Photo courtesy Kevin Bush
Kevin Bush
Kevin Bush
Electronic artist Kevin Bush finds himself launching his solo project with his first EP as Matthú clad in a cowboy hat and sherpa jacket.
Bush is well known for playing in synthwave duo Immortal Girlfriend with his brother Will, but in November he released Montana under the mononym Matthú, modeled after his middle name. The recording combines acoustic guitars and ambient sounds to create a soundscape to match the vastness of the Great Plains state.
'Montana' by Matthú
'Montana' by Matthú
Though he had mixed synth sounds for two years before the EP release, Bush had an epiphany that he wanted to make his own music after a trip to Montana. “The state kicked off my desire to do music,” he added. “It was a life-changing experience and a bigger lesson than I realized at first.”
When he makes music, Bush said he goes off feeling. The first 40 seconds of “Herbivore” uses a bumping drum track as electric noise sounds off like a massive organ, creating a rising tension before the noise cuts and the song drops into an acoustic riff. The intensity of the intro evoked a powerful feeling in Bush and he said he tailors his approach to music around drawing those feelings out.
“When I’m mixing music or working as an audio engineer, I can draw that stuff out,” he added. “That’s my approach with all processes.”
Before he started producing electronic music, Bush played an acoustic guitar at 11. “I woke up one day with the desire to play drums, but my parents said, ‘No, drums are too loud.”’ he said. “So my grandfather bought me an acoustic guitar instead.” When the adults in his life saw he was serious about music, they bought him a drum kit at 13.
Later he started playing synths and put more time into playing in Immortal Girlfriend with his brother, scoring stages at the Summerfest grounds and playing alongside artists like the Florentine Opera. He programmed drums and gathered samples over the years since 2020. and in 2022 he finally released his recording as Matthú. From there, Bush said he wants to play live and move onto the next step of his solo career.
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“I fell in love with recordings and bands, but seeing music live is on another level,” he said. “I’m working on taking everything to the next level.”
Listen to Montana on Bandcamp: matthuofficial.bandcamp.com/album/montana.
