MUSICIAN BIOGRAPHY
Combining the elegance of classical music with dark, synth-heavy experimentation, Matthew J Van Howe is a boundary-pushing composer and songwriter based in Chicago. He has consistently challenged conventions and reinvented himself on every new project, resulting in a diverse discography full of abrasive soundscapes and memorable melodies alike.
Matthew earned his Bachelor of Arts from Trinity Christian College, where he studied choral arrangement and classical piano, both of which would later come to inform his sound. After a series of EP’s and singles, he made his official debut in 2014 with the full length Transmogrify. The album’s industrial rock influenced sound put Matthew on the map, winning over a small but devoted fanbase.
In the years following Transmogrify, Matthew branched out into a variety of other creative pursuits. He directed a film called Voice of the Vespers (2014), designed a board game called Hadrian's Line, and maintained a career as a music director and choir director. Music composition was never far from his mind however, and in 2020 he returned newly inspired with Emergent Narrative.
With a spacey sound that draws from Brian Eno’s ambient music as well as Matthew’s own choral background, it shows a softer side of the composer’s personality. Its soundscapes are vast enough to disappear into, with wordless melodies colliding together and building to moments of cathartic bliss. Emergent Narrative is the sound of an artist boldly following his muse and embracing the beauty and mystery that come with it.
