MATTHEW AND THE

ATLAS

The Website

HomepageThe homepage immediately shows MATA as a band who intend to play soft, heartfelt music through their inclusion of soft

pine effects to either sides of the main attraction of their site. It produces the

feeling of a warm cabin/lodge in the middle of a forest somewhere; giving a

hearty, enchanted feel to their music. The ‘roots’ growing out of the page

and towards the wood insinuates an organic natural hint to MATA’s music.

This relates well to our band – as we wish to create a warm, communal feel

about our music and band. There is also a link to which the user can enter

their email address, with the prize being a free track to download. This

therefore registers the user to the newsletter of MATA; showing that they

are a nice audience band as only those who want to can register very

easily. Furthermore, the website features the band’s latest live tours very

boldly. This suggests that this band centre their publicity around live

performances; and that their audience also enjoy live music too.

CD Artworks

The artwork on this album shows a natural side to MATA;

from the image of a tree and its roots growing out from

the album centre, possibly a metaphor for MATA’s

growing reputation in the folk music scene. The white

contrasted with black gives a crisp, fresh look to the

album cover; as if something about this band is new and

refreshing from typical mediocre music nowadays. The

colour also represents the season of winter; with the

white representing the snow beautifully dominating the

landscape. I believe the seasonal aspect to MATA’s

albums is a common recurring theme for them all.

This album cover represents a vintage fashion in

MATA; having a bottled ship sitting on top of a map.

This is something that people don’t tend to buy new

anymore; and are usually found in antique or novelty

item shops. The all around yellow tint to the album

cover is representational of autumn. This revives the

supposed theme of seasonal album covers from

MATA. It therefore adds an appealing warmth to the

album; suggesting the tracks will be soft and

comforting.

Photos

This photo puts the five members of the band in a rustic looking room with Mexican references throughout with the sombreros behind them. It adds a culture to MATA’s music, saying that they are a band to travel and gain inspiration from doing so which is reflected in their songs. Some are shown holding their instruments; important because it shows the bands priorities in their lives; making music. The specific instruments add evidence to MATA’s folk genre.

Because MATA are a small band, their website and merchandise have yet to expand,

therefore I am writing about their section of group photos instead.

The next photo is edited into

monochrome which adds ambiguity to

MATA as a band. All five are standing in

an urban area –most resembling of a

high street – which shows that MATA are

aware of their roots originating from

London. Their clothing is relatively

average; with them not trying to portray

any sort of fashion craze through which

they can further appeal to audiences. In

doing such they add a modesty to their

reputation; as if their main focus were to

play music for

their fans, and

have adoration

as a side

bonus.