Matt Healy of The 1975: ‘I don’t have to grow up’

MANILA, Philippines – It’s hard to deny the appeal of British band The 1975. Theirs is the kind of light and easy, non-threatening pop rock that’s as palatable to most audiences as donuts are to Homer Simpson. Their most popular single shares its name with one of the most desirable foods in all of human history.

You can say that it was “Chocolate” that catapulted them to stardom. For a time the song was inescapable; practically every radio station played it, save for the one that’s all classical music, and it’s on the digital playlists of everyone from grade school geeks to middle-aged corporate drones.

Sure, they have their haters, but who doesn’t? Frontman Matt Healy, guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald and drummer George Daniel have played together for close to 10 years and any success they’re enjoying now is certainly well-deserved. 

 

 

The band was in Manila earlier this year and played to screaming fans in several Ayala malls. They’re coming back next year, January 24, 2015, for a bigger, louder show at the Mall of Asia Arena.

I caught up with Healy who, despite a punishing schedule of nonstop touring, is still as genial and as sharp as ever. In our chat he talked about his admiration for Taylor Swift, what he really thinks of critics of the band, and whether he’d ever join televised singing contests lke The Voice. 

 

 

Rappler: Where are you and what’s outside your window? 

Matt Healy: I’m sitting on my tour bus right now. I’m in Dallas, Texas. And I can see the venue that I am about to play. I can see a wall. Not very exciting, sorry.  

You were here in Manila earlier this year. What do you remember about your visit?

MH: It was insane. There were thousands of people. We were there for such a short period of time. I can remember everyone just screaming a lot. There was a lot of screaming. But I loved it. I can’t wait to come back. 

There’re all of these pictures going around of you wearing a shirt with a print of Taylor Swift’s new album 1989 and Taylor wearing one of your shirts. You guys are obviously fans of one another. Why do you think Taylor is so popular? 

MH: Well, she’s amazing. She’s an amazing role model. And not only is she an incredible songwriter, she’s an incredible pop songwriter, which I think is even harder. I can’t speak highly enough about Taylor Swift. 

Speaking of Taylor, how do you feel about her recent tiff with Spotify? What’s your take on music streaming services and how music is distributed these days? 

I think artists in the upper echelons, selling records like Taylor Swift, she’s so big, that if she took her album off Spotify then people would buy it. She disagrees with Spotify, and I can understand that for somebody like that, where she’s selling millions of records.

But for us, a lot of people are discovering us on Spotify. People aren’t discovering Taylor Swift on Spotify. So for a band like The 1975, Spotify has been a positive thing. Spotify is happening, and that’s how we’ll be discovering music in 10 years’ time. That’s simply how it’s going to be. And so we’ll just have to see how it pans out. 

You’re very popular around the world but you also have people who don’t take you seriously because you’re “too pop.” How do you feel about the band’s critics?

MH: I don’t really see a lot of it. Because in order to see it, you kind of have to seek it out. I don’t know. The thing that annoys me, is that the majority of criticism that we have I find is a misunderstanding. Because we’re so brazenly pop people don’t want to invest in the band, which is totally fine. But I know what I want to achieve. And I’m very aware as a music lover of what my band is.

I’m writing songs that connect to millions of people. And that happens for a reason. I don’t really worry too much about people who aren’t into it because that’s the beauty of music. It’s subjective. If every single person in the world loved our music, then that’d be weird. 

Listen to Matt play his NPR Tiny Desk concert here: 

 

What can you tell us about your next album? Will it have the same formula as your debut?

I’m not sure if it’s going to be completely different. It’s slightly more grown-up, slightly more contemporary, slightly more exaggerated in terms of what the first one was. Until it’s finished, I can’t really say anything about it.  

Televised reality singing competitions are so popular now, shows like The Voice, American Idol. If you weren’t where you are now, and you were still a struggling musician, would you consider joining these reality singing shows? 

No. A lot of people come from a place where it’s, “I make money so you need to make money, so sitting around singing is not going to be what we’re going to be doing, we’re going to be working.” They come from a different background. A lot of people don’t have the apparatus. So something like The X-Factor that comes to your living room as some kind of beacon of hope, I understand why people go for it. But it’s not real. It’s not real music. It’s not a result of real artistry. 

What’s the best thing about being Matt Healy now?

I can’t even tell you. There’s a lot of particularly good things going on in my life at the moment. It’s the fact that I get to be an ambassador for the concept of modernity. I can be creative and useful. And I don’t have to grow up. 

You’re coming back here to Manila early next year. What are you looking forward to on your next visit?

I’m looking forward to everything being bigger than it was last time, because I can’t really imagine what that would be be like. More people. The show is going to be huge. A whole production. The whole big 1975 show which none of the Filipino fans have seen yet.  – Rappler.com

The 1975 will perform on January 24, 2015 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Tickets at P7500, P6500, P5500, P3500, P2500, and P1500. For more information, call 470-2222 or visit smtickets.com