Things Are Getting ” Hazy” With Matthew Stevens
Today, GRAMMY Award-winning guitarist and producer Matthew Stevens released the kaleidoscopic new single “Hazy” ft. Josh Johnson, from his forthcoming album, Matthew Stevens (out May 8 on Candid Records).
Featuring saxophonist and co-producer Josh Johnson (Flea, Meshell Ndegeocello), the woozy, new original was written by Stevens during a time in his life when he didn’t have a clear image of his future.
“‘Hazy’ was the first song I wrote in about a year and a half, right in the middle of a divorce, a move, starting a new job in academia — just facing more uncertainty than I’d ever known,”reveals Stevens.“What caught my attention immediately was how it felt like waking up and returning to my own artistic practice. The music itself was different because so much had changed, and so had I. In a lot of ways, it was the bellwether for the language of the record. I was influenced by time spent in Rio working on a Milton Nascimento project with Milton and Esperanza Spalding, and his music just gets inside you — there’s no resisting it. That hyper-melodicism, those adventurous harmonies that never feel self-conscious, all carried by a feel so deep it makes you squint — that energy definitely found its way into this song and the album as a whole.”
Speaking on working with Stevens, Josh Johnson adds,“Matthew is open-minded and deeply committed to unearthing the essence of each idea – a dream collaborator. From the jump, I told him ‘Hazy’ is my jam! His undeniable melodic sense is on full display here. The kaleidoscope is slowly spinning for five minutes, but the melody (infectious, almost haunting) never vanishes from the center. I played the album for a friend who articulated it perfectly after the second side finished: ‘endless melody.’”
“Hazy” follows the release of the rhythmic tune “Take Heart,” ft. vibraphonist Joel Ross, and the soulful Sharrock cover “Who Does She Hope To Be?” ft. eclectic jazz guitarist Jeff Parker and esteemed drummer Terri Lyne Carrington.