Sydney-based producer Fletcher Matthews thrives in the space where creativity meets collaboration.
From his cozy home studio to international recording sessions, Fletcher’s knack for blending genres and pushing sonic boundaries has cemented his reputation as a go-to collaborator in the Australian music scene.
His work spans punk rock, dance-rock, and indie pop, showcasing his ability to seamlessly blend electronic elements with traditional rock sounds.
In this exploration of his most memorable co-productions, Fletcher takes us behind the scenes of some of his standout projects, revealing the artistry and synergy that make each collaboration unique.
Fletcher’s journey through the music landscape has seen him work with some of Australia’s most exciting acts.
With Trophy Eyes, he merged his electronic/pop sensibilities with the band’s raw punk energy, leading to a fruitful partnership that spanned continents.
His work with STUMPS saw him navigating the waters of dance-rock, while his collaboration with Sydney’s own rockers, The Buoys involved hands-on contributions to song structure and arrangement, culminating in their hit Lie To Me Again.
Fletcher’s long-standing relationship with Dear Seattle showcases a mutual growth and evolution, solidifying his role not just as a producer, but as a trusted creative partner.
Through these experiences, Fletcher highlights the magic that happens when artists and producers truly connect.
Trophy Eyes – Suicide and Sunshine
John (the singer and main songwriter) and I started writing this record together in my home studio in Sydney.
The first couple of sessions were so natural, we really connected over the sounds and lyrical concepts that we came up with, and we walked away with 5 tracks over 3 days.
The rest of the band were stoked with a lot of what we had done and how much we had pushed the sonics forward in those tracks.
I think I gained a lot of trust with them by showing how I could mix electronic/pop ideas with the unique brand of punk music that people know them for.
We did 2 more batches of writing sessions together, and shortly after that the band made the call to bring me to Thailand to co-produce their next album with their long time producer Shane Edwards.
I had never really done a co-production up until that point and had never made a record overseas, so I was pretty nervous about how it would all go.
The 2 months we spent over there was split into 2 halves. 3 weeks of pre-production at “Krabi Road Studios” in Krabi, and 3 weeks of production at Shane’s studio “Studio 28” in Bangkok.
The first couple of days Shane and I spent some time sharing a bit about ourselves and our processes with each other.
We definitely had enough overlap in the way we did things to make bouncing ideas off each other easy, but we also had some nice differences to complement each other’s skill set.
Even though both of us come from a rock background, to get the most out of working with each other, we decided we should split the workload into Shane working on the “rock” elements, and I would work on the “electronic/pop” elements.
After we figured that out we jumped into bringing the rest of the band’s ideas into the tracks.
In Shane’s room we collectively jam on ideas live, with every instrument always ready to play, and in my room we would work through the ideas instrument by instrument, section by section.
When it came to production we really stuck to the same concept.
I did the synths, weird effected guitars, some rhythms, half of the leads, sampling, electronic or effected drums, and bolder production effects, and Shane did the acoustic drums, bass guitar, vocals, the majority of rhythms, and the other half of the leads.
Each member of the band would bounce between our rooms and give their feedback, and then when we finished an idea we would bring it together in one session.
Everyone working on that record had a lot of trust in each other and I’m really stoked with how it turned out.
STUMPS – All Our Friends
This record was the first full length album I co-wrote and produced.
I spent 10 years of my life in a band with Merrick (bass) and Jonathan (drums), so collaborating came pretty naturally to us when working together for STUMPS.
This was also the first record I used programmed drums as an aesthetic choice.
We made that decision to push the sound to be more “dance-rock”, particularly as the record was influenced heavily by the indie rock of the 2000’s.
So it made sense for the direction the band wanted to go. It was also the first album I worked on with someone playing a more traditional “A&R” role (Beau, the manager of the band, who is now also my manager).
Having someone there who has a fresh perspective to give detailed feedback on something you have been working on for days, weeks or even months I found to be pretty invaluable.
Honestly I wish every record had this level of care from the entire team!
The Buoys – Unsolicited Advice For Your DIY Disaster
Prior to working with me, The Buoys had mostly worked with producers/engineers who would capture what they had already written in the best way possible.
My process can be pretty hands on when it comes to song structures, arrangements, lyrics, melodies, and particularly song choice, and this record was no exception.
So I think those parts of my process took some getting used to for the band and I had to keep that in mind.
The biggest change we made was probably swapping out one of the songs the band wanted to record with Lie To Me Again, which I heard for the first time as an acoustic voice note.
Red Flags was originally supposed to be on this EP, but the song felt like it needed a little more than it had at that point.
I also felt we could find a stronger single contender. I had Zoe (singer and main songwriter) of the band write two new choruses for other songs on the EP, and through that process she showed me a couple acoustic demos she had in her phone as potential options.
That’s when she played the voice memo of Lie To Me Again, and the band and I all immediately fell in love with the song.
We collaborated on some of the lyrics, changed the key, added a post chorus and filled out the arrangement, and it came out sounding as it does today.
I thoroughly enjoyed working on that song, and the record as a whole.
That was also my first production that landed a Hottest 100 placement, and I couldn’t be more stoked with how it was all received.
Dear Seattle
I’ve worked with Dear Seattle in so many ways over the years that talking about one specific record wouldn’t do our relationship as collaborators justice.
This was the first band I brought to the studio I used to intern at. I went on to engineer and manage that studio, but years later after I left, Dear Seattle’s self titled EP ended up becoming the first record I produced as a freelancer.
The band found a lot of success following that EP, and went on to work with other producers on the albums that followed, but it’s come full circle and we’ve been working on something together which I’m super proud of.
I’m not sure when it’s coming out, but it’s epic. Honestly I’m glad we both went away and learnt a bunch, and came back together.
Collaborating has always been really easy with this band though.
We’ve all been really close friends for more than a decade and we’re all on a pretty similar page with musical influences.
The big difference this time around is how much more I’ve had a hand in the songwriting.
I’d say 40-50% of the songs on the next project that we’re doing, Brae (singer and main songwriter) and I started from scratch.
My ability as a producer and songwriter has really grown since their earlier records, and so has their ability as songwriters, so it really has been incredible working together again after all that time.
Photos by Jordan Crotty
