MR. ANDREW MATARAZZO

What’s inspiring you right now at this moment?

I know this sounds a bit crazy, but the old me is inspiring the current me. I was doing a lot of self reflection this year and there are a lot of parts of myself that I lost along the way that I want to work on getting back. I’m redirecting my energy back into things that used to be important to me.

What is the first thing you think when you wake up?

I love my house so much so I usually have thoughts about how peaceful my room is and I enjoy my space as I do my morning routine.

Do you play music when you wake up? If so, what do you personally listen to?

Depends on my mood. I am always in the middle of an audiobook, so sometimes I’ll play that as I’m going about my morning. Right now I’m listening to Dune.

If I’m really sleepy or have an audition that morning, I’ll play music to hype me up or get me in the zone for what’s coming.

What do you wear when you are most inspired creatively?

My style is heavily influenced by whatever I’m currently watching or creating. So for example when I was watching Game of Thrones, I was wearing lots of rings and heavy coats. When I was watching Madmen, I dressed very sharp and put together, and recently with my new single Don’t Say Love, I was inspired by Blade Runner and was wearing very futuristic clothing. What I wear is usually a direct reflection of how I’m feeling or want to feel.

What time of the day did you begin writing your new song, Don’t Say Love?

We wrote it in a day over zoom. I think we started around noon and ended at around five or six PM, with no breaks. Once we started flowing it had to be finished.

As many of us, we grow up with our parents playing their favorite music around the home. What musical acts past and present provoke and inspire you?

I remember my mom would play a lot of Bon Jovi and Grease for me when I was very little, but I think I only started paying attention to music in that way once I was in high school. Most of my singing experience was in theater, but I was really taken by Amy Winehouse and Adele’s style and vocals. They were the first musicians that switched something in the way I listened to music and what I absorbed for my own foundation.

What vocalist would inspire a duet with you?

I’m a big fan of Billie Eilish and I think our styles would complement each other. Really digging Rosalia and SZA too.

What culture and what aspect of culture inspires you as a musical artist?

I pull a lot of my cadence and musical taste from my Brazilian roots and I love Caribbean and dance hall music as well.

MR. ANDREW MATARAZZO

What inspired the video of your latest musical masterpiece “Don’t Say Love”?

Every single character that I portray emanates from me. So there are definitely pieces of me in Hector. I can relate to his positive and upbeat energy. I do however wish I could walk through life with a care-free attitude the way he does. I think we could all use a little more of that.

Love and heartbreak often inspire, are you in love or heartbroken at the moment?

I think I’m feeling a little hopeless with romance right now. It was a big theme for Dont Say Love, where you feel jaded by repeated failed love and you just want to have fun and almost be the bad guy for a bit. I’m just going with the flow now.

How do you inspire a team of your collaborators when approaching your projects?

I always have extremely detailed and vivid visions for what I’m trying to create and I think that instills confidence in the people I am asking to help me bring it to life. There’s a direct path to what I want and I love seeing what the other person can bring to the idea and world I’m trying to build. I love letting them thrive in what they do as well, even if it's my project, I want them to feel like it's theirs too.

A poet that inspires you?

Shakespeare! I used to hate reading his works in school, but when I studied him abroad in England, and learned about his life and the context of the stories, I fell in love. It’s a skill I wish I got to use more often.

What would inspire a glance from you?

Basically anyone opposite of me. I love when someone is from a different world, or has a different vibe. I like when I can learn or dive into sides of life I’m not familiar with.

If you had to pick a color, what color would you say inspired this new song and video?

Blood Orange.

A scent can bring back a memory, what’s a fragrance that inspires you?

I actually hate scented things. I don’t wear anything scented because it really bothers me. There’s very few that I don’t mind.

A place on this planet that most stimulates you to create?

New York. For some reason when I’m there my mind and creativity go into hyperdrive and I’m constantly taking notes of things that pop in my head that I want to make or explore. There’s something about the pace of life there and the sheer scale of the energy there that I love.

A man you find inspiring and why?

River Phoenix. His life was so extraordinary even though it was short. I love the heart he brings to his performances and his kindness to people outside of his work life.

A woman you find inspiring and why?

Saoirse Ronan. Her body of work for her age is unmatched. I’m inspired by all her performances because they’re always so unique yet have such a clear throughline with what she brings to the characters.

What’s the strangest place you have found inspiration for your music?

In bed...Alone and not alone.

In this Story:

1. Andrew wears white shirt COMME DES CARCON HOMME PLUS, kilt VIVIENNE WESTWOOD, boots ANN DEMEULEMEESTER 2. Andrew wears tank top THOM BROWNE, Jacket, shirt, tie, oxfords, and vintage corset THOM BROWNE 3. Andrew wears vest, MARGIELA, jeans 3X1 4. Andrew wears jacket, shirt, tie, oxfords, and vintage corset THOM BROWNE, white shirt COMME DES CARCON HOMME PLUS, kilt Vivienne Westwood, Boots ANN DEMEULEMEESTER 5. Andrew wears white shirt COMME DES CARCON HOMME PLUS SHIRT

DIGITAL COVER