MASSMATIKS
Find out more about MassMatiks here.
Find out more about MassMatiks here.
With every generation a handful of bands rise up able to offer an insight to the everyday life of the community they move in and the challenges it faces. When that social commentary comes from a personal perspective, served up with a fearless honesty, and married to a wealth of musical talent the result can be a particularly potent mix.
One such band currently carving out a niche for themselves are MassMatiks, a britraprockgroovenumetal band that defies genre pigeonholing...(!) A bunch of well crafted single releases have shown their impressive diversity, from the punchy calling out of not-so-know-it-all pub warriors in Blank Wall, to the epic relationship break-up song of 4AM. An intense live show honed to a cut-throat sharpness consistently proves this band more than capable.
So... I was particularly pleased the band were able to make some time to hook up before a show recently. We had just a few minutes to shoot, as they were due on stage soon after, and with people constantly walking past there was no time to experiment. Even so, I took the opportunity to use my medium format Seagull 4A, a Twin Lens Reflex camera made in 1968, which features a Haiou 75mm lens (one of my favourites for the look it gives). The camera was loaded with Kodak Portra 400 film.
I wanted to create something a little different from the usual band photo, and with little time to play around I decided the quickest solution was for an unconventional lineup shot, with Josh (drummer) in the front of the image and George (singer) at the back. Drummers are rarely at the front in band portraits! It may well mean this photo is rarely used, if at all, but for me I was happy with the dynamic it created while retaining the feel of the band. I'm satisfied the image is sufficiently different to other portraits of the band currently out there .
Anyway, keep a look out for a show and get yourselves along to one. In the meantime you can buy their music at iTunes, and more MassMatiks info can be found at massmatiks.net
Here's a few vids...
(Published 22/06/2017)
