Formula Indie Sessions _ Interview with Matthew Alec and The Soul Electric
What is your earliest memory connected to music?
The funny thing is that I was just thinking about this very question a few days ago. I’m not completely sure that I can remember what my first memory would be, but I certainly remember a few key things. The first was The Beach Boys. I think my earliest love as a child was The Beach Boys and I can remeber listening to them via cassette tape very, very often. I loved their sound and still do to this day, although I can’t say that I’ve listened to them very often in recent years. I also very much loved “Weird Al” Yankovich who made many amusing parodys of pop tunes over the years. My childhood friends and I took great enjoyment of his music. Another major influence during my very young childhood years was the TV cartoon The California Raisins. Yes, it was a kids TV series, but they recreated classic soul and R & B hits on the show which, in retrospect, served as my introduction to that sound at such a young age. Unlike many who pursue professional music in adulthood, I didn’t have a particularly musical family, but my older brother was also a main influence in that he played the clarinet in marching band and eventually a saxophone in jazz ensemble in school and quite frankly I idolized him in many ways, so he perhaps was the main impetus that led me to the saxophone.
How did your passion for creating music begin?
I really think my older brother Rick was the main reason I took up the saxophone, but he was not the reason that I stuck with it. For me, I think the reason that it stuck with me was the fact that I discovered a love of classic rock in high school. A love that included Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, The Doors, The Doobie Brothers, Queen, and so many more. That love became an intense passion for me somewhere around 16 years old. It initially led me to wanting to play the electric guitar, but around that same time I befriended a freshman saxophone student at my high school who was significantly more advanced than both myself at that time as well as the rest of the saxophone students in school. He became a second brother to me for a year or so there and he introduced me to bebop and Charlie Parker. That changed my life. It made me realize that I didn’t need to change instruments. Everything I wanted to make was all available to me on the saxophone. I never looked back.
What’s the story behind your current music project?
The Soul Electric fusion project started in about 2017. I graduated with an undergrad degree in music in 2007, and out of that music program the original soul-rock project Winslow had started which was my main project for quite some time, I think I was with that project until about 2014. When it broke up I was sort of lost musically-speaking. I had no projects and I wasn’t really on anyone’s call list in the area, so I was completely without a gig and had absolutely no idea where music was going to go for me from there. I admittedly nearly quit. That said, after some soul-searching I decided to start auditioning for any groups that would have me. From that, I wound up with a James Brown tribute band in the Akron, Ohio area and eventually befriended a number of the musicians in the group. That turned out to be exactly what I needed to take the next step forward.
I had been a Brecker Brothers fan (Michael Brecker is and continues to be my favorite saxophonist) and had a dream to make a fusion project that mixed popular music and jazz like they did. After talking with a number of the bandmembers I found a core group of guys that were interested in a project like that. We started rehearsing, then eventually gigging in the Northeast Ohio area.
About a year or so after it got off the ground, I began to get the idea to make a record and then eventually a record label as well. The “Cleveland Time” LP was born out of those efforts. The original cast of musicians from the James Brown tribute have all since gone their separate ways, but their dedication in those first two or three years really helped me grow both as a musician and grow my solo career as a saxophonist immensely.
The current cast of players keyboardist and vocalist Brian Woods (who is one of 2 returning members from the “Cleveland Time” LP), saxophonist Greg Banaszak, guitarist and vocalist Corey Conway, bassist Miguel Tarin Torres, drummer and percussionist Drew Parent, and drummer Jeremiah “The Franchise” Hawkins (the other returning member) are all A-list players in the jazz and blues scene around NE Ohio. They are all fabulous people and some of my closest friends. I can’t wait to break ground on the next studio album later this year. I think fans will like this one.
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?
One might consider this a loaded question since my music is so incredibly diverse! Each song and subsequently each album are and will all be different ventures with different sounds and styles by design. That said, generally speaking my group and I mix elements of traditional jazz, blues, and soul with modern pop and rock. I really want to make music that has both artistic merit as well universal appeal to a wide variety of listeners. The first studio album was a modern take on some of my favorite funk-fusion albums of the late 1970’s. Tom Scott & The LA Express come to mind. For the next album, I’m planning a modern take on a yacht rock record with a lot more vocals. I’m even going to be singing on at least one of the songs.
As a saxophonist, I’m still growing and changing quite a bit. At 42, I’m finding that I’m still experiencing a great deal of growth on the instrument and I’ve a feeling that who I will be as a player at 50 is likely not the same as who I am currently. That said, I’d describe myself as healthy mix of ‘60s hard bop tenor player with a great deal of Lenny Pickett-style R & B vocabulary and tonal approach. Michael Brecker, John Coltrane, Joshua Redman, Grover Washington, Jr., Kenny Garrett, Bob Berg, David Sanborn, and aforementioned Lenny Pickett have all been major influences on me. I gravitate towards a big, fat, robust sound which I think listeners will hear when they tune in.
What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?
I think the main thing that I’ve learned is that you absolutely cannot please all listeners, so the best advise is simply not to try. Make the music that you want to and what you feel inside. That’s the only way to make it a true expression of yourself. The rest doesn’t matter.
What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?
Well, for starters there are my axes. I’m sponsored by a saxophone company called RS Berkeley. They hooked me up with their top-tier “Virtuoso” tenor that I’ve had for maybe three years now and I absolutely love it. It’s Chinese-made and the Chinese have made some very questionable instruments over the years, but this one does not fit that bill. It’s one hell of a tenor. Very well in-tune and a huge, agressive tone. My E.W.I. (that’s Electronic Wind Instrument which you can hear on my recording “Baby You Got Me”) is an Akai EWI 5000, which I am still learning, but I’ve put a lot of work into the past year or so and I am getting more and more comfortable on it. The next album will have a lot more of it. I’ve also started learning a Hohner Chromonica chromatic harmonica. I’ve all intention of getting a taste of it on the next album as well.
Beyond that stuff, my iPad gets a ton of use making flyers, editing many of videos I release, and recording demos. I am a decent keyboardist as well and my home Yamaha keyboard gets a ton of use as a result.
Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?
It’s very random and I’m not quite certain they’d qualify as an ‘indie’ artist, but I’ve gotten a lot of enjoyment listening to the US band Poolside recently. They have a refreshing, sun-laden take on groovy modern dance-pop. I can’t help but smile listening to them.
How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?
I think that life experience inflences everyone who makes music regardless of whether the artist is actually cognizant of it or not. For me, a lot of past experiences from childhood to early adulhood in my ‘20s were shaped by a significant need to ‘prove’ myself with what I would say was a fairly large chip on my shoulder.
Now in my early ‘40s with a 2-year-old daughter, life looks a little different now through my eyes. That drive is still there, but it’s lessened and potentially gotten less toxic to my life. I am much better about rolling with the punches of the industry now and generally expect less overall. I am not certain if that’s simply a result of ageing or if it’s because of having a child. I am really not certain. That said, I can truthfully say that I still want to be immensely successful in the international music scene, but I do not need that to be or feel happy. I will be just fine either way. I would not have been able to say that in my ‘30s.
What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?
I don’t have any one clear cut message for my music as a whole. My music varies greatly stylistically, so I would say that each song that I record has a different intention. The “Cleveland Time” album was predominatnly intended to be a ‘fun’ record that drew listeners in which our grooves, hooks, and solos, although the tracks “Blues for McCoy” and “Never With You” were more introspective and artistic. This next album that I’m tentatively calling “Cleveland Vice” is very much intended to be an exciting, summer release that makes people happy, but leaves enough musicality and virtuosity on the table that jazz fans can get down to it, too. That’s what I want for this one.
What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?
Music has taught me so much about so many things, but I think the most relevant lesson is that life has no arrival point. As a child, you envision some point in your life when you’ve ‘made it’ and you can ‘play,’ but the older I get the more I realize that this is not at all how it works. There is no arrival point, you just keep going. Some days and some years are better than others…
What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?
Any major festival, but The Newport Jazz Festival and The New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival come to mind. I’d also love to play The Blue Note… just about any of them in any of the major cities.
If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?
So, so, so, so man to name. I think if we were talking past artists in the jazz world I would have to say John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Michael Brecker. I don’t know that the reason really needs explanation… it would just be a tremendous experience to be able to create with any of those people. Current jazz artists Tom Scott (who’s a long time collaborator with Tom “Bones” Malone who appeared on the “Cleveland Time” record), Herbie Hancock, Joshua Redman, and Chris Potter all come to mind.
There are also a slew of pop artist past and present that would be an absolute dream. John Mayer, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Maroon 5, John Legend, The Black Keys to name a few. No doubt that Prince and Michael Jackson would be on the list as well if they were still alive. Perhaps there’s a major up and coming pop artist out there that will read this interview and just so happens to have an undying need for a killer pop tenor soloist…
Where can our listeners follow and support your music? (Website,Spotify, IG, links)
Website: https://www.matthewalec.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/matthewalecmusic
FB (band): https://www.facebook.com/thesoulelectric
IG: https://www.instagram.com/matthewalecmusic
X: https://www.x.com/matthewalecjazz
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2uzNA3Ou3MQDSGNbjGSALG?si=zOWCieGGTnWtcfkhdLI1OQ
Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?
I really have four things in mind for the future. The first is continuing to record my own records and eventually others’ records as well via my Cleveland Time Records label. The second would be to expand my group’s touring and get us out on the road a bit more outside of Cleveland and Akron to festivals and clubs. The third is perhaps my biggest dream… to tour as a saxophonist/multi-instrumentalist in a major national or international act. I’ve had friends that have gotten to do this, but I have yet to do so. Unfortunately, I will need a bit of luck to accomplish this, but I will keep putting the feelers out there until it happens. Lastly, I would like to open an acutal physical Cleveland Time Records location and have live music there regularly. If I can do these things, I can die a musically-fulfilled person.
What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?
I hope that listeners realize at some point that my music is beyond categorization! I am not really a traditional jazz artist, although I have significant traditional jazz influences. I am also not strictly a pop, R&B, or funk musician, despite having some heavy influences there, too. I think once I’ve released all of the albums I have in mind, listeners will start to get it and finally understand me. It will be a while until that happens, though, and I’m a bit curious to see how audiences attempt to categorize what I do as my career and reputation grows. We will see! Music is just music to me. Genres all blend into one another through my lens.
