...who is Mat Eric Hart?!
Haguro taken from my album Spirits & Reflections (2020, Aural Canyon)
(PRESS PLAY ABOVE)
Hey 👋
I’m new here so I’ll start by introducing myself…
My name is Mat Eric Hart. 35. Born in London, England. I’m currently based in Provence, France.
Some of you might already know me personally or might have listened previously to my radio series Sonic Tapestries - or just figured you’d come along for the ride out of curiosity… whatever the connection, I just want to say thanks for stopping by :)
I’m launching this Substack as a new path with which to explore my creative process. Since discovering Substack I’ve found it to be such an inspirational source through following other artists on the platform, so I thought I’d develop Sonic Tapestries as a way of channeling my own journey and sharing this with you. I’m encouraging this to be an open interactive space for all so please consider leaving your feedback, thoughts and contributions (leave a comment in the comments section or join the subscriber chat below…)
As this is my first post, I thought I’d start with a brief introduction…
I started my journey into music as a guitarist - learning, writing, then teaching.
I played my way with bands in and around London (quite a few looking back…) before I wrote and released this record with my dear friend Tom Ball.
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N.B. I’ve made this available to you as a free download to say thank you for reading this far… just click the link below
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Working with Tom enlightened my practice in such a huge way. I became focused on pursuing a path that would teach me the technical side of sound creation. Following the release of the album, I decided to enrol at university and study sound design. This mas a mind-opening experience for me. I became drawn to the art, practice and philosophy of recording sound, specifically to the understanding of ambiences and soundscapes. I had already started programming my own radio show exploring my influences and inspirations - which became my long-standing radio series Sonic Tapestries - before I began working part time as a studio engineer at Resonance FM. I had the great fortune to observe many artists who graced the station’s airwaves. I remember fondly my time working with Johny Brown from Band of Holy Joy on his Bad Punk series. Johny used to encourage me to infuse his shows with my own soundscapes - sonic collages that featured field recordings, fragments and found sounds I had collected.
As my explorations with field recording and soundscapes intensified, I applied and was accepted for a role as a sound archive assistant at the British Library Sound Archive. I was mentored by two beautiful and fascinating people - Dr. Janet Tapp Fargion and Andrea Zarza Canova supporting their work as lead curators of the World & Traditional Music collection of the archive. There I entered another world. A world of pure sonic immersion and discovery. Through a combination of determination, opportunity and chance - I became involved in a series of fascinating archival projects. The first resulted in the production of my own soundscape that would accompany this British Library exhibition on Buddhism. The second was the approval for funding of my very own field project proposal which would become the Mat Eric Hart Japan Collection. This collection features original sound recordings made in Japan documenting and examining the relationship between sound and spirituality in Japanese culture. I’ll be sure to post more about this project, my travels and the sounds I recorded in an upcoming post. But for now, please enjoy a link to the archive online - where you can listen to many of the recordings I made during the project.
I’ve picked out one of my favourites below. It’s a recording I made of the noon prayer at Ōfuna Kannonji (大船観音寺), a Sōtō Zen Buddhist temple located on the outskirts of Kamakura, Kanazawa Prefecture. The ceremony is performed inside the great 25m tall white concrete statue of the bodhisattva Kannon. Performed alone by one of the temple's priests, Shoubou Sakurai, who chants whilst accompanying himself playing keisu (磬子) and tsuri-daiko (太鼓).
I finally departed London to settle in France in late 2019. My wife Camille and I were expecting a baby girl. We were both scared and somewhat disillusioned by the prospect of what Britain post Brexit would look like…. then came Covid…
During the initial lockdown period of early 2020, I wrote and recorded some new material whilst staying in the French countryside town of Saint-Bonnet-du-Gard. I had set myself upon a small studio in an old orangerie of Camille’s parents home.
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These recordings became Spirits & Reflections. An album of instrumental compositions released in Autumn 2020 on the Texas based cassette label Aural Canyon - headed by the beautiful soul Matthew Erik Hanner. If you’re still listening to the track I placed at the beginning of this post - this is the album opener - Haguro. I wrote it as a reflection of my time spent a top the sacred Mount Haguro in the Dewa Sanzan region of Yamagata Prefecture, Japan.
Since then, my work has followed a curving path. I’m very proud of the diverse nature of my work and I have had the good fortune to work on a rich and fascinating variety of projects, many of which I will share over the course of this series. There are absolutely times when I have questioned myself and my direction. “Am I making the right decision?”, “Will anyone listen to my work?”, “is this idea worth the investment?”. Indeed many a project of mine has been choked by these refrains. I’m still learning how to process these thoughts. What I understand better now than before is that it’s all a part of the process. Not getting stuck in fear - the fear of failure, the fear of making a wrong turn... the reality is you are the only person who could ever produce the work that you create. To put it somewhat nihilistically with the words of Woody Allen : “We all question our place in the universe. The artist's job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.”
The reality is you are the only person who could ever produce the work that you create
Since settling into life in France, I’ve set myself up as a DJ out here in Provence. I work A LOT of weddings and private parties, and it’s going really well. I work very closely with a great agency - Wildfire DJs - based in Cannes. I can pay the bills and finance my more creative projects without having to worry about constantly looking over my shoulder and frantically finding new opportunities. It’s a big commitment on my time across the summer but I’m in a fortunate position to say that I love my job. Playing music to people that pay to hear it is a privilege, and one worth being thankful for having in my book.
In the off-season I work mainly from my home studio though I try to get out recording in the field as much as possible all year round. The Provençal region is a goldmine of natural wonders and incredible soundscapes! Listen below to one of my favourite spots - the Calanques de Figuerolles - not far from the coastal town of La Ciotat and submerge yourself in a soothing coastal Mediterranean soundscape.
Here I lay down to listen to the rolling waves Lapping against the ancient cliffs Small wrens echo in the valley
You can find this recording as part of my collection of sounds I’ve shared with the wonderful Earth.fm project.
Last year I entered into a partnership with the online digital content platform Artlist which has led to the development of several collections of professional foley, sound effects and ambiences. I’ll be sharing more on my recording and editing techniques in the coming weeks PLUS an exclusive in-depth look at a collection I’m working on at the moment - French Walla Sounds!
So that’s kinda where I’m at now. I have new ideas and projects a plenty to come as we step into 2024. New live dates, a vinyl release, new SFX collections, a foray into film, a new field project in the works… I’ll be writing and sharing more news regularly. I chose this platform as a way of channeling my work and sharing it in a format and manner that felt natural to me. I hope you’ll find some inspiration behind it all.
Feel free to write me directly or leave a comment in the comments section below.
It’s a pleasure to have you here with me.
🌻🌻🌻
Mat
So kewl! You are a welcome respite from the political rants and news I whelm myself with on Substack! 🙏
Welcome Mat! Haguro misses you!