Matchstick Singles | Nathan Mongol Wells

In his newly released album the Matchstick Singles, Nathan Mongol Wells explores his past experiences and the common threads that link us all together as humans.

"A song a week, struck like a match and burning out-
only to be relit by another the next week."

Brittany Griffiths | 8 June 2018

photo by Fela Raymond

photo courtesy Nathan Wells

 

     In his newly released album the Matchstick Singles, Nathan Mongol Wells explores his past experiences and the common threads that link us all together as humans. Nathan took an inventive approach to self-releasing his new album, and beginning on March 8th of this year, he released one single from his album every Thursday for 12 weeks making it available to stream and purchase for one week only. At the end of every week, he would take down the song and introduce the next track on the album.

"A song a week, struck like a match and burning out-
only to be relit by another the next week."

     Now for the first time ever, you can stream the album in its entirety in this Wavelength exclusive. Matchstick Singles will be available for streaming until the end of June. At that point, the album will be avaiable via Bandcamp.

     Nathan took the time to sit down and answer a few questions for me about the idea that sparked the album and his collaborative efforts with local musicians and artists all over DFW who helped record and produce the songs on this album.

 

Q&A | Nathan Mongol Wells


1. Tell me a little bit about the concept of the Matchstick Series, how did you come up with the idea?
I was at a point where I needed new music out. I had a bunch of songs. Older tunes were getting eclipsed by all these new ones coming in, but the new ones definitely seemed like they would work on a studio album, which I just don’t have the means for currently. I had self-recorded my first album, Lord’s Work, but I wanted to be careful about using that method again. I had just helped my buddy Joshua Ray Walker record his album in studio, and watched his producer, John Pedigo, release his own really great album. Seeing both sides of this process done in a professional way got me thinking about the state of modern music. On the one hand, I love streaming - an endless iPod, always at my fingertips? Sign me up. On the other, it’s so easy for albums - especially independent ones - to get swept aside by the constant tide of available music. How do you keep the momentum for a project going? How do you engage with an audience that, even if they want to listen, simply don’t have the time or energy to? I know how I am even with my own favorite bands. So I was brainstorming with Courtney (my wife) about how to do this dang music thing, and I tossed out an idea in passing that had occurred to me: a song a week for 12 weeks. I was thinking it was silly, but she liked it, so we started talking about what that would look like realistically. The idea really got intriguing when we thought of including other artists, both for the album covers and on the songs, as a way of not only making the songs better and making each release its own special event, but also as a means of lifting other artists and their art up alongside my own. From there, it was a matter of choosing the songs, making the demos, reaching out to artists and musicians… and away we went.

2. Many of the songs on the album were older songs you had dug up and dusted off, what was it like for you to play around with those songs again and reinvent them after all that time?
So rewarding, actually! A lot of these older songs had features I'd always liked, but there was some aspect that prevented me from playing them consistently. This gave me a chance to reframe those aspects, be it lyrics, orchestration, arrangement, or just recording. Some, like “Beulah Land,” needed all new lyrics - it was honestly one of my first songs, and the words showed that! It was difficult to completely reconceptualize the song when I was so used to the original, but I’m proud of the results. Others, like “Rain Makes the Grass Grow Green,” needed just a single line for the writing to be finished, and all that was left was to create the ideal recording of it. But it was great getting ‘em out there, finally. Some making a grand return and others being seen for the first time.

3. What were some of the defining factors that helped to steer the development of this album?
There were a few things I was thinking about at the time: I had a bunch of songs that were sitting around, waiting for recording and release (and some waiting to be finished!) I wanted to put together an album, but going into the studio wasn't an option. It’s expensive. Trying to make the music thing work is like battling a catch-22 around every corner - gotta have recordings to get booked, gotta have money to record, gotta play gigs/work a job to get money, gotta have time to work on music. This concept really developed out of necessity and brainstorming.

4. From album art to backing musicians, this project seems to be greatly dependent upon collaboration. What is it about creative collaboration that you are drawn to?
That's an easy one! There's so many musicians around Dallas that are great - wouldn't it be a dream to work with all of them? Impossible, of course, but the idea sort of blossomed as we brainstormed about this album. We figured, each of these songs is different and unique enough that I could try and match a local musician with a song. Collaboration is opening yourself up to new things. Not a single one of the collaborations in the project turned out the way I expected, but in each case turned out better. It’s stepping out of your comfort zone, but into someone else’s, and you're left with a new and unique product that couldn't have happened otherwise. The phrase “two heads are better than one” comes to mind.

5. How did you go about reaching out to musicians and artists to collaborate with you on this project?
Cold-calling, basically! Some of them I knew and had a relationship with. Desiree, who did the first cover, was actually my very first choice. I knew her from working together for Artist Uprising. She’d been doing this “doorway” series that I had fallen in love with, so I messaged her on Instagram and asked if she was willing to take a little risk and collaborate. I’m super thankful to her, cause she really set things off and established that it was legit. A few other artists I reached out to had already responded (I’m exceedingly lucky to know a number of insane talents!), but then after the first few songs and covers came out, we got more responses. A couple of artists I didn’t know at all except for Instagram, and they still signed on, which is amazing and cool and I’m so grateful. It all turned out awesome.

6. When it comes to recording and distribution, what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of self-releasing an album?
Part of the draw for me is the ability to endlessly try new things. Time constraints in a studio usually means you're going to pare things down to the necessities. There simply isn't the money to experiment on end - at least at this level, for me (things could be different if, say, a label is paying for time, or something). By home recording, I can go on tangents on my own time - try weird mixes - instruments - harmonies. Disadvantages include the risk of homogeneity. It's always my ear and abilities and choices, so I probably tend to make similar ones over time. With distribution, as y'all probably know, it’s difficult because it’s all up to you. Marketing and method only go so far as you can make them, and sometimes you can only do so much!

7. What were some of the challenges and complications you ran into when recording the album?
Scheduling was definitely the main problem. Balancing life stuff, two other jobs, and even other music stuff alongside recording twelve songs would be difficult enough, but then you have to schedule time with other musicians, all of whom have all of that going on in their own lives. But man, miraculously, through the grace of God, it all worked out. There were some artists I didn’t get to work with because of scheduling. I’m hopeful we’ll get to in the future.

8. The Internet provides a world of opportunities for musicians, how much did the design of this project cater to the structure of a web release, or in other words, do you feel like this project would have taken on the same shape if the Internet were eliminated from the equation?
It definitely would have been a lot more difficult releasing a song a week without the Internet to distribute and market it. Not impossible, but… it's hard to even consider how that would work without the Internet. From the beginning, this only materialized because I had the means at my fingertips - Internet being a big part of that! The more I think about it, the less I think it would have been possible, or even have occurred to me. It’s in part a response to the world we live in, and at the same very much a part of it. I guess it was an attempt to take a model that is increasingly hard on musicians and make something of it, turn it into something beneficial. The Internet in general is really such a duality that way. Benefit and cost in equal measure.

9. You’ve mentioned before that you have a strong appreciation for lo-fi, raw recordings – what is it about the original sound of a song that you are attracted to?
Some of my favorite recordings, you can hear a little bit of what was going on in that room at the time. LIFTED, by Bright Eyes, (yes, I’m mentioning Bright Eyes) had this wonderful, flowing, lo-fi quality that really lent itself to the whole project. I dig the grit, man. I want songs to sound like their subject matter, a lot of the time. I just feel like it adds another layer to the story or at least it’s like another instrument. That being said, there’s a time and a place, and you want it to be used skillfully, not wantonly. Finding that balance is key. But even in the album Let It Be, by the Beatles, Phil Spector inserted those little talking bits, and those are as memorable as the songs themselves.

10. Often is the case when a musician, artist, or writer finishes a big project they feel a certain eagerness to move on to the next thing, do you have any project ideas in store for the near future?
Oh, you gotta have a plan! I’m glad to be done, just because it’s a sort of breakneck pace getting all these out alongside everything else. There’s a plan to have a real release for these songs. It turned into something way bigger than I expected and I’m more proud of them, even, than I expected. So I want to do the project justice. And to say thank you, to the people that collaborated with me and the people that supported it along the way. I want to keep developing my solo stuff. I feel like it’s time that gets a little focus - which means putting a band together that can play these songs and really expound on them. That’ll be difficult, but fun - I haven’t put a new band together since high school. Gonna play some really cool shows this summer with some really great bands. All in all, just keep on keepin’ on! I’ve learned a lot from Matchstick, and I want to use that to better myself as a musician, a collaborator, and a person in general. Looking forward to what’s next - and I’m very thankful to Wavelength for being a part of that!

 
 

| Matchstick 1 |
Speak of Me Kindly

Musicians:

Artist:

The first real country song I ever wrote. I distinctly remember sitting on the edge of my bathtub, where I would often write in my parents’ old house (in fact, Ottoman Turks was born in that bathroom, where the songs were written and even the first recording). Possibly the first song I ever wrote based off of reality and not a character. I suppose it’s appropriate that it definitely came out sounding country. We recorded it for the first OT record with Salim Nourallah in 2011, and when we sent this track to my mom she texted and said, “you sound like Willie Nelson!” Not sure how true that was, but that stuck with me. The song was shelved for years and now here it is again, fresh and new and different, but still very much like what was written 8 years ago. It represents a lot, and that is why I chose it as the first Matchstick to burn: a taste of things past, and things to come.

| Matchstick 2 |
Rather Go to Hell

Musicians:

  • Joshua Ray Walker - Lead Guitar, Bass, Drums
  • Nathan Mongol Wells - Rhythm Guitars, Vocals

Artist:

This song had only a verse and chorus until Saturday. I’m very proud of how it turned out. The beginnings of this started earlier, when I worked construction last year. You gotta work for a living. But man, sometimes the process sucks. For me it was mostly the early mornings. Trying to live a dual life of late-night music-maker and early-morning construction worker takes its toll, and day after day I felt the creativity slipping away. But songs are always snapshots, capturing moments and feelings that are fleeting. Now here I am on the other side, and like anything, you can look back on the good and the bad and be thankful. It can often be just as hard workin’ music. I always say, money may not buy happiness, but it does buy peace of mind - and isn’t that much the same thing? Dedicated to my buddies Oscar and Joel, who do this stuff every single day.

| Matchstick 3 |
Stubborn

Musicians:

Artist:

This is a rough one, subject wise. From just a couple of years ago. I don’t know if I’d ever intentionally written a duet before, or really since, but that was always the plan for it. I’ve watched my own relationships and those of people close to me disintegrate in the worst ways, and the bitterness and hardness that can develop between two people that were once close is the most difficult part. That’s where the real ugly stuff goes down. This is an attempt to put a voice to those feelings. There’s no redemption here - we’re right in the middle of it, no end in sight. Darkness and beauty and fragility and hardness.

| Matchstick 4 |
G.T.T.

Musicians:

  • Philip Baugh - Bass
  • Carlos Garza - Drums, Drum Production
  • Nathan Mongol Wells - Guitars, Vocals

Artist:

A song that exists in that aether between truth and fiction. Written around the time of my moving back from Chicago to Texas - go figure. An attempt at reversing the tradition of bluesmen that came up from the south seeking redemption and praying for luck in Chicago… here I was, more or less doing the same but in the opposite direction. My crossroad wasn’t down in the Delta, it was 35th and State. And there’s always the thought that if you can just escape your demons for long enough, you can beat ‘em. Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn’t. You’ll have to determine what happens to the protagonist of this tale.

| Matchstick 5 |
Juarez

Musicians:

Artist:

The first Ottoman Turks record was called ‘Juarez.’ OT bassist (and songwriter himself) William Latham and I were super into the idea of developing a concept album built on the first, so we wrote a bunch of songs that were supposed to go on that. It would tell the tale of a man seeking pleasure and reckless abandon heading down to what he imagines is the promised land, Juarez. This song would, naturally, be the opener. Trouble may be looming on the horizon, but this is a Friday night kind of song. Who cares what you’re leaving behind, who cares how you’ll feel come Monday morning - all that matters right now is that it’s the weekend, baby, and you’re goin’ down to Juarez. Cowritten by Billy Law and Thomas Robertstad.

| Matchstick 6 |
Beulah Land

Musicians:

  • Izzy - Lead Guitar, Percussion
  • Nathan Mongol Wells - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals

Artist:

A very, very old number that’s been revised and updated. Formerly a straightforward murder ballad, inspired by a pulp movie, but now more of a Spanish-tinged dirge. There are lots of things that die over the courses of our lives beyond just physical death, and this song is about that. Connections are severed. Paths diverge. One stage of life rolls farther and farther along into others. Around each corner a mystery. There’s hope, though, that at the end is clarity - Beulah Land - where we’ll understand it, all by and by.

| Matchstick 7 |
Apathy

Musicians:

Artist:

Based on the hooligan young adulthood I only briefly tasted. A rock song about that classic rock ’n roll subject - not giving a shit. Late nights spent in public parks with shady friends and a moderate amount of illicit substances, with not a care in the world for anything in the world. Laziness personified. Livin’ for the night. Young people have always had the tendency to occupy that realm, and I think that’s truer now than ever. We live in a strange time, and it’s strange enough to be young to begin with. This is a song about that. No attempt at trying to reach any conclusions. Just doing what’s fun while you can, and being content with that.

| Matchstick 8 |
I Should Have Been Warned

Musicians:
      Ottoman Turks:

Artist:

This is a song dedicated to the purity of playing music. I recently had a conversation with Izzy, the featured artist of Week 6, about how it was almost easier to write songs back when we were first starting out. The connection was simpler. It was a means to get closer to the music that really inspired you. I remember playing along with records, dissecting my favorite songs by my favorite artists. Orchestrating with friends in the sweltering garage, with no concern for marketing, no worries about professionalism. Ottoman Turks was born during that period, and it was the greatest thing in the world. This was a song from back then - so I had to bring back the original Turks to do it again! A song about a girl, who likes a boy, who doesn’t like her back - that classic story - but this time, the girl ain’t takin’ no for an answer.

| Matchstick 9 |
Rain Makes the Grass Grow Green

Musicians:

Artist:

I often say that songs tend to be snapshots. Sure, they can be vast, all knowing epics that span space, time, memory, fact, fiction... but I find I most often find I'm writing about one specific feeling that I want to crystallize and fully flesh out. This is more or less a song about one of those moments. A song about a single night - although, admittedly, one that represents a whole lot more than just that one night. A warm and fuzzy song about a place I got to live once - which is why we called back a bunch of people that have lived there, too, over the years and got them to join in the final chorus.

| Matchstick 10 |
Leisure

Musicians:

  • Nathan Mongol Wells - Guitars, Vocals

Artist:

Another song that was born on the worksite. It's a simple number about choosing to play the long game - keeping your head down, getting paid, and working hard while you can, with the promise of some time off ever on the horizon. I'm not sure there's a feeling as sweet as that - the Friday night feeling. Nothing but opportunity ahead. This song is an internal monologue, convincing yourself that it'll be worth it when you get what's coming. Just gotta push through the tired and get it done

| Matchstick 11 |
Soul Song

Musicians:

Artist:

Few would ever claim my songs are mysterious. I cut my teeth on the Johnny Cash school of songwriting - straightforward, tellin' it like it is, finding the inherent humor in situations, but never straying too far into the poetic. But sometimes, either because the subject matter is too grand and big to sum up, or because i'm attempting to parse my own feelings, or because it just suits the song, I'll lean farther into it. Honestly, this song is still pretty straightforward. But it's an attempt to nail down feelings on some big subjects like mortality, physicality, and spirituality. It was started in the lobby of the Belmont Hotel, which lends itself well to inspiration.

| Matchstick 12 |
Trash Can

Musicians:
      Slow Moving Snakes:

  • Chad Bennett - Maracas, Vocals
  • Chris Huckabay - Drums
  • Mike Jones - Mandolin, Vibroslap
  • Chris Rasco - Lap Steel
  • Mitchell Rhodes - Bass, Vocals
  • Bill Shato - Lead Guiar
  • Nathan Mongol Wells - Guitar, Vocals

Artist:

This is a song about being better. It's hard to write a song about laziness without writing lazily, so this is an attempt to really nail it down. It's a true story, of course. An anthem of sorts. Centered around the inspiriational subject of the trash can. Early this year I found myself working from home a lot, and housework naturally became part of my duties. I found myself developing a working relationship with the trash can. I knew exactly what state it was in at all times. Before long I felt a kinship. This song is the result, although it wasn't finished until last week. But i knew from the first line that it'd be the perfect outro to the Matchstick Singles. It's about moving up, moving on, and learning from the little things how to be a better you.

Connect With Nathan Mongol Wells

 
 

Brittany Griffiths is a writer from Dallas, Texas. She is the founder and editor of Spontaneous Afflatus, an independent publishing house that specializes in poetry and short story collections. She is also the editor of Wavelength Magazine. Last year she released her debut poetry collection titled, Ebb & Flow.

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