Matthew Mole releases 4th album with SA tour set for December

INDIE pop artist Matthew Mole let his creative juices flow to create a masterful fourth studio album.

“Wake Up, It’s Morning” has been in the making since the pandemic and sees the artist continue on the trajectory of hope and possibility.

Mole refers to the 13-track album as “a collection of songs connected through the idea of finding the new compassion that come with each morning.”

The “I’m With You” hitmaker said it’s been an amazing journey.

“I started writing the songs about two and a half years ago and I just tried to enjoy the process with no pressure.

“It was kind of co-incidental that this album was a progression from the ‘Ghost’ album. It’s all stuff that I go through. Eventually there was a collection of song that I was happy with. It told the story I wanted to tell and that’s when we put it together and started recording in 2022.”

With each song offering something different, he said he doesn’t have a specific favourite.

“Today my favourite track on the album would be a song called ‘Enough’, but, it changes a lot depending on which one is more fun to play live, or which one I like the recording of, or which one was more fun to put together in studio.

Speaking about what listeners can take away from listening to the album, Mole said he was very intentional about sending a message of hope.

“Firstly, when I write songs, it’s like a therapeutic process of me just processing things that I’m going through in my life, but then I try to write them in a way that people can relate to it.

“And the thing that I want them to take away from the album or any individual song is the message of hope.

“The album is talking about how we can get so overwhelmed in our minds with things we got to do and the stress of life, but there is something about a start of a new day, and the grace that comes with it.

“The kind of strength that we all have to wake up to a new day and just try again. I think hope is more important now than it previously was.”

Known for being a lone wolf in the studio, “Wake Up, It’s Morning” is the first album that has seen Mole not only co-produce with fellow peers but also write alongside respected members of the pop music world.

“There aren’t any official features on the album but I collaborated with songwriters from London, Scotland. So it was a new experience for me.

“I’ve always done my own production, but it was so much fun to have more ears and brains, more creativity from other people.

“I’ve done collaborations with Francois van Coke and I loved that, and another with Neon Dreams (coming out next year).

“I love the idea of collaborating, I guess I haven’t had a lot of chances to sit down with bands that I love in SA and just write a song.

“I’ve always written songs by myself, whenever I’ve gone into a room with anyone else, I get very self conscience and it’s a very different process for me.

“I’ve learnt that about myself, that I wrote a lot better and open up more when it’s just myself. But I’m learning, and I practised that with this album a bit.”

Mole kicks off his South African tour in December after returning from his planned Europe and UK tour which starts on November 1.

“We played in Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay earlier this month but we plan on having a full South African tour in December.

“We have about a week and a half to rest after my Europe and UK tour, before the South African tour starts. But I am looking forward it. It’s going to be really cool. We will be going pretty much everywhere I’ve ever played in SA.

“I’ve been so grateful to see the diversity in audiences. They are different ages and races, so it’s amazing to see that people are still listening to Matthew Mole as they get older, but also the younger people who are being introduced to new music, still seem to like me.

“South Africa is a very diverse place, I’ve been so grateful to be able to play at so many different kinds of shows, there is such diverse audiences, it’s a really awesome classic South African experience. People are so kind, receptive and supportive,” he shared.

∎ “Wake Up, It’s Morning” is available on all major streaming platforms.