Matteo Ranieri – Live 4 the Weekend [Music Review]

Matteo Ranieri’s “Live 4 the Weekend” lives up to its name: with a soulful delivery and playfulness that recalls Prince at his finest, the whole track stuns. Jazz, blues, electro, dance, all of this gets filtered through Matteo Ranieri’s highly joyous vocals. With a great range, the buildup of the song feels earned. Synthesizers worm their way in and out of the entire piece, done with such style. Lyrics offer a snapshot of a life lived to the fullest, a true carpe diem approach. By going for such a wide plethora of approaches within the song the whole piece has a true realness to it. The ebb and flow, between high and low energy, further works in its favor.

Things start up on a chilled note, as glistening keys introduce the piece. Matteo Ranieri’s lyricism feels precise, with a lovely poetry to them. Quite colorful, the way that Matteo Ranieri lets the tension build up becomes masterful. Upon the first burst of energy, the song’s jazz origins mesh perfectly with a light electro buzz. Rhythms have a celebratory spirit to them while they drive the entirety of the track forward with the utmost of ease. Drums further go for a clipped approach, embracing a nearly dance-like quality. His voice rests front and center of it all, serving as the track’s true heart. For the final stretch he lets it all drop out, revealing the power of his voice.

“With “Live 4 the Weekend” Matteo Ranieri embodies the life of the party, going for a temperament that feels so inviting and fresh”

Interview

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

I grew up in a small town in Italy, called Tivoli. I started off at a very small age, studying classical piano and jazz singing. My brother is older than me and he inspired me to start playing an instrument as he is a guitarist. I remember to have had a natural tendency to sing and create music since the small age, in fact I wrote my first song at the age of 11. It was a very funny song as I wrote it on top of a Britney Spear’s backing track as I didn’t know how to produce back then. After that, I started to learn how to use softwares as Logic Pro by myself in order to be able to express myself through music.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

The best advice I can give to new artists is to start from somewhere. Many of my fellow artists friends always struggle and ask me “How did you do that?” and “Where did you get the inspiration from?”. What I always tell them is to really stop wondering “how” and start concretely doing. Sit at the piano and start jamming, if you have an idea just write it down. And after that, when you have your ideas ready, go to events, jams, meet people, build up your network as everyone can be helpful. It will take time, so be persistent and stubborn. People will want to let you down somehow. Prove them wrong!

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

I definitely do! I sometimes say the wrong words or forget the cut of the song. Having been in an orchestra, what I have learnt is to never stop when you make a mistake. People are watching you and most probably they won’t notice what you notice. Just keep going, keep “feeling” the song, don’t look distracted or panic. Mistake has been made and you can’t go back in time. If I go off pitch once, what I do is that I try and reach the same note nicely afterwards just to show that I can do it!

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

I find Facebook and Instagram very useful. Lately, Instagram has become much more interactive with Instagram Stories and paid promotions. It really works just to share pictures and short videos promoting songs and gigs, genuine people will respond and get the message. Also you will get new followers and people who are interested by using hashtags, to make sure you always reach the more people you can.

Exposed Vocals: So, lets talk about your new release ‘Live 4 the weekend”

Many people asked me why this outfit and why this song. As everyone who knows me is aware of, I went through one of the hardest periods of my life breaking up with the very first love of my life. After my break up, I started having a different type of life. Less sedentary and more explorative. The song is inspired to the crazy weekends which many of us experience and use to get away from the real life. I analysed how I live the whole week “waiting 4 the weekend” and I wrote a song about it. The song might at first seem a happy and chilled song but there’s a bitterness behind the major chords and happy vocals. The real meaning of the song comes out during the bridge and helps who listens to understand.The choice of the outfit has been well thought. The bizarre, out of the schemes, exuberant outfit I chose for the artwork want to represent my inner battle between pain and happiness. Temporary happiness, that shows up only when I go out. The reason why I live, the moment I’m waiting for: the weekend. To let all the problems go away. Also the outfit wants to represent how proud I am to be who I am. I am a gay guy and there are many faces of me. “Do It Again”, my first single, was an elegant and hurt Matteo. In “Live 4 the Weekend” you can see another side of me, cheeky, exuberant, camp, proud and confident. I have also been said to be following stereotypes by wearing fur and this over the lines outfit but I couldn’t disagree more. We create stereotypes by ourselves. I am just myself and I wanna show it through music.I definitely inspired the sound to the King, Michael Jackson. I thought about: what would I like to hear if I would be someone who just broke up and wants to chill and have fun? And this little riff came out, very 80s, which I love. I also took inspiration from Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake.

Exposed Vocals: What can you fans stream, download or buy it?

You can buy my new single and more of my music on iTunes and Google Play. You can also stream it on Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal just by searching “Matteo Ranieri”!

Exposed Vocals: Any Shout-outs?

I wanna give a shout-out to my video-maker, Simone Abbate, who helped me express in a visual form what I had in mind. He spent so much time and energies for me and I will always be grateful. I also wanna thank my best friend, Giuseppe, who always supports me and help me choosing my outfits! I couldn’t do it without him. As well as my ex boyfriend, Michael, who never stopped supporting me and giving me his fair and honest
opinions every time I do something new. And last, but not least, my family. Without them I couldn’t have had any possibilities of living in London and following my dream.