After a string of sucessful singles like “LET EM GO” and “better off without me,” Matt Hansen is ready to share with the world a hopeful debut album next month.
Even if you claim you aren’t familiar with Matt Hansen, there’s a high chance you’ve heard his distinct, rich voice. Between viral videos in random water towers and parking lots, the rising artist has been persistently working since 2021 with his heartfelt blend of folk, pop and rock. With a limited discography already surpassing one billion streams in five years, it’s clear he’s headed in the right direction.
“This industry is really difficult,” Hansen told The Knockturnal. “The only person that can push you forward is yourself. The second that I realized that, I knew I was going to push myself as hard as I can to become the biggest.”
From quarantine writing sessions in where he created over 300 scrapped songs, the California-based singer gained a strong audience through social media that led him to joining acts like Teddy Swims and Train on tour. Impressively, Hansen has worked entirely without the traditional support of a label, instead acting as his own boss. Strategically releasing singles every few months, his rich vocals, thumping acoustics and soulful reflections on heartbreak have resonated with millions, with tracks like “LET EM GO” and “something to remember” each over 200M streams respectively.
His long-awaited debut album, “Orchid,” arrives May 15, with his newest single, “Vision,” a gripping, guitar-based anthem about hope, released today. Hansen describes the song as “a reminder that you’ll make it out the other side,” a fitting cornerstone to “Orchid” as a whole. Ahead of “Orchid”’s release, Hansen spoke with The Knockturnal about the stark intentionality behind his artistry and the uplifting message he hopes to send.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
You’ve been very independent in your journey, working as your own CEO. Were you always a natural leader?
No, not at all. It was hard for me to break out of that comfort zone at the beginning of this project. A lot of people don’t know, but I actually interned at a record label for around two years, so I got to see the other side of these AR conversations and learn how we hype up the artists and claim: “You’re the greatest thing. You’re gonna be the next big thing.”
Most of the time it’s not true. Every time I would go into these record label meetings, they would just tell me things I was already doing: “You need to post on Tik Tok. You need to build a world.” And I’m doing all that. So what else? And there were no other ideas. I decided I can do this on my own for now, and slowly grew into more of a leader in this project. I think I would be bad at doing it with anything else, but because it’s just something that applies to me so directly, I can’t help but care.
What benefits did you find working without the support of a traditional label?
The number one thing is freedom. You can put out music whenever you want. You can write about whatever you want, you can talk to your fans and the tour is exactly what you want it to be. At the beginning of this, starting independently is terrifying. But eventually, it gets to a point if you have a couple of successes, you can start funding things, and you can start having a marketing budget and investing in yourself. And in that case, when you’re with a label, you’re at the mercy of whatever they want to spend on you. I can spend whatever I want on myself, and that’s such a luxury to have. I think that it comes with a lot of extra steps, obviously, but it’s so worth it in the end.
You originally went viral online for covers of songs like “Yellow” and “Iris.” Did you always know you wanted to stay in that genre of music?
I’ve always leaned towards Coldplay. I love an anthemic sad song, or, like an anthemic melancholy song. I think I tend to write those as well. And so, covering those just felt right in the moment. While transitioning into my own music, I realized my work is very similar to the things I’ve loved to sing anyway, so it worked out great. I still love playing “Iris” in my set to this day. I mean, who doesn’t love that song?
You graduated from UCLA only three years ago. There seems to be this idea that emerging artists should uproot their lives in school to be successful. How did your time at college help you prepare for your career?
I think that college is such a gift. It’s like an incubation period where you get to just exist in this creative space. It was such a blessing to go to UCLA and be around so many creative people. I would do sessions in between my classes and hang out with other songwriters. I think it’s important to have time where you learn a little bit more. Not just about yourself, but about the way music works and the way that you are linked with music. You’re gonna graduate, you’re gonna be 22, which is still really young. Most artists I found that start to make it are 26, 27, 28. And you know, you’ve got a lot of time till then.
A lot of your music deals with topics of heartbreak, anxiety and caring deeply for others. What does self care look like for you, and how does making music play into that?
I go to therapy. That’s the first part that’s really important for me. I love to make music, which is an outlet for me. But if you feel like the day isn’t going to lead to anything productive, I will take a day and go take a hike or something, and I’m just gonna exist for a second. When you’re writing songs, trying to force any kind of inspiration is not gonna work. So there’s no point in wasting that energy or writing a bad song or writing something that isn’t true to you. I’m working on just being a little bit kinder to myself.
How are you feeling about the upcoming release of your debut album?
I started out pretty nervous about it, because it’s been four years of my life. I know lots people have been waiting for me to do this, but I never felt the story was finished. All the songs I write are about personal memories, and I wanted it to tie up in a hopeful trajectory. For a while, I was just reliving a lot of these painful memories I write about. I didn’t want people to think the point of this project was to sit there in your sadness. Believe me, I do that, but I wanted it to go a little bit towards hope.
How did the title ‘Orchid’ come to be?
Something special about an orchid is, if you take proper care of it, it can last much longer than other flowers. I thought that was such a great metaphor for how you should treat love. If you give it the proper care, proper light, anything can happen and it can last forever. If you put it in the wrong conditions, and there isn’t enough water, and don’t care for it, it can die quickly. That’s what I’ve seen throughout my life so far with love. [“Orchid”] goes into this hopeful feeling of knowing that this pain is with you, but being able to live your life and keep going.
When fans eventually listen to the record, what do you hope they learn about you as a person and artist?
Emotionally, I feel like it’s a pretty direct window into who I am as a person and how I view the world. I hope people take away lessons about what not to do with love and how to put yourself first. I’ve seen many messages from people about how the songs convince them to leave or think about something differently. I want people to feel inspired to love themselves first.
Photo Courtesy: Brayden Moreno
