#matt champion

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⣷⠶⠚⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀we both like 　　　apple cider　　　 but your hair be smelling like 　　　fruit punch　　　 and i don't even like you that much 　　　wait, i do, fuck⠀🍏🌸⠀

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[241120] jennierubyjane: had to jump on for a bit of slow motion 🧚‍♂️ thank you matt for lettin me be apart of it 🫶

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i'm shy for you still

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[241120] jennierubyjane: had to jump on for a bit of slow motion 🧚‍♂️ thank you matt for lettin me be apart of it 🫶

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aphid

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2024 Year End List - #14

Mika's Laundry - Matt Champion

Main Genres: Alt-Pop, Alternative R&B

A decent sampling of: Neo-Soul, Indie Pop, Alternative Rap, Art Pop, Indietronica

When Brockhampton announced their split up / indefinite hiatus / whatever you wanna call it in 2022, a lot of us fans went on speculating over who would be the first non-Kevin Abstract member to drop a solo LP, along with who would make the best one. Merlyn was technically not the first, given his last year's record was made in collaboration with ex-member Ameer Vann. And I'll be honest, I wasn't all that interested in hearing the end results of the group hype guy teaming up with the creep they kicked out to make a trap record.

Kevin Abstract had already dropped a couple of solo records as the band's star boy, and went ahead and dropped another one after the split. It was...okay I guess? Messy bedroom indie rock/pop that didn't leave much of an impression, though I suppose it was competent enough.

But with only the aforementioned two projects from BH alumni released in 2023, I was feeling a little disheartened with what to expect from the artists that I had really come to admire over the last few years.

Fortunately, Matt Champion, Dom McLennon, and Joba all graced us this year with three very different solo LPs. Dom was the only one that stuck with rapping over hip hop beats. By contrast, Joba did a leftfield turn and started making piano ballads. Meanwhile, Bearface is pretty much nowhere to be seen.

And then there's Matt.

Originally, I was most excited for a Dom solo record. After all, he is the most technically gifted rapper-poet in the group, and the one with the most socially conscious bars. But then I guess it makes sense that Matt would be the most competent solo artist.

Matt does not have the full throttle emotional delivery and impact of Joba, nor the razor-sharp wit and technical flows of a rapper like Dom. But he has a lot of versatility.

He can rap many different flows with his easy-going swagger and occasionally delivers something much heavier like on "BUMP" and "JUNKY". He's also proven to be a fairly smooth and comfortable R&B singer on tracks like "RENTAL". He also possesses a lot of the natural personality and charisma that Kevin has in spades but with *cough* a fraction of the ego *cough*.

And something Matt seems to have demonstrated more than any other vocalist member of BH is patience, discipline, and focus. He was the leading force behind getting TM done so that the band could finish their record deal, and he made good on delivering on his promises and having a proper album rollout.

So it's no surprise then that Mika's Laundry is definitely the best post-Brockhampton project to date. Matt Champion has honed his skills as a versatile performer into a project that is creative, intimate, vivid, and varied. Elements of soul with a small-venue, DIY feel and less conventional indietronica production get blended with a chill alt-pop/alternative R&B mix into something very stylized and confident.

There's also the occasional hip hop track thrown in ("GBIV" for example) that reminds you how Matt got his start as a rapper, plus a couple of songs with guitars and a whole indie pop rock sound aesthetic. Plus lots of gorgeous melancholy vocal harmonies à la Frank Ocean. Really, there's something here for just about everybody who likes alternative pop music.

I also wanna mention that Matt promoted Mika's Laundry with a series of surreal, grotesquely beautiful forest-biology-themed music videos, photo shoots, and song titles like "Aphid" and "Slug". There's even visible dirt on the album cover, which he was also covered with in the "Aphid" music video. But the visual promotional material also contrasts these nature elements by featuring very artificial images like sterile LED whites, and plastic bags and films.

I really like the way he chose to visaully represent the record; it gives more context to the album's earthy, organic, and intimate melodies and atmosphere, combined with the more melancholy lyrics and the futuristic, sometimes highly alien electronic production and vocal filters. There seems to be an overarching theme of alienation and the disconnect between humans and their environment, combined with lyrics that read more like unspoken thoughts and insecurities regarding Matt's relationship to his friends and lovers.

The lead single "Aphid" was co-produced and co-written by alternative R&B musician Dijon, and I am told that it is plastered with his signature sound (never heard a Dijon record, so YMMV). The production is squelchy, disorderly, while the lyrics are a sentimental plea for low expectations. A very strange song that admittedly had to grow on me, but now it's one of my favourite cuts from the record

"Steel" has almost a Sweet Trip vibe to it. Manic and bright indietronica synths are paired with a propulsive, funky beat and a duet with guest vocalist Dora Jar. This is one of his biggest departures from the established sound of his early solo career and time in Brockhampton, and it's all the better for it IMO. His tiny little "I need just a minute" is among my favourite vocal lines of the year.

"Purify" is languid and depressive, but still somehow feel-good courtesy of those gorgeous "YouuUuuUUUuuu" harmonies in the chorus. I also like how the guitar and synth just kinda stumble through the door at the beginning, like Matt's already showing up to the bar half-drunk, fully sad, and ready to lay his head down to sleep on the counter by the bar stools.

And then there's "Slug" which is the biggest highlight here, and probably one of the highest peaks of Matt's entire career. This boogie/soul/alt-r&b crossover track. I love the sparkly synth melody during the chorus. I absolutely adore the little bursts of "WHYYYYY?" during the chorus with the unabashadly silly, wailing falsetto characteristic of 70s funk and soul boy groups. And I appreciate the off-kilter accented details in the verses like that solitary, de-tuned electric guitar chord and the those cowbell taps outta nowhere. The whole thing is really tipsy and weird, and frankly quite gorgeous.

With all that praise, I gotta admit that "GBIV" feels totally out of place, like he's trying to do a "ST. PERCY" or "bankroll" for the BH fans, but it's totally discordant with pretty much everything else, and I'm not huge on this track in isolation anyway apart from that mysterious piano/harp outro. I also kinda wish it ended on something bigger than "Meetin' You" since the record feels like it's building towards something big, but alas I digress.

If you're a long time Brockhampton fan who hasn't listened to this yet, then I can tell you now that you'll probably get the most out of it if you are someone who appreciated Ginger as much as I did. Don't go into this expecting a Saturation or Iridescence-like project. This is a moody and subtle project; not a collection of bangers.

But hey, this is just the beginning for Matt Champion's post-Brockhampton solo career, and it's already one of the better pop debuts of the current decade.

Matt has arguably undergone some of the biggest growth of any of the members of his old band, and now is the time for his artistry to bloom. Or at least, emerge all slimey from his chrysalis, given the whole bizarre forest bug imagery, but you catch my drift. Check this one out.

8/10

Highlights: "Slug", "Steel", "Aphid", "Purify", "Aren't You Excited?"

FOR FANS OF: Pixel Bath by Jean Dawson Blonde by Frank Ocean Pang by Caroline Polachek Good At Falling by The Japanese House

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[241118] Jennie TikTok update

Special moment with Matt Champion ✨🏕️

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Matt Champion - Aphid (feat. Dijon) cover art

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