Matt Shapiro – ‘Rockaway Girl’

With a sound that comes somewhere between Gary Numan and Don Henley – imagine ‘Boys Of Summer’ but done with synths and lo-fi – Matt Shapiro’s song, ‘Rockaway Girl’, is the first track from his new EP, ‘FADE IN‘, set for release on March 8.



In fact, the synth-organs are the signature feature on the six track EP, and on ‘Rockaway Girl’ they open the song sounding like a church organ that’s been left to accumulate years of dust; a fuzzy, buzzy sound that is nonetheless very appealing. If you close your eyes when you listen, you can imagine a gospel choir making faces at each other as they prepare to sing…but instead, we have Matt Shapiro come in, with a pleasantly gravelly voice which matches the sound perfectly. The choir comes in on the backing vocals however, but by this time we’ve been lulled by the buzz, and the drums and electric guitars which punch their way through the instrumentals.

Speaking of his music, Matt Shapiro says,

“I approach making a record like I’m making a movie. My last album Metaphysical was very layered and wide-angle and made to sound kind of epic. With this new EP ‘FADE IN’, I made the conscious decision to go the other way. This one’s more disciplined, and really stripped down to essentials…more like a scrappy little indie. And it has more bite.”

The organs drop down buzzing remains, with a glorious reverb which licks gently at the ears. It’s a warm, and soothing sound, with the merest threat of becoming irritating, but never crossing the line. ‘Rockaway Girl’s production is top notch, with the mix exactly right.

Shapiro, originally from Montreal but now living in New York City, has recorded three solo albums prior to new EP ‘FADE IN‘.He’s also collaborated with other artists, including ‘To The Moon’, co-written with DJ-producer, Tone Depth, and which was received favourably by critics, and picked up by Dave Seaman’s Audiotherapy label in the UK. It was feted by top DJs as well, including Tiesto, who featured it during his live set.

You can find out more about Matt Shapiro online on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com