As a member of Matt Mondanile’s generation (80s born and raised), I can’t help but to relate to what he does. Hypnagogic pop speaks to me, and Matt’s approach happens to be one of the more accessible ones in the field. Ducktails is a fun project, and his own evolution from living in his parents’ basement (he moved out this December to Greenpoint, Brooklyn) is an experience countless millions can relate to.
He’s now trying to earn money to release a 12 Inch version of his song “Killin’ the Vibe” to the suspecting masses. Besides just asking people for money on “Kickstarter” the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world, he offers goodies. People can opt to get a 30 minute cassette of unreleased songs (known as B-sides or sketches), the vinyl itself with a handwritten note and new songs, or with a Zine (so retro) of his photographs, and finally guaranteed shows of him playing in the Northeast. Apparently his fan base is rabid enough to take up all of this, even the last one with the $500 contribution. In fact, the only one not taken is having him perform in your living room for $1000, which is something I hope gets amended.
Now he’s even exceeded his goal of fundraising: he has exceeded his goal of $3500 by about $1940. I guess his chops are complete; he tends to avoid the prolific releases of his friends James Ferraro and Spencer Clark (of The Skaters fame). That’s a good thing; it has allowed me to keep track of his various projects, including his most famous one “Real Estate”. Seeing how he literally lived with those two Skaters in Berlin during a study abroad trip gives me hope for when I’ll be doing that. I always thought study abroad sessions were supposed to be stuffy; his experience proves my theory dead-wrong.
I’m hoping he succeeds in getting this 12 out. He exists as sort of an in-between point between various different genres: rock, hypnagogic pop, cassette culture, lo-fi recordings, etc. Considering he’s only in his twenties, he’s been lucky enough to tour with some wonderful people (like Emeralds and Deerhunter) has an excellent grasp of aesthetics (Lauren Pakradooni will do the 12 artwork). Plus, and this is huge, he’s managed to show New Jersey as a place where interesting things are going on, where actual art is created. Instead of feeling like they need a crutch of New York City, they show exactly why New York needs more people like him to move here.
With that, I’d like to say if you feel like contributing to this guy, or want him to perform in your living room; you might want to go here: