When The Going Gets Beard

It’s two days before Christmas and Matthew E. White is trapped in Nowheresville, USA.
“We wrapped the tour up the night before last in Denver and were supposed to be driving straight back to Richmond, but the snow set in and we’re stuck some place in Missouri that I don’t even know the name of,” the impressively bearded 29-year-old sighs. “We stopped the night here hoping the snow would ease, but it’s gotten even worse. I really don’t want to be spending the holidays in a motel!”
An oasis of indie cool in the otherwise moribund state of Virginia, Richmond is home to Spacebomb, White’s modern day take on the Sun/ Motown/Stax/Philly-style combined studio and label operations of old.
“We’ve a house band and contributing auxiliary musicians à la Phil Spector’s Wrecking Crew, so although our acts are all very different there’s a trademark sound,” he enthusiastically explains. “It’s a way of operating I’m really attracted to. In a more modern context, I want Spacebomb to be like 4AD or Rough Trade – a name that you automatically associate with great independent-spirited music.”
Like Athens, Georgia and Portland, Oregon, Richmond has a disproportionate number of rock ‘n’ rollers living within its city limits.
“There’s a good music school in Richmond, so people come to study, tap into the community there and stay on,” he resumes. “The proliferation of digital media means that you no longer have to base yourself in New York or Los Angeles where the living costs are double, maybe treble what they are in Virginia. It’s also a really beautiful place as opposed to a concrete jungle that can suck the life out of you if you let it.”
Spacebomb’s DIY aesthetic extends to its studio occupying the second floor of Matthew’s house.
“I don’t have far to go to work,” laughs White whose current roster includes Natalia Prass, Karl Blau, Joe Westerlund and Ivan Howard. “The house band are mainly guys I worked with in an avant-garde jazz ensemble called Fight The Big Bull. We’ve been musical co-conspirators since 2004, so know each other inside out and appreciate what each other brings to the table.”
Although loath to exploit the connection, White is bezzie mates with leftfield man of the moment, Justin Vernon.
“He’s a gorgeous human being who’s really kind and encouraging of others,” Matthew reflects. “If fame’s changed Justin at all, I haven’t noticed. He’s just a badass musician who amidst the Bon Iver craziness found time to work with me on a reinterpretation of Alan Lomax’s Sounds Of The South box-set. Duke University commissioned the work and I was kind of the musical director and arranger. It was a big 13-piece band featuring myself, the Fight The Big Bull rhythm section, three guys from Megafaun, five horn-players, Justin and Sharon Van Etten who sung beautifully on a couple of songs.”
I’ve always been intrigued by Miss Van Etten. What kind of a character is she?
“She’s the sweetest girl ever – quiet but not in a shy way, and very energetic,” Matthew reveals. “With that many people you could easily end up having mutiny on your hands, but everybody was so respectful and easy to work with.”
The subject of rave reviews last year when it was released in the States, White’s debut Big Inner solo album is about to drop here courtesy of those lovely Domino Records people.
“A New York photographer I’ve done shoots with, Sean Brackbill, passed a copy of it onto his wife who works for Domino’s publishing arm. I was thrilled when they showed an interest because, like the labels we were talking about earlier, they’re artist-driven and release things for music’s sake rather than just because they’re fashionable . They’re also ambitious and know how to sell records, so it was all boxes ticked!”
Big Inner is a beautiful warm duvet of an album – think Dr. John and The Band with a soupcon of Randy Newman – that gets a live airing on January 27 when White makes his Dublin bow in Whelan’s.
“The album was conceived as a demonstration of what the label can do, a sort of ‘practice round’ if you like,” he laughs. “My name’s on the cover but all the Spacebomb crew are involved. We never really foresaw it taking on the life it has with international releases and people like yourselves writing about it. That it has is a real blessing.
“I’m very excited about the gig because a woman I know from my time in the Philippines is living in Dublin now. My Dad, who was the principal of a missionary school, moved us over there when I was three and moved us back when I was eight. My first memories are of travelling round the Philippines and all the craziness that went on. One of the families we were close to had a teenage daughter who made a huge fuss of me; we were really close. Anyway, this American girl married an Irish guy, and we’re going to hook up.”
Snow storms permitting.
“I promise you, whatever it takes we’ll be there!”

Hear Big Inner live on January 27 when Mathew E. White plays Whelan’s, Dublin