A Chat with Shawn Matthew (30.04.25)
Shawn Matthew is no stranger to evolution. Known for his smooth, melodic house roots, the rising producer has taken a hard left turn into bass-heavy territory with his latest release, ‘Work to the Beat’, a track that fuses elements of bass house, dubstep, trap, and gritty hip-hop energy. It’s a bold reinvention that doesn’t just shift genres, and it punches through them. Matthew opens up about the inspirations behind his sonic transformation, the creative challenges of genre-blending, and why ‘Work to the Beat’ marks the start of an entirely new era in his musical journey.
OSR: ‘Work to the Beat’ marks a huge departure from your earlier melodic house sound. What sparked that creative shift?
Matthew: Music is a medium of expressing a feeling or an idea with inflexion beyond words. My creative shift on ‘Work to the Beat’ came from a place of needing to express myself differently than I was able to within the framework of melodic house. I have pent-up energy I need to let out, and I can’t do that with chill vibes and love songs. There’s still a place for that in my heart, but the story I need to tell right now is more aggressive, and putting that into a track is cathartic.
OSR: You blend bass house, dubstep, and trap in this new track. How do you approach mixing genres without losing cohesion?
Matthew: Crossing genres effectively is not a simple task, and it comes down to using the best materials available and blending them in a way that makes sense. I wanted hip-hop vocals that smack you in the face with ‘Work to the Beat’, but the dubstep growls and stabs also demand their own sonic space in the front of the mix, so in that respect, I knew I needed to use vocals without a lot of explanation. The vocals needed to be tight, quick and leave room for the other elements. I also rely heavily on feedback from a close circle of artists and DJs that I look up to as experts in their own genres. Trenom is a producer out of Denmark and an absolute mastermind with EDM sound design. I go to him for ideas when I’m working out a synth or a bass or whatever. I also call on El and R.O.N., who are doing some wild stuff on the underground hip-hop scene. I went to Chaz Banger, a club DJ out of Cincinnati, who I respect for his deep knowledge of what works in trap and dubstep. The trap drop around the two-minute mark was totally inspired by a conversation between him and me.
OSR: What was the very first idea or sound that kicked off the creation of this single?
Matthew: This whole idea for ‘Work to the Beat’ started when I was down a rabbit hole binging on some old Nine Inch Nails and was really struck by this big three-note guitar lick in ‘Into The Void’ that bends down during the chorus. It really sets the mood for the whole track, and that inspired me to create the big synth woo woo woo harmony you hear in the intro and breakdown of ‘Work to the Beat’. Everything else really evolved around that core idea.
OSR: The vocals have that gritty New Orleans hip-hop vibe. Can you tell us about the influence behind that and how you found the right voice?
Matthew: I have had the good fortune of producing and experimenting alongside some amazing talent in the hip-hop community over the years. As an EDM artist, that exposure stretched my limits and helped me realise the sounds and styles that I really gravitate toward in that space. I knew I wanted something punchy, and when I found these HaSizzle vocals, they hit so hard, I knew I needed to do something with them. The hard part was that he had SO much good material, it was hard to narrow it down to the final cut! I went through at least ten different vocal arrangements on ‘Work to the Beat’, and they all hit.
OSR: What do you want listeners to feel the first time they hear ‘Work to the Beat’?
Matthew: This is a song for wildin’ out. I want my fans and listeners to brace for impact from the first record scratch and have that “bass face” when the beat drops. I want this track to make something otherwise inaccessible feel like home. Like it doesn’t matter what walk of life you’re from, you’re gonna bounce when ‘Grove Street Party’ comes on, and you’re gonna slow dance when ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ comes on. Those songs transcend culture. I want listeners to feel that way about ‘Work to the Beat’.
OSR: As someone who started in melodic house, what has been the biggest challenge in pivoting to a more aggressive, bass-forward sound?
Matthew: The biggest challenge in moving toward an aggressive, bass-forward sound was finding the sweet spot of authenticity, familiarity and freshness in a new sonic space. Essentially trying to hit the dead centre of my new style. This track is like putting a pin on the map for myself as an artist and saying, “This is where I am going. Come along with me if you like.” I will continue to experiment within a certain distance from here, but this is generally what to expect from me moving forward. I have a dozen tracks lined up that are a few degrees one direction or the other, but I needed this track specifically to be a reflection of the centre point. Putting clarity to that was the hardest part.
OSR: Do you think fans of your earlier work will be surprised or maybe even shocked by this release?
Matthew: I have already been inundated with fans coming at me with, “Where did this come from?!” and there is no better feeling. The funny thing is, I didn’t really start immersing myself in house music until maybe 8-10 years ago, so this isn’t altogether new territory. Anyone who discovered me during the house years is completely blown away. The history, though, is I grew up wailing on lead guitar in a punk rock band and was experimenting with dubstep like 15 years ago. In fact, I still have a few old dubstep remixes on my Soundcloud page from like 2012. That wasn’t my finest work, but I still see people vibing to them, so I keep it up for them. So while I haven’t gone down this path in a very long time, I have certainly been here before.
OSR: You’ve cited influences like Jauz and Odd Mob. Who else is pushing boundaries in the scene right now that you admire?
Matthew: Skrillex is without a doubt paving the way for EDM artists everywhere in how he unapologetically pushes the envelope. Dude has reinvented his style multiple times, and his new album plays like a mixtape. I’m also a longtime fan of Moksi, who are allegedly from the Netherlands, but the way they bring energy to house music is nothing like I’ve heard on this planet, so they might be aliens. Also, let’s not forget TroyBoi. What a legend and immediately recognisable sound. I’d love to work with him one day. It’s a total mystery to me how his music has so much space yet warmth. One you might not have heard of but need to know about is The Cancel. He’s a Ukrainian producer who chops up old soulful samples and lays down an offbeat boom bap groove that sounds different from anybody else out there right now.
OSR: How has your production process evolved in the making of this track compared to earlier releases?
Matthew: Pulling off a big genre flip meant coming up with a completely different set of tools and production workflow. That was challenging, but the most exciting part of the process. Artists like to kit up drum racks, organise their favourite presets and make reusable FX chains as a jumping off point. It speeds up production, helps establish a signature style and keeps us from burning time recreating every single element from scratch every time. ‘Work to the Beat’ meant I had to throw most of my shortcuts out the window. Everything was a new build. One example – those three stabs you hear before the first drop – they only last like a second. But it’s eight samples stacked, processed through an FX chain, resampled and processed again. That’s also what makes this work so rewarding because if you have an idea and the right tools, you can make almost any sound you can imagine.
OSR: What’s next after this? Is ‘Work to the Beat’ a one-off experiment or the beginning of a new era for Shawn Matthew?
Matthew: ‘Work to the Beat’ is the beginning of a new era. The edgier sound filled my cup in a way that I have needed for a long time, so expect more of it. I can’t divulge specifics about projects that haven’t been formally announced, but there are tracks lined up to be released throughout this year and a couple of interesting collaborations in the works. One thing that I can share is that I am holding off on booking bigger performances a little bit longer while I establish this new style with my fans. I don’t want people to come to a show expecting one thing and getting something completely different. That would suck. We’re getting out of the 120-130 BPM house range. There will be big drops, nasty bassline, first pumping and wildin’ out. Brace yourselves. You’ll see more of me on stage by late summer, but for now, my focus is creating and releasing the music for those shows.
Many thanks to Shawn Matthew for speaking with us. Find out more about Shawn Matthew on his Instagram, Facebook, and Spotify.
