Take the laid-back, bassline-riding funk of Tom Misch and sprinkle in a little psychedelic dreamwave for good measure: That’s the feeling you’ll get from Mat Elliott’s new single, “Two Years.” It’s a precursor to the Halifax-based singer-songwriter’s debut EP, South Endings, set for release in April.
A project Elliott describes to The Coast as “a lot of stuff in my head that was just kind of rolling around in there,” South Endings sees the Truro-raised artist reflect on “a couple of hard breakups” while experimenting with guitar grooves, dreamy synth solos and piano arrangements that’ll pluck you out of a Halifax winter and onto the outer rings of Neptune. (Think Still Woozy’s offbeat charm, with a touch more pop.)
Born and raised in Truro, Elliott comes from a musical family: His late cousin, Bill Elliott, was an ECMA-nominated guitarist and fiddler from Bass River, while his father, Bruce, is a long-time performer and multi-instrumentalist in his own right. Elliott credits both—along with his fiddle-playing grandfather—for instilling an early love for music. It shows on “Two Years,” a song Elliott self-recorded and produced in his north end Halifax home studio, with help from keyboardist and good friend Ashton Wisener.
Elliot also credits his wife, music therapist Kendall Jones, who adds harmonies throughout the EP, as well as Future Dad Music producer John Mullane, who has chipped in with the mixes “and just giving advice and helping me throughout the whole process.”
South Endings is slated for release on Apr. 26.
Editor’s note: In an earlier version of this story, The Coast listed Jon Mullane as a project collaborator. As it happens, there are two Mullanes who make music in Halifax—and we got the wrong one. The Coast apologizes to all Jons, Johns and silent ‘Hs’ everywhere.
This article appears in Jan 1-31, 2024.