The Long and Shortbus of Scott Matthew

Australian-born vocalist and musician Scott Matthew has a cute accent, but foreign inflections are a dime a dozen. Having two first names, however, is not so common.

“I have thought about it, actually,” Matthew said. “I don’t know of any ‘Matthew’s either in the world, just my family. Usually it’s Matthews.”

And more specifically, there is Scott Matthews, a British singer/songwriter. Scott Matthew is often confused with the similarly-named musician, despite what he perceives as his patronymic uniqueness.

“I get confused with him all the bloody time,” Matthew laughed. “It happens a lot. To the point where there was a review in—I can’t remember which paper—but they slammed him, and I get calls the next day saying ‘the New York Times hates you!’”

His record label, Glitterhouse Records, is also aware of this peculiar problem. In Europe, where the other Scott Matthews gets press, “they’re still using the Shortbus name” to clear things up, Matthew explained, as his work on the film is a point of reference for most people.

Six of Matthew’s songs were featured in the 2006 movie. The sexually charged Shortbus, written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell, was an important project for Matthew in terms of accelerating his musical career.

“It was an amazing platform,” Matthew said. “It was also personal validation, that I am doing the right thing ... It was such a joy. Everyone was just really wonderful. In a way we created communities that resembled Shortbus ... minus all the sex.”

While Shortbus is probably Matthew’s most well-known musical endeavor, he is becoming a prolific musician. Shortly after moving from Australia about 10 years ago, he formed the band Elva Snow with musician Spencer Cobrin, of Morrissey fame. The group eventually disbanded due to circumstantial issues. Eventually, “I was like, ‘Oh, fuck it, I’m just gonna go solo,’” Matthew said.

Perhaps what is most interesting about Matthew’s musical career is his relationship with anime. He recorded scores for anime television shows, along with songs for the film adaptation of Cowboy Bebop, working with Japanese composer and arranger Yoko Kanna.

“Shortbus was the first time I had been asked to write,” he said. “I read the script and got information from the characters and what it was I needed to sing about. In Japan, I didn’t write any of that. But Yoko Kanna really liked my voice and worked around what I did.”

Kanna is not alone in her appreciation. It is precisely Matthew’s voice that has garnered him such critical acclaim. Simultaneously soothing and haunting, it was described by web magazine Salon as “a voice so drowning in sorrow and pathos that it pulls you down with it.” And the blog mydigitallif dubbed it a “raspy yet gentle melancholy voice” that “suits the stark emotion” of Shortbus.

Strangely, it is a singing voice that bears no trace of that ever-adorable Australian accent. “I think about that a lot, actually,” Matthew said when asked if he recognized this tonal phenomenon. “It is strange. It’s conditioning, not a conscious thing. I am really conditioned by listening to songs from America from generations past. It’s a subconscious need to have a particular sound.”

This March, Matthew’s voice can be heard at length with the European release of his solo album. (He is currently in negotiations for the album’s American release.)
“The album is totally done, mastered. It just hasn’t been manufactured yet. But in the next few weeks, it’ll be ready to go,” he confirmed.

Matthew will couple the release of his album with a European tour, the promotion of which will no doubt address any possible identity confusion.

But with such a delightfully poignant voice, who even cares about his name?