Today we’d like to introduce you to Mathias Lattin.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My family says that I’ve been singing since I could talk, but I picked up the guitar when I was 7 years old, and I’ve been rolling with the guitar as my passion. My school had a classical guitar program and at the time I didn’t have an inspiration to play the instrument I just knew I liked how it sounded. I knew I wanted to play it even though I could barely hold it. Going into middle school my mother enrolled me into the Summer Jazz Workshop which, looking back on it, was one of the biggest moments I’ve had during my guitar tutelage. The workshop opened my mind to a whole new world of music that I could learn and expand on and really broaden my horizons.
Around this time, I finally started having musical role models such as George Benson, Wes Montgomery, Sonny Rollins, and Sonny Stitt. Around this same time, my grandmother introduced me to Blues music which to this day I continue to play. My grandmother introduced me to the music of who I would call one of my biggest influences, B.B. King. When I heard the tone of his guitar and his powerful voice as he sang the words “Rock Me Baby” I knew I had to learn this. I have been playing Blues and Jazz ever since. I learned a lot of technical skills throughout my schooling and continued learning more when I was accepted into the High School of the Performing and Visual Arts (class 20′) where I studied all aspects of jazz music for 4 years.
During those 4 years of high school, I played blues and jazz jams and gigs outside of school and eventually ran into people that have taken me under their wings and taught me so much about music and the music industry. I am fortunate enough to call them my mentors; Jonn Del Toro Richardson, Al Campbell, Shawn Allen, Annika Chambers, and Kyle Turner just to name a few. During my senior year of high school, I released my first single titled “Notice Me.” I wrote and played all the instruments on it. This is something I wanted to accomplish before I graduated. Although it wasn’t a full album, I felt I wrote something that everyone could relate to which is all I look for at the end of the day. The following year in 2021, during my freshman year of college, I released a 5 song EP titled “Let’s Start here”. These 6 songs, out in the world now, were written by me and recorded in my home, in my bedroom. I wanted to create Blues songs and still interweave all my jazz, R&B, and Soul music influences but I didn’t know how. So, I just began to write songs from the experiences I’ve had with the music I heard in my head. The next thing you know, it’s 1 AM in the morning and I’m recording guitar, then recording bass, then recording piano, and drums. One year later I had my first EP under my name, hoping to bring Blues music to the forefront while putting my own spin on it.
We all face challenges but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I don’t think anyone ever has a smooth road and I am definitely not the exception. I am the only musician in my family, so often I would end up in conversations that my family just had no idea what I was talking about, and other things just went over their heads. And like many other young musicians starting out and going to jams, I was sometimes dismissed and overlooked until late in the night. Sometimes until that last song of the night or sometimes it would be 1 AM in the morning on a Wednesday, on a school night. The biggest struggle as a young artist, a young musician is that there are always people that don’t take what we (the general youth) do seriously.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a musician. I like to call myself a Blues guitarist, and I play my heart out through my music. I am proud of a lot of things, but I would say the thing I am most proud of is my EP. It was just so fun to make, and I was able to write stories that I feel many people can relate to and with different kinds of styles people can listen to and enjoy. I like to think what sets me apart is my enthusiasm for the blues and my jazzier approach to it.
Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
That’s a hard question. I’m only 19, so all those memories are so recent. I would have to say my favorite childhood memory would be when I started piano lessons in the first grade and how fascinated I was with how the piano sounded. My first time sitting at the piano and the teacher showed me the note C and had me play it. Looking back now, I can hardly believe how monumental that moment was for me to be where I am now.
Contact Info:
- Email: mlattinband@gmail.com
- Website: www.mathiasmusic.net
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathiaslattin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mathiaslattin
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRY_CFfNR3RigcTpajZnEEA
- Other: linktr.ee/MathiasLattin
Image Credits
Ron Fontenot
Ikechi Ojore
