Matisyahu: The Unexpected Messenger of Truth

words JT

Matisyahu is the first ever Hasidic reggae artist in the world. He is not only breaking down stereotypes and the usual hype that surrounds music today, but he is cutting right to the core of the message that he is trying spread, with his upfront lyrical styles to sincere vocal delivery. Recently in town for his first Toronto appearance, Matisyahu got some time to reflect on 2005 and ponder what 2006 shall bring.

Klublife: So it has been a whirlwind year, from the launch of the album to becoming a father. What has been the biggest surprise in 2005 for you?

Matisyahu: For sure becoming a father, but I think the record company doesn’t want me to talk about it so much. I don’t know why but they don’t want me to talk about my family life so much, so I will answer in a musical sense. Pretty much like you said the year has been a whirlwind of things happening. It is great, it is amazing, we just actually finished recording a video last week that was a pretty wild experience. I have never had an experience where there are so many people involved in the production, that was a lot of fun and a lot excitement. The shows are all getting bigger and they are all sold out, thank god, and we are getting better offers to do some really interesting things. So it has been a great year.

Klublife: It seems like the struggle you have with the thirst for your religion and your musical development has been tough. Was it more of a religious calling or an artistic one?

Matisyahu: When I was a teenager, 16 or 17 years old, Phish, going on tour; it is all connected in terms of the search for expanded consciousness, the search for a deeper connection to God, the search for truth. As a teenager, listening to music really opened me up to that. I never really fit inside the box and music gave me the ability to realize that you don’t have to fit into the box. You can think outside the box and figure out things for yourself. That is what becoming religious was about for me to a big extent without a rebellion when it started, but now a lot of the time is doesn’t seem like that way. It seems more like a machine, but to me it was more a rebellion. Not a rebellion like when I was 16, 17 and I left home when I rebelled from a place of unhealthiness or negativity from the stress and stuff, but rather a rebellion in a sense of me standing up for my beliefs and me willing to risk everything to for truth and for god. And it turns out, reggae music being the norm, I think actually reggae music has a tradition of being religious music. Bob Marley for sure and a lot of artists from that time and afterwards were really promoting their message on philosophy, spirituality and unity in their music. For me that is part of the reason it matched well.  

Klublife: You recorded Shake Off The Dust and it was released in 2004, but from what I can tell it was years in the making. and then Live At Stubbs, has a different vibe which seems to be more authentic of who you really are. Is that a fair assessment?

Matisyahu: Yes, 100%. Shake Off The Dust was the record that first came out and the producer had a very strong vision that it should be a roots reggae album, and at that time the band was just forming and we didn't have a roots reggae/classic reggae sound. We were all coming from tons of different influences, and the style of music is a real cross-breed of hip hop and reggae and rock. That Phish thing is in there as well, plus there is a jazz element.  Then we started performing live and our live performance, well that is really what we do, at least for the past two years, and that is what was really attracting people, was our performance. We signed a deal with OR Music who later up streamed us to Epic, they saw our last show and were like, this doesn't come across in the studio album. So we needed to get that live thing on a CD.