I go out a lot alone in New York. Brooklyn, in particular. One such night recently led me to Good Room, an airy refurbished warehouse space adorned with a larger-than-life disco ball and an infectious energy to match. Washed Out was headlining, with the treat of an opening set by Matt FX. It proved to be one of my most treasured nights out, in a great part thanks to the sublime song selection of Matt FX – it was as if I was seeing my night from above through a pair of rose hued glasses.
A sought after DJ by night, Matt FX's days are spent curating the music for a little Comedy Central show called Broad City. From the theme song's iconic "FOUR AND THREE AND TWO AND ONE," to character arcs such as Phish and Shania Twain, music is as much a life force of the show as its fabled city backdrops. I was lucky enough to share a meal and some laughs with Matt FX recently, at a fresh New American joint in Bushwick called Juno. It only felt right to connect over food, as Matt's newest venture is that exactly – a web series "In The Mix" highlighting New York's vibrant constellation of eateries, as seen through Matt's artistic eye.
Matt's origin story is as colorful as the tunes he spins. "I grew up in the West Village and I feel very fortunate to have grown up in that area, I mean I remember as a kid when we had a car jack on our steering wheel because it was not… the Meatpacking District was not what it is today. It was actually for lack of a better term, butchers and hookers." Now he resides in Bushwick, near where we met. "It's cool to live in a neighborhood where all of the businesses are owned by people who live in that neighborhood," explains Matt, "I think they really care and they're making it a point to integrate and keep prices low. And not just start charging $12 for kombuchas and stuff."
Matt's knowledge of both food and music is vast, and easily charted back to his childhood. "I always joke around that if you've ever seen Modern Family, I'm basically Manny in that I have an old Jewish dad who's tired of raising kids. And a foreign trophy wife mother with a quick temper and thick accent. And I was that kind of love letter writing dork growing up." Matt's exposure to and passion for music has been perennially synonymous with his life itself. "Yeah, I've been involved with music pretty much since the day I was born," he says, "My dad is a classical conductor, an artistic director, before and after he did that he was teaching music in public schools. So I mean, even before me, that's been a part of my dad's life. His whole life. My mom says that I sang before I spoke."
As a young kid performing soprano in church six times a week as a student of St. Thomas Choir School, Matt forged the habit of living musically early. He then went on to attend storied La Guardia High School (of Fame fame), and began collaborating with then classmate, Azealia Banks. "I didn't really know music, I missed out on all the middle school panty droppers, all that dance music. To be honest, Azealia was a huge part of my pop music education, I met her really early on and she was not having it. And she was like, 'no no here's all the music you gotta listen to.' Everything from Tribe Called Quest to Interpol, she was catching me up on."
Matt went on to college, and dropped out after two weeks. Curiously, that's around the time good fortune began smiling upon him. "After a pretty ridiculous sequence of events, I found myself in the position of being the music supervisor of Skins when they made the American version." Thrust into a situation with little knowledge of the industry, but an evergreen passion for music, Matt's star shone bright. "Earlier last year, I got a tattoo, my first serious one, that's just a TV falling from heaven basically."
Three years after Skins fell into his lap, Matt found himself in a similar position again. He was throwing underground raves in Brooklyn warehouses with friends, but struggling to keep business afloat amid shutdowns and massive financial losses. "My friends and I were just thinking this isn't the way, this isn't the path. I was playing 10 to 15 gigs a month and I couldn't pay for dinner… I remember the assistant editor of Skins called three years later and was like, 'Matt, long time, hope you're well. We're here in this new show, it's going to air in five weeks, we just fired the music guy. Can you come in and play some music? And that was Broad City."
As the music supervisor of the smash hit, Matt is the creative madman behind the show's colorful array of tunes. "I get to use my Rolodex, I get to have a platform to lift up all these artists and get them paid a little bit and hopefully get some more eyes and ears on them," he remarks. "What could be better?"
As Broad City reaches its final curtain call this season, all eyes are on "In The Mix" as Matt's next venture. In collaboration with Genius Kitchen, "In The Mix" is a gleeful snapshot of Matt's daily life, cruising on his scooter from meeting to meeting, eating and connecting with a lively array of friends along the way. "We saw an opportunity to create a show where maybe I was learning something or maybe I was changed by the end of the episode," he explains.
Tales from Matt's childhood woven within, like a particularly tender moment making dumplings with his mom, give a breath of genuine life to the narrative and a nod to Matt's Chinese heritage on his mother's side. "I've always loved food. It's always been a huge part of what I do, anyone who knows me well knows how I much I care about cooking and understanding people." It's that melding of cultures, whether that be in the form of sharing a good meal, curating records, or even just good-natured camaraderie, that has hallmarked Matt's life, and propelled his career to the heights it's reached. I think we're all thankful that TV fell from the sky.
Don't miss new episodes of "In The Mix," releasing every Thursday with Genius Kitchen.
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