Music producer reflects on 7th Music P.E.I. award

Jon Matthews is a talented musician, but he's also witnessed many Island artists hone their craft at his Sound Mill Recording Studio.

Matthews was just recognized with a seventh Music P.E.I. award — in a row — for his work as a producer. This year he is also nominated for three ECMAs.

"It's exciting every time, the lustre never wears off," he said.

Matthews said one benefit of working as a producer is that every day is different.

"I work in a lot of genres. I don't just do one thing."

Right now Matthews is producing a country album and is working with a Celtic trio. He has also produced rock recordings among many other projects.

"Things are always changing," Matthews said. "The fact that there's always unbelievable new talent to discover on P.E.I., I don't know if we grow these talents between the potato rows. I don't know where these people come from."

'Goosebumps'

Some Island artists have surprised Matthews with the talent they bring to the studio.

One day, he got a call from a well-known member of the P.E.I. music community telling him he needed to hear an up-and-coming artist named Meaghan Blanchard.

"I remember the first day that Meaghan came in with the long red curls and the guitar."

So he got Blanchard to sit down and play a few of her songs.

"When Meaghan opened her mouth, she was 20 or 21 years old, and just sitting there and listening to her sing these beautiful beautiful songs and that voice and everything about her."

When someone like Blanchard walks through the studio door you know they're not just a "flash in the pan," Matthews said.

"I remember just sitting there that night with the headphones on, listening to Meaghan's voice and just being enchanted," he said. "Goosebumps all the way."

'Calming nerves'

Not every musician that walks through the doors of the Sound Mill Recording Studio knows their voice, sometimes Matthews has to help them find it.

"A lot of the times I think the big thing is just calming nerves."

He said when young bands come into the studio, everyone is excited and wound up because they've been waiting for the moment.

"People get really excited, sometimes a little overexcited," he said. "So you have … to remind everybody, 'OK guys like we're here to just, we're playing music, we're making music, you know just relax and take it easy.'"

Matthews often jokes that half his job is to produce and the other half he kind of acts as a counsellor.

"The psychology of making people feel comfortable and, you know, at ease so they can just deliver authentic honest performances of their material," he said.

"A lot of it is definitely, you know, getting people in the zone, getting people in the comfort zone. So, as an artist myself I know that is really important so I try and impart that same thing when people come in."

Technological advances in industry

It hasn't gotten easier to make it in the music business over the past few years.

"There is sort of a decline in revenue for a lot of artists because of the advent of streaming," Matthews said.

"It's great for people that can access music easily, but for artists it becomes a little more challenging and we all have to work a little bit harder … to kind of make a go of things."

When it comes to studio recording a lot of people are now doing it themselves.

"The thing is I think to embrace it. So what I do, some of what I do is to, you know, assist people recording at home in some cases."

He recently helped produce a home recording for the Amanda Jackson Band, but sometimes people bring their home recordings into the studio.

"Because I've got the experience behind me and the Sound Mill Recording Studio, which is an acoustically-designed environment," he said.

"We are able to take those tracks they did at home and hear them in a nice professional environment and sort of polish them up."

Matthews said in the industry, you have to embrace change and he doesn't view home recording as competition to studio recording, he sees it as an augmentation.

"I think there is still always going to be a need for acoustically-designed proper rooms that people can record and listen in. So I feel like there will always be a place for studios."

Matthews said people who produce music all have a different take on how they do things.

"It's up to people to find the best fit for them, I think. Find the vibe and find the person."

Matthews said people hire him because of his "taste."

"If you like my taste then we are going to get along fine and, you know, make something really cool together."

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