Tell us a bit about your music career and how it has grown over the past few years?
I made a conscious effort to take music full-time in 2013. I took a leap of faith but since then it’s been a journey of learning all sorts of new things. I’ve learnt so many things that I didn’t realise we’re part of the music business and grown a lot as a person – most importantly, during all of this, my love for music, songwriting and performing has grown more than I ever could have imagined.
Ghost, your latest album is such a hit. Can you explain the creative process of the album and what inspired it?
Thank you! It was a very new process for me, as is every new project I embark on. Most of the actual recording process was done in London, which attaches something special to the process for me personally. The album is talking about the journey of overcoming fears and insecurities. Olly the ghost is there to represent that feeling and the purple colour scheme is there to represent the overcoming of those fears.
Being a creative, how do you incorporate merch into your brand as an artist?
I love creating a brand out of each phase that I go through as an artist – specifically during an album phase. For example, right now we are creating merch that centres around a purple colour scheme and involved a lot of ghost elements, album branding and lyrical content from the album.
Do have a specific approach to selling your merchandise?
What has worked very well for me, is to start each phase with a bigger selection of merchandise. From there you can tell which items people gravitate towards the most. Then I try to be creative within what I can tell fans are enjoying.
What do you believe is the importance, as an artist to have merchandise for your brand?
Besides the fact that it acts as a whole other income stream – it’s a huge tool that you have access to, to get your message across in even more creative ideas. It’s also an amazing way of getting fans and followers involved in the branding side of things.
What do you think is lacking in the South African band/artist merchandise?
I think artists don’t see the potential in how merchandise can be a whole other way of showing people your creativity within your brand. We need more bands and artists to be an example of what you can really do with great merchandise.
Could you give us a few reasons as to why artists should focus on merchandise?
As mentioned, it’s a great additional income stream. It also helps creatives to spread their creativity in new ways.
Thank you so much for making use of our Eco Deal! What is your take on merchandise companies going the eco deal route?
It’s incredible and so important. I love that the world is taking this sort of things so seriously and that we are all working together in that.
So what is next for Matthew Mole? Where can our readers check out more of your music and buy your merchandise?
My new album GHOST has only been out for a few months and I still have a lot more surprise planned for everyone. I am constantly updating social media with my whereabouts and upcoming shows! @matthewjmole
Taking you way back, what was your favourite 90s jam and what memory does this bring back?
The theme song from The Fresh Prince of Belair. It reminds me of my family because we grew up being very close and it was a very important time in my life.