At forty-something and holding a Master of Engineering and Physics Matthew Stephen (Brown) is an unlikely newcomer to the ultra-competitive music scene. But his debut album “The Fire” quickly makes it clear that Matthew Stephen is up for the challenge.
“It’s rare, but every once in a while, I come across an artist that’s just undeniable. From the first listen Matthew was that for me. He has an iconic voice, but beyond that, he’s also a great songwriter,” said GRAMMY® Award winning producer John Seymour. Matthew’s deep, sexy textured voice has been described as a combination of Bono and Peter Gabriel. Clearly there’s something to be said about age and experience. “The Fire” is a rich collection of songs derived from Matthew’s personal life experiences.
“I’m a storyteller at heart. I get inspiration from traveling to new places and meeting people off the beaten path. Most times I start with the story. My goal is that each song tells a compelling story taking the listener to that time and place. Some of those places are good, some bad, some painful and in the case of The Fire terrifying,” said Matthew.
The artist went on to say “my song ideas come to me while I'm doing something with my hands in a state of flow like rebuilding engines or building houses as I did with my grandfather when I was a kid. To me, starting with the melody is harder. Some songs pour right out in ten minutes, while others need to incubate in my head over time. I think rock and roll is creating a song that transports the listener into your headspace so that they see and feel your perspective and message. In one studio I saw a clock with the message music is feelings moving through the air. To me, that's rock and roll.”
Matthew was born and raised predominantly in Northern Virginia. “My closest friends are still the ones I met in elementary school. Their fathers like mine survived the Vietnam War and most of them ended up working in the intelligence community. My dad was in the FBI for many years and then left to go into private business.
Even though his background lent itself to viewing the world more in black and white than shades and tones, Matthew was heavily influenced by his generation’s music… the music of the ‘80’s. “I loved music from an early age. I'm pretty sure 1984 was the best year in musical history and as a boy there was a lot of music to fall in love with that year. The first band I fell in love with was Chicago. Peter Cetera is a hell of a singer and songwriter. Love Me Tomorrow and Hard to Say I'm Sorry on Chicago 16 and then You're My Inspiration and Stay the Night on Chicago 17 are truly amazing songs.
Matthew had a paper route and the first thing he bought was a radio with a tape player and two speakers. Chicago 17 was the first cassette he bought but his collection quickly grew. The second and third tapes Matthew picked up were Joshua Tree and Ghost In The Machine. U2 and the Police quickly eclipsed Chicago. Bono and Sting’s uniquely amazing and textured voices really left a mark on the young musician. “I was at summer camp when I realized that it was Sting singing "I want my.... MTV" on Money for Nothing (and your chicks for free) and I felt like I had discovered a new element,” said Matthew.
It was a strange and overwhelming emotional connection to these singers, their songs and the message in the songs that caught Mathew’s eyes and ears. “Lots of singers screw up the delivery, but some of them get it right, so it resonates with an entire generation.” Music, however, was never a serious career choice for Matthew. “I dabbled in music as a singer at Virginia Tech. Mostly we just rehearsed and wrote songs in a basement of a house I rented. Somewhere I still have all the tapes we made. My best friend Will was the bass player and ringleader. Now he’s an aerospace engineer. For ten years after we graduated Will tried to get me back into music. We actually recorded in Switzerland and Koln, Germany and did a cover of "Happy Together." It ended up sounding dark and mechanical, but the engineers saw something in me, and that part stuck with me,” said Matthew.
After college in 2000 Matthew went to work at a start-up which was the hot thing in the beginning of the new millennium. He and a college buddy also began their own import business. Then with five years of business experience under his belt he became an independent broker for manufacturing jobs. He worked by day and eventually got his master’s degree at night from the University of Maryland. Fairly content with corporate life Matthew had no idea that a trip abroad with his best buddy Will would change his entire perspective and career path.
“In 2016 we took a two week-long trip to Ukraine and Romania. While in Romania we followed Will's friend's heavy metal band around for a week as they did sound checks for various gigs including one in a former Soviet wedding palace (we got a glimpse into what life was like for party officials back in the day). In Ukraine I wanted to go to Chernobyl, so we did. Then we went from Odessa, Ukraine to Bucharest, Romania. The trip took 12 hours by car. We told our driver we had been to Chernobyl. That’s when he shared his own experience, and it became the story for "The Fire." The lyrics are all true... By the end of our trip, I told Will I wanted to get back into music. That made Will pretty angry since he'd been trying to get me to do that for years and was still pissed from paying for our recording in Koln and Switzerland with nothing to show for it. This time he said I should just do it on my own. So, I did. He hasn’t heard any of these songs yet, but he was my inspiration.”
“I listen to a lot of music, a lot of singer-songwriters, and Matthew’s talent and creativity really got my attention. His voice and music tickle your ears and heart and make you think. Humans are made for friendship and togetherness and Matthew’s significant songs help us realize that we are all fellow passengers,” said legendary rock radio personality & broadcaster Cerphe Colwell.
When you meet him, Matthew is at face value intelligent, witty and seemingly quite matter of fact. Underneath it all he’s a sensitive guy. His songs tackle lots of subjects that aren’t your run-of-the-mill topics covered by most artists. With an uncanny knack for wordsmithing and the ability to write music that sticks in your head for days each of Matthew’s songs represent an important event, experience or truth for him personally.
The title song of his album The Fire recounts the tragedy of the Chernobyl nuclear meltdown in 1986 as told to him by a Ukrainian who lived through it. “Alive in the valley of the shadow of death are the men they want you to forget” pays homage to the hundreds of thousands innocent and unwitting liquidators sent in to do the nuclear cleanup who ultimately died at the hands of the Soviet Union in its attempt to cover up the severity of the disaster. Matthew’s music video for that song includes actual footage from those historical events in Ukraine.
Growing up, Matthew was unaware a member of his family was a long-term victim of child abuse. Sea Glass is a tribute to her drawing an analogy between her healing process and the long-term effects of water on sea glass. Both come out more brilliantly on the other side.
Perfect Lover is a satirical look at the art of finding the ideal mate while Lonely examines the all too familiar human condition.
“When I started working on The Fire more than six years ago, I had no idea what I was doing; it was all alien to me. But I knew I had to write these songs. Along the way I was fortunate to meet dozens of great people, some of whom helped me create and refine my own process. These are the people who became part of my team and brought me to the completion of my debut album. I view songwriting as a challenge to create memorable and timeless music that can someday stand with the music of the artists, I grew up idolizing.”
And rise to that challenge he has. World-class drummer Kenny Aronoff played the drums for “The Fire” and said “Matthew Brown has an amazing voice, and his songwriting and lyrics are fantastic. I loved recording drums on his record because Matthew is authentic.”
Matthew blends elements of singer/songwriter, pop, rock, Americana and roots into his songs. His lyrics tell a real story, his melodies are memorable, and his voice delivers those words with sincerity and confidence. As of January 2022, Matthew Stephen has quit his day job, is living in Tampa with Binx his cat, working on completion of his second album and pursuing music full time. “I came to this music party later in life than most musicians so accepting it as a profession is difficult. I’m an engineer. I see things in black and white. But if the music is in you, it finds a way out one way or the other. My plan now is to see how far I can go with it. I'll embrace whatever opportunities are presented to me. I believe in the music and even though it goes against the humility baked into me as a child – I believe in myself.”