For a guy hailing all the way from San Francisco, Matt Simons sure is making waves on this side of the Atlantic. His song “Catch and Release” has made its way onto the top 40 charts across Europe and the U.K. He ended his European tour here in Dublin with a sold-out gig at Whelans this past Friday. The most unexpected success for Simons, though, came from the Netherlands, where his song “With You,” became a hit after it was featured on the Dutch soap opera, Goede tijden, slechte tijden (Good Times, Bad Times). “They randomly placed my music onto an episode, it was for a big dramatic moment,” Simons explained. “It was funny though, with the rules of tv and music, they actually didn’t have to ask permission to use the song. So I didn’t even know it was happening. I literally woke up one day and saw that this song that I had released eight months before, ‘With You,’ was in the charts in Holland, and I’m like, wow, what’s going on right now?”
For those of us here in Ireland who haven’t seen Goede tijden, slechte tijden, Simons did his best to sum up his sound, though his music can’t be boxed into only one genre. “The last couple of singles, especially the new song, “Lose Control,” they’ve really become this crossover between acoustic singer-songwriter music and house music,” he said. “Basically as a musician I like to fuse genres, I think it’s really fun.”
The audience at Whelans on Friday definitely got to see Simons and the band breaking down genres, as they played their own hits such as “Catch and Release,” and also played a cover of Simon and Garfunkel. Along with a unique set list, Simons also uses a variety of instruments during his live performances. “I studied jazz music, which is a big part of who I am as a musician, so I like to play my saxophone during the show,” he said. “So we play a little bit of jazz, a little bit of pop, and we’ve got these slow piano ballads. I can’t necessarily put one genre to it.”
Friday's gig was a milestone for Simons in Ireland, as it was not just only his first time in Dublin but also his first time playing to an Irish crowd. “The vibe was crazy, it was great!” he said. “We haven’t had a crowd like that on tour. You know, they’ve been loud when you want them to be, and quiet on the slow songs, especially the German and even the Dutch audiences, but these guys were so rowdy! It was really fun, a great way to end the tour, we’d love to come back.”
Though it may be a while before Simons and his band make it back to Dublin, you can expect to hear them on the radio soon. "'Lose Control', the lead single from the new E.P When the Lights Go Down is coming to Irish radio in the next couple months," he said, "so we’re really excited about that. That’s the follow-up to Catch and Release, and I hope people enjoy it. I'm really proud of it, it feels like a big step forward."
"Lose Control" is also available on Spotify. You can watch the video for the track below.