM dial / Every memory, every mile it reminds me of us / And I wish I could just shut the truck up.’ It’s an easy tripping melody.

Stell, though, has been known for his powerful ballads, and he does not disappoint on the EP – ‘Man Made’ is a gorgeous lilting track. ‘Behind any guy doing anything right is a woman’s work at hand / If a man made anything, it’s ’cause a woman made that man.’ Stell’s honeyed trademark vocals soar here, in this creatively meaningful and tender ballad about his gratitude for the women in his life, an idea followed through on ‘Roots In This Ground’ – where lesser artists would allow this to settle into corny territory, Stell’s delivery elevates the track – a sonorous ballad about settling down with the right girl. ‘‘Cause the pretty girls gonna put the settle in your down / And roots in this ground.’

However, it is the final track (‘Somewhere Over The Radio’) is the only track on the record not co-produced by Stell that shows his growth as an artist. It is very different in feel – a beautiful piano ballad narrating his need to leave town and chase music. ‘Somewhere over the radio way out past the county line / There’s a place where you wake up dreaming in the broad daylight / You know I got no choice but to chase those songs in the clouds / I know it sounds crazy but I can hear ‘em now / And I promise you girl when you’re riding around back home / You’ll hear me somewhere over the radio.’ With hardly any instrumentation to hide behind, the track shows the true power and musicality of Stell’s vocal and its masterfully delivered to showcase the full breadth and range of Stell as an artist. Chest-thrumping hell-raisers may be what you go to Stell’s concerts for, but doubtless these moments will be the ones that stick with you – just like in their studio versions.

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In only the last three years, Matt Stell has quickly made his mark on country music, amassing over half a billion music streams across his catalogue, including back-to-back U.S. No. 1s ‘Prayed For You‘ and ‘Everywhere But On‘ along with fan favourites ‘Boyfriend Season‘ and ‘That Ain’t Me No More‘.

Now, he has shared a brand new track, ‘One Of Us‘, written by James Barker, Travis Wood, Gavin Slate, and Jim McCormick and produced by Ash Bowers and Stell and available to stream/download everywhere. The release coincides with the first night of his 17-city U.S. headlining Man Made Tour 2022, with Matt also due to return to the UK for the second time this year, on a co-headlining Country Music Week tour with Elvie Shane. For tickets and information, check out mattstell.com. The track is a catchy melody, brought to life through Matt Stell’s signature vocal as he sings about all the characters he encounters during his upbringing and childhood. ‘“We all talk a little small-town bunch of raised right-round-here kids keepin’ it country // We all know a little dirt road // 80-hour workload week never hurt nobody // One of us got a chain if you get stuck //  One of us got a cooler full of cold Bud in the back of his truck // And if that sounds like you then you might be one of us // Yeah, you might be one of us.” The track brims with nostalgia and unfiltered honesty and is immensely charming.

Upcoming UK dates:

Wed 19 Oct | Deaf Institute, Manchester*

Thurs 20 Oct | Stereo, Glasgow*

Sat 22 Oct | Bush Hall, London (Country Music Week Hub)

Sun 23 Oct | Bush Hall, London*

(* – w/ Elvie Shane)

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Hi Matt! The last time we spoke was back in May last year, and so much has happened for you since that time – how can you configure all that in your brain?

Yeah, it’s been great, we’ve been really busy, we’ve been running up and down roads with the new single, playing a bunch of shows. The way that I just keep everything straight is I don’t look too far ahead, I just see- where I’ve got to be in the next day or two, because calendars can get a little overwhelming at times. 

You’ve been to the UK in that time and everyone talks about how much they love it – but I feel that you took it to a whole new level – apart from the beer. How was that experience for you? 

Oh it was amazing, I enjoyed my time, probably the thing that I enjoyed the most was the people. I had a great time, I made some friends and got to play country music for a brand new crowd. Not only that, but I get to come back in October to do it again – we’re really excited about that. 

Super exciting, you’re going to be touring with Elvie Shane and I feel like you’re both part of this huge movement of artists who are really shaping the genre and pushing boundaries and playing with the sound in lots of different ways. 

I hope so, my favourite country music is stuff thats distinct and different and unique – that’s what we try to do for sure. I know I can probably speak for Elvie that he has the same thing and views it the same way. He’s got some unbelievable songs, he’s a great guy and a talented dude so we’re really excited to get over together and get to play some music.

It will be absolutely awesome, we’re really looking forward to it. I can’t not talk about the success of ‘Man Made,’ it’s still going up the charts – the way country music radio works I will never understand – but it’s doing all the right things. Can you talk about hearing that track for the first time, and why it spoke to you? 

When I heard it the first time, I was blown away because it’s not something that I would typically write. Besides a couple of songs, most of my songs are on the heavier side – subject matter-wise at least – and when I heard this song and heard the melody and the lyrics, it had this positive vibe to it and I thought ‘oh man, this is a special song, and I’d love to be the guy who gets to sing it for people.’ It’s been a lot of fun releasing it out into the world – as you say, country radio is it’s own beast, so you’ve got to jump through the hoops for certain things, but at the end of the day, that typically means that people will get to hear your songs, so that’s exciting for sure. 

Obviously this was an external cut and I know you’ve had amazing success with external cuts yourself – you’ve got a cut on Cody Johnson’s record –  so, when do you make the decision to keep a track for yourself and when to give it away? How do you work that thought process through in your head? 

Well a lot of it has to do with timing, because you’re cutting sometimes and sometimes you’re not, then fit for sure, I like to write a bunch of stuff that doesn’t necessarily fit what I do but it’s fun to get out and do unique and different stuff when you can. So I think fit and timing are a lot of the reasons why those things happen, and why they’re cut by other artists.

It’s awesome to kind of have even more of your voice floating around the country ether. 

Well I moved into town to be a songwriter and my motto has always been that the song is king, whoever writes it, it doesn’t really matter as long as the best songs are getting recorded – or the song that fits the best. I’ve just got to go by that, whether I’m cutting music or sending the music off for other people. 

I know for this track, you co-produced it with Ash Bowers, can you talk about how important it is for you to have a hand in the production. I know a lot of artists are not as heavily involved in that side of things. 

Yeah for sure, it’s such a big part of the song – how it comes off and how it gets recorded. That’s something that I’ve always enjoyed being a part of and then I feel like for the most part, I have a vision or a sound in my mind that I try to get out onto the track. It’s just another opportunity to be creative, I’m leaning on the taste and the talent of a lot of studio players, I can kind of tease out the sound that I want – certain songs can sound quite a bit different in how they’re recorded. It’s another creative sort of half of it.  

You brought the track to life with that really powerful music video, what was the process to record that music video. 

That was totally the brain child of the videographer and the director of the video and the treatment that he did. I think it’s so fun to collaborate visually with people, I really rely on the expertise and creativity of so many people to help give a song that third dimension and tell a story with it. It’s always a value add and a way to engage with the song in a different way. Dustin Heaney is someone I’ve worked with a lot and I really trusted him.

Now you’ve had a few number one hits, is there an increased pressure that something has got to go number one again?

I mean that’s always the goal, but there’s a lot of mitigating factors that have nothing to do with the music itself, which is a tough thing to learn. At the end of the day, you put the music out and know that you’ll have a team to support. It’s the reality of the music. 

What’s the plan for the releases for the rest of the year – obviously you’ve dropped a string of singles, ‘Boyfriend Season’ and ‘Man Made’?

I’ll release singles and give them their moment, it’s tough to say because music gets released so differently and plans change so much. I have a lot of new music in the hopper that I can’t wait to share. The good news is that there’ll be a bunch of new music out soon.

Well we can’t wait to hear it. Thanks so much for taking the time to chat today!

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Matt Stell has released his brand-new single ‘Man Made‘ to country radio to a huge response. Written by Brett Sheroky and Ian Christian and produced by Stell and Ash Bowers, ‘Man Made’ is the lead single from a forthcoming new project, due later this year.

The official music video for “Man Made” is out now. Directed by Dustin Haney and shot between Nashville and Napa Valley’s scenic Regusci Winery, the video highlights men from all walks of life, with the important women who continually lift them up and support them.

In only the last three years, Matt Stell has quickly made his mark on country music, amassing more than half a Billion music streams across his catalogue, including back-to-back No. 1s ’Prayed For You‘, which is quickly approaching 2x Platinum status, and ‘Everywhere But On‘, along with fan favourites ’Boyfriend Season‘ and ‘That Ain’t Me No More‘. He has since made his Grand Ole Opry debut and performed on Good Morning America, The Kelly Clarkson Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #LateShowMeMusic digital series, Bachelor In Paradise and sung the national anthem for NASCAR and NFL events.

Matt Stell has also announce a co-headlining tour with Elvie Shane, kicking off in November – tickets available now.

For more info, visit Matt on: Twitter I Facebook I Instagram I YouTube I TikTok I mattstell.com

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Matt Stell has shared a fan footage video to accompany his latest track ‘Boyfriend Season‘ that is available to stream/download everywhere now. Co-written by Stell with Zach Abend, Seth Ennis and Geoff Warburton, and co-produced by the artist with Ash Bowers, ‘Boyfriend Season’ marked his first new music in seven months and gives fans a taste of new music to come in 2022.

“When it comes to break-ups I think everybody spends a lot of time in their own head, especially deep down when you know that breaking up might be a mistake, it might be your fault, or at least you could’ve done more to give the relationship a fair chance of succeeding,” said Stell of the new song.

He added, “That’s a kinda hard thing to face, so I think sometimes we try to talk ourselves into feeling better about the situation.‘That Ain’t Me No More’ and ‘Everywhere But On’ is this happening from the guy’s perspective. ‘Boyfriend Season’ is the flip side of the coin where the girl in the song is having to deal with those feelings of not having 100% closure on stuff. And  also, “tell your friends it ain’t boyfriend season” is also really fun to yell at a concert!”

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[tps_title] 21. Matt Stell – That Ain’t Me No More [/tps_title]

Matt Stell kicked off 2021 in style with this heartfelt track, opining on the life that an ex now lives with someone else.

The post The 21 Best Tracks Released in 2021 So Far appeared first on off the record.

Morning Matt, how are you?

I’m good!

I just saw your ‘Blinding Lights’ acoustic cover, and it was amazing. I didn’t think that song could be reinvented like that.

Thank you very much, I am a big fan of The Weeknd – the track seems like one of those ones that is going to influence music going forward . I thought that it sounded like a classic right from the first time I heard it so. It’s exciting anytime you get the chance to reinvent a song like that.

You’ve managed to do that quite a few times, reinventing stuff. Your music is so timeless and genre-less, because you’ve got that grit to your voice. Was there ever a time that you kind of thought of going down a different genre route?

I’m probably influenced by a lot of different stuff, it’s always made the most sense to me – the flavours and influences of country music that’s what comes the most natural. Country music is a fairly wide genre, you know.

It’s becoming broader by the day.

It feels like we’ve found a pretty good home there and we’re still able to be creative.

It’s really exciting what’s happening with the genre – the sound is diversifying and there’s definitely more new voices emerging which is so exciting – obviously, you are a big part of that with all your number ones in the past year or so. What does it mean to have the success you’ve had over the past year when everything’s been a little bit crazy?

Oh, man, crazy is an understatement. It’s been quite a blessing to have some success at radio, especially being a being a newer artist – that’s not always the case. A lot of radio has to do with the music first and foremost, but it also has to do with building relationships so that when you put music out, you can get ears on it. After our first single, we were able to chase a single on the chart during the pandemic, which really made the shows on the other side a lot of fun because it’s the first time we’re getting to play ‘Everywhere But On.’ It’s one of my favourite songs I’ve ever written, so to see people sing it back is pretty great.

I can imagine as a new artist – you have done such a great job of keeping the momentum and keeping the fans engaged – it must have been incredibly frustrating when things shut down and you had that momentum going into the pandemic. 

What I do is kind of two jobs – one is just writing songs and the pandemic kind of benefitted that, we had more time than we ever would, so that was a silver lining to have more time to write and be creative. The second job of being an artist and playing music live was gone like a light switch – not only for me, but for the band and crew, it was pretty devastating. Now though we’re getting back to playing shows, and the numbers look good over here. It’s been a whole lot of fun to feel the energy again – it’s really special because it’s something we didn’t expect to be taken away.

Obviously you recently released ‘That Ain’t Me No More’ – can you talk a bit about that song and the first time you heard it?

Yeah, that song checks all the boxes for me – it’s so energetic, it’s got a cool melody that’s fun to sing, but it’s also got a fresh twist on classic country tropes. I love a turn of phrase – to me that’s what makes country music so unique and those twists are my favourite part of country music. This is the first single that I’m not a writer on. I moved to Nashville to be a writer and so you depend on the best song winning and that’s what I try to do. Some days I’m in the room for a great song and other days a song like this hit me in all the right places. Hardy just texted me and was like, ‘Hey, man, check this out’. I was really glad to cut that song and to put my spin on it.

Do you ever have to race to get a cut down and have to battle over the songs that you want to cut?

Oh, that definitely does happen, but being a songwriter I get it if a Blake Shelton or someone wants a song, it’ since. I understand that the way that the business is structured is that it’s basically sink or swim with radio. There’s some songs that definitely jump out of the speakers to a lot of people here, there’s a lot of talented people in Nashville.

You’ve got such a successful track record with the singles that you’ve written, so when do you decide to take external cuts?

It’s me and a couple people that I really trust – managers and the folks at the label – my managers and I typically come to the plate with what we want, and what we want to do, and thus far our label situation has been so supportive. We’ve got a lot of latitude creatively, so we just go for the best songs and we don’t pay attention with who writes what – that’s what elicits the greatest response that’s been the way we’ve worked thus far.

‘Sadie’ was one of my favourite songs of the last year. Can you talk about hearing that one for the first time?

My manager got a hold of that song and he sent it to me – the cool thing about this song is that I feel like it fits into what we do, but it’s definitely distinct in how it sounds. It made the project diverse and we don’t always have the same thing coming out all the time. ‘Sadie’ is one of those songs that just fell in our lap that was different – it relies on a melody and typically country music focusses on the lyric, that’s what I’m a sucker for – it’s got an unbelievable melody and some ear candy there. It’s able to tell a pretty cool story with pretty sparse lyrics. We thought it fit well with what we did and it was different enough that it found a home on the project.

It’s a song made for singing in a car in summer. It was just a huge soundtrack to last year. I know you’ve got the single on radio now, but can we expect new music coming in the next few months? I know you’re teasing little bits on social media.

You definitely can. We were just in the studio putting together the finishing touches on what will be an album probably sometime late summer or fall. We’re really excited about that and excited about getting that going. I can’t wait for you to hear the new stuff.

We’re excited and hopefully get you to the UK soon!

I can’t wait to get there!

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Rising singer-songwriter Matt Stell has continued to hone his creative craft with his new music video for ‘That Ain’t Me No More.’ Matt made his debut in ‘If I Was A Bar’ last year playing 13 different comedic characters. Directed by Dustin Haney and filmed in the Nashville area, the moody video for “That Ain’t Me No More” follows Matt’s character as he attempts to overcome a troubled past, turn over a new leaf and come to terms with the fact that his ex-girlfriend has moved on to someone new. The cut opens with Matt trying to get a job at a concrete plant – not unfamiliar territory for Matt who worked in construction at home in Arkansas prior to embarking on his musical career.

“I can’t wait for people to see the video. It tells the story of the song in a really interesting way,” says Stell. “It got me back on a job site working like I used to do before I moved to Nashville. In the video I also get my heart broken by a beautiful girl, which I know a thing or two about. I got to do some acting in this video—technically it’s only one line (actually five words) but I didn’t mess it up so that’s a win. I’m proud of this song and I’m proud of this video! Check it out!”

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After a mammoth 2020, with two phenomenal back-to-back US #1 singles – “Prayed For You” and “Everywhere But On” – Matt Stell has kicked off 2021 in style with his new single, “That Ain’t Me No More,” out now on RECORDS Nashville / Arista Nashville / Sony Music – listen here. Of the track, Matt Stell shares, ‘The early reaction to ‘That Ain’t Me No More’ has really been incredible…This song really impacted me and it seems to be resonating with folks at country radio as well. I’ve said it before but the thing that almost all of us in the music business have in common is a passion for the music itself. Seeing the positive reaction from people who’ve made music their life’s work is really special.’

The track was premiered last month on The Bobby Bones Show, and showcased during his Country Radio Seminar New Faces virtual performance. At the performance, Stell credited country radio for his debut success as a new artist. It was then revealed during an emotional pre-taped video, that same success allowed him to pay off his Mom’s horse trailer as a surprise Christmas gift. Written by HARDY, Hunter Phelps, Smith Ahnquist, Jake Mitchell and Nick Donley and co-produced by Matt with Ash Bowers, “That Ain’t Me No More” is available to stream/download here now.

With the single delivering Matt’s first new music since October 2020’s Better Than That EP and a series of acoustic video performances to accompany each song (watch here), the Arkansas native is one of only seven new artists in the last five years to have their first two singles top the US country radio charts.

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