Mathew O'Neill: "Yanatay"
Singer-songwriter Matthew O’Neill is a musical artist living in Upstate New York. He was born in Ontario, Canada with a heartful of joy in relation to Mother Earth. He grew up outside of Philadelphia and spent much of his youth in the Eastern Woodlands. By the 8th grade he was deep into obscure music and art. An experience on the Navajo reservation/Southwest in high school changed his life forever and he became committed to living and representing indigenous ways. At age 19, Matthew removed himself from society and sought out the education of experience in the wilderness. He began that journey in Cherokee National forest, then set out to the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, and from there ventured into the vast backcountry of the Rocky Mountains and Southwest. Years later, he returned to civilization via Santa Cruz, CA and began performing solo and working with draft horses. His music is about serving something bigger than oneself; it is a form of gratitude and reciprocity as well as a form of resistance to colonialism and mainstream forces of destruction. It is a celebration of life.
He released his new EP, Yanatay Solstice Session Selections 2014-2018, today on Underwater Panther Coalition, a record label seeking to improve people’s connection to Mother Earth through curated musical projects.
The EP’s new single and title track “Yanatay,” featuring Brazilian Girls’ Jesse Murphy on bass and Aaron Johnston on drums/percussion, was recorded and mixed by Kevin McMahon (Real Estate, Swans) at Marcata Recording outside of New Paltz, NY. The official video was shot in Colombia and edited by Matthew O’Neill. The song is a semi-mythic tale of decolonization, resistance and renewal. Recorded on a winter solstice, the Latin rock jam’s EP can be ordered on Bandcamp, streaming everywhere.
In reference to a collection of solstice recordings, Yanatay is a “best of” compilation of solstice recording sessions spanning 2014-2018. Tracks “The Moon is the Nipple of the Sky” (track 5) and “Turquoise” (track 7) were recorded in the same session as the “Yanatay” (track 1) single, while tracks “Manta Ray Floyd” (track 2), “Lay Me Down” (track 3), and ”Breakthrough” (track 8), were recorded and mixed by Diko Shoturma at Atlantic Sound Studio in Brooklyn. Matthew wrote and produced all songs, performed all vocals and guitar parts, plus synthesizer on “Captain Kurtz Orbits Echo Park” and played flute on “Visitors Arriving” (track 6). The EP was mastered by Danny Blume at Hidden Quarry Studio in Woodstock, NY.
“These are my favorite tracks from recent solstice recording sessions. I wanted to share them because I feel they’ve coalesced into a solid unit; the sonic variation suits my approach to music making,” said O’Neill. “My music and record label are committed to supporting indigenous rights and to honoring Mother Earth. My lyrics speak to cultural resilience and restoration, and strive to educate listeners about important issues, including endangered languages and decolonization in America and around the world.”
“Stuck in America so easy to forget
The relaxed thriving that was meant
Creation is free
Freely given
Why destroy it for currency?”
~”Yanatay”
O’Neill continued, “On ‘Yanatay'’ I play a Gretsch Black Falcon guitar because it has a sound that’s open and clear, which sits in well with the skin drums and other instruments on the song, such as the Rhodes electric piano played by Tyler Wood. And on the solo tracks, I am accompanied by my Martin Dreadnought guitar, cedar flute, and an old synth. It’s been great playing with Jesse Murphy, who plays with Jack Dejonnete and Norah Jones among others, and Aaron Johnston--who had just come off David Byrne’s American Utopia album tour at the time of our recording. This was our first time in a room together, and we’ve been collaborating since. There are many other talented musicians on the EP as well, including my dear brother who plays and sings on “Manta Ray” and “Lay Me Down, which are stoked up mountain rock jams that exude soulfulness and poetic sensibility, while ‘The Moon is the Nipple of the Sky’ sounds like a coastal psychedelic Scott Walker leading Crazy Horse.”
Have a listen and connect with Matthew O’Neill on social media:
www.matthewoneill.bandcamp.com
