Demo Recording grant enables music documenting the queer experience to take flight

As working artists, singer-songwriter Matthew Presidente and producer Matt Roach are no stranger to music’s emotive storytelling properties. Thanks to an investment from the Demo Recording program (offered jointly in 2022 by the City of Vancouver and the Province of BC), the pair has been able to share a story that personally centers queer identity through music: the single “Hundreds or Fives”. The track was produced by Matt Roach, at the Rain City Recorders studio, and features Matthew Presidente in a starring role.

Matthew Presidente in an arranging role.

When asked to dig deeper into the context informing his approach to this single, Matthew offers, “I’ve been a professional working musician since the early 2000s. In the last year, I’ve taken the dive into music as a full-time career. I categorize my style as queer-themed piano rock: as in, I write from my lived experiences as a gay man. As a piano player, singer, and songwriter, I’m writing in a theatrical, emotive way: think Queen, Elton John, Meatloaf, and Scissor Sisters. I do my best to make music that is true and authentic to my experiences, but that can also be relatable to a general audience. I feel that music is all about sharing different perspectives – and that is what I hope to do with mine.”

Reflecting on his own musical roots, Matt says, “I’m a songwriter, producer, engineer, and mixer based out of Vancouver that works with local and international artists to actualize their musical vision. When I launched my career as a home recording artist in 1999, I worked at Vogville Recorders and The Armoury Studios under a host of top producers and engineers. I now find myself as a partner in the locally-based studio Rain City Recorders, where I continue to hone my craft. I specialize in rock and metal production, but have experience in almost every genre besides electronic/urban.”

Matt continues, “I often wear so many hats in the studio, my role on every project varies. Often, what I am creating are the things the artist can’t do just yet: budgets for their project, tone hunting when they’re unsure of their sound, arranging their compositions to allow them to ‘speak’ better, breaking down songwriting to zero in on what they’re after, and linking them with the right musicians to achieve what they hear in their minds’ eye. It’s really a grab bag of experiences I’m bringing to the table.”

Matthew Presidente in another familiar form: offering piano/vocal standards for appreciative bar audiences.

Demo Recording support has enabled precisely this kind of collaborative experience to thrive between Matt and Matthew over the past few months.

Matthew continues, ”This collaborative experience between the songwriter and producer that the Demo grant supports was hugely helpful for me. Matt took one of my unfinished songs, and applied his vision to transform them into monster tracks that really capture the emotion and feeling behind them. The material we worked on is quite personal, and is about my own experiences leaving a day job to pursue my passion.  I also cover the concept of survival – both as a queer person, in the face of adversity, and professionally, as a musician. ‘Hundreds or Fives’ – one of the products of our time together – is now available for downloads and streaming.”

Matthew continues, “Through this project, Matt went above and beyond to coach me in studio best practices, taught me some great recording tricks, and mentored me on effective release strategies.”

In response, Matt offers, “Ï really feel like the end result of our work together are some really epic tracks that will allow the audience to really get to know Matthew. The amount of energy and personality on these two tracks will show in spades when you throw them on for the first time!”

Local producer Matt Roach.

For Matthew, the successes of his Demo Recording project are intertwined with his deep ties to this community. He notes, “Over the years, I’ve self-produced, recorded, and released several albums. This has been a great learning process and it’s also informed and honed my songwriting skills along the way. This has led to many great opportunities for live performances, particularly in queer spaces. I’m very proud to have worked over the years with Vancouver Pride, the Rebellious Unicorns, from the Okanagan, and other organizations. I’m also proud to have been able to share my music (both solo, and with my full band) throughout B.C.

Matthew continues, “Getting into the studio with Matt for this project has allowed me to take everything I’ve learned in songwriting and live performance, and apply it to a high-quality professional recording. I feel that this newest batch of songs are some of my best, and I’m very excited to share them.”

When asked to reflect on the artistic inspirations that underpin their individual and collective practices, Matthew offers, “As a queer-identifying musician, I am truly inspired by artists that are genuine, and that write from an honest and vulnerable space. We have amazing musicians here in B.C. who are doing this very thing! I’m particularly inspired by Devours, Leo D. E Johnson, Fallen Stars, Incendiary Sweet, SubTop, Mathew V, and Future Star, to name a few. Artists like these are keeping the conversation going on diverse issues, and entertaining the hell out of us along the way!”

Reflecting on his own inspirations, Matt says, ”I’m really inspired by my partners Jesse Gander, Emily Ryan, and Braeden Rangno. They provide me with support, work, and community that allows us as a business to flourish. I’m also really inspired by new music, and producers, and am always searching for the latest releases. You’ll often find me with headphones on.”

The Rain City recording studio, where Matthew and Matt’s work came together.

When asked to close the conversation with a few words of encouragement for others contemplating an application to Creative BC in support of a project of their own, Matt’s advice is simple:

“Lean on the Creative BC team if you’re struggling to complete your applications. Over the years, their music team have always made themselves open and available to questions and assistance, and that’s made a big difference!”

In the same spirit of directness, Matthew counsels, “Don’t get discouraged, and keep trying! As an independent musician, I spend a lot of time applying for shows, festivals, grants and other opportunities. These are all extremely competitive, and there is a lot of rejection along the way. You need to have a thick skin, and realize that it is not reflective of your talent or capability. In the meantime, talk to other artists who have been successful along the way at securing support: they may have some helpful insights for you.”

“My advice is to keep going, keep honing your craft, and the opportunities will happen.”

You can listen to “Hundreds or Fives” here.

Learn more about Matthew Presidente:

Webpage | Spotify | Instagram

Learn more about Matt Roach:

Rain City Recorders Webpage | Personal Webpage

Photos and artwork courtesy of Matthew Presidente, Matt Roach, and Rain City Recorders. Featured cover art by Cale Tian.