Few musicians can claim a path as eclectic as Mattie Safer’s. From punk-fueled dance floors to sun-soaked disco grooves, his basslines and vocals have shaped some of the most exciting sounds of the past two decades. With Lovetempo, he’s crafting an inviting space where love, loss, and dance music intertwine. Marcus Rosario was able to catch up with him when he was in town to learn more about his journey through different musical eras, the inspirations behind Lovetempo, and how his experiences with The Rapture and Poolside continue to shape his sound today.
For more information about Mattie Safer, check out his Bandcamp and Instagram.
TRANSCRIPT
MARCUS: And joining me here in the studio is the one and only Mattie Safer. He is the bassist in the very popular band, The Rapture. He is still working with the band Poolside as the bassist. And this is his new project that we just heard earlier called Lovetempo. Welcome to KALW, Mattie. How are you doing?
MATTIE: Hey, I'm doing great. Thanks for having me.
MARCUS: So you have quite the history with music. Your journey has been quite extensive, especially with The Rapture and you working with so many different, you know, musical acts and artists. And can you tell us a little bit about your like history and origin story of how you, you know, got to where you are now?
MATTIE: Sure. Yeah. I grew up in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C., moved up to New York when I was 18 to go to jazz school and linked up with the guys in The Rapture, started playing with them. We put out a record on DFA and that kind of blew up and then we got to go around the world. And did that for a few years, stopped, linked up with Poolside a little bit later and started singing and playing bass with them in the live show.
And then in the last couple years, I started working on this project, Lovetempo, put out my first release. With Razor-N-Tape about two years ago and since then I've released a couple of EPs and some singles and now I have this new EP, Live Or Die By Love, on Toucan Sounds.
MARCUS: Awesome. So I'm curious about the kind of the trajectory because The Rapture has always been known as a really high energy dance punk band and then Poolside is very kind of laid back, like slow disco, and then we've got Lovetempo.
Can you explain how you've shaped your musical identity through all these acts?
MATTIE: Well, I think that, you know, growing up, I was really into the punk and indie scene in DC, discord, everything like that. And then also at the same time I was, you know, a pretty serious jazz musician or at least learning, learning to try to be one. And, you know, listening to a lot of jazz, a lot of soul and funk.
And then when I moved to New York and met up with The Rapture guys, they were sort of interested in a similar kind of cross, crossing of music. And then, being in New York at that time, we also got started to get involved in, you know, the dance and club scene, and started bringing those sorts of influences into the sound.
So I spent, you know, a lot of time just sort of like mixing up a lot, mixing up a lot of different, a lot of different things. So this project, Lovetempo, is kind of, to me, it feels like sort of the best, the best fusion of all the different, of all the different musical personalities that I've had in life. Yeah.
MARCUS: Well, why the name Lovetempo? I'm curious because it's an interesting name and it's unique.
MATTIE: So when I had these I had these songs and I was looking to put them out, but I didn't have a name and I just happened to be listening with a friend to uh, I always say this group's name wrong. It's a Quando Quango, Quango.
MARCUS: Oh yeah. Yeah. Quando Quango.
MATTIE: Yeah. We were just listening to their record, Lovetempo. And I was like, oh, like that's actually like, that's a name that kind of fits with the vibe of the music. Cause it's like dance music, but the songs are all very much about romance and heartbreak.
And it just felt like a really good fit. Um, there was also, of course, like a really wonderful party in New York that was going by the name Lovetempo that Justin Strauss throws, but I reached out and got his, got his blessing to call my project Lovetempo.
MARCUS: The New York legend, Justin Strauss, shout out to Justin Strauss.
So you got this new record that just came out, Lovetempo. Is there anything else? I know there's some remixes and anything else in line with it coming out?
MATTIE: So coming in a couple of weeks, we have a remix by Eric Kupper of the title track. I'm really excited for this one. It's like, you know, everything. You know, he's sort of a house music legend. Worked with Frankie Knuckles and David Morales and all these types of people, as well as his own productions. And he really just brings this beautiful deep house feel to the song, which is something that I personally love, yeah.
MARCUS: Awesome. Awesome. So awesome.
MARCUS: So that's coming out in a couple weeks. I'm curious, how do you find the balance between, like your projects? 'cause I know Poolside has like a very — you're always working, I'm sure, and then you've got this and you might have other things in line. Like how is that?
MATTIE: I mean, I'm bouncing around between a lot of things all the time. Poolside is at the moment, not super busy with live stuff. So I have more time to focus on recording and releasing music with Lovetempo and then you know when things ramp back up again, with that, you know, less time, less time to work on my own stuff. But it's all like, it can be a little hectic sometimes, but I'm balancing a bunch of things that I really love so it's a blessing.
MARCUS: Awesome. One question I love to ask is, I know you just have this record out. I know there's probably other ideas with Lovetempo, but I'm curious if, like any collaborators of a wishlist you want to work with either with Lovetempo or something brand new. Is there anybody out there in the world?
MATTIE: I've been thinking about this one for a lot of years and I feel like if I start putting it out in public maybe someday it'll happen.
MARCUS: Do it to it.
MATTIE: I would really love to work with Lianne La Havas at some point.
MARCUS: Awesome Yeah, she's great. Yeah, that'd be cool. That'd be really cool. Awesome.
MARCUS: So you are obviously in town in San Francisco, and I think you have a gig tonight. Can you tell us about where you're playing?
MATTIE: Yes, I'm DJing at Madrone at a party called Let's Go Disco that is thrown by some homies from New York, Motel Club.
MARCUS: Shout out to Motel Club.
MATTIE: Yeah, this is my first time going, but I've heard amazing things about this party from people who have gone, people who have DJed, and, you know, it's always nice to just be in a fun room with all your friends listening to music you love and being silly.
MARCUS: Awesome. And it’s a release party to celebrate the new record that you just put out. So it'll be awesome. Madrone is awesome. It's a great great party. It's a great place to go to.
MARCUS: I have another question about just Lovetempo. So if anyone hasn't heard Lovetempo, what's the perfect setting for somebody to experience it for the first time?
MATTIE: The perfect setting to experience Lovetempo, I mean I think, you know, it's music that can work either when you know, it works in the club but it also works when you're getting ready for your evening, if you're nursing a broken heart, um, you know, just whatever, whatever's comfortable, you know, have a nice glass of wine, listen to some Lovetempo and vibe out.
MARCUS: Nice. Nice. And, where can people find more information and connect with you about Lovetempo and you, Mattie?
MATTIE: The best place to connect with me is you can either, you know, follow on social media, on Instagram and everything. It's Lovetempo. I-T-S-L-O-V-E-T-E-M-P-O. And also, I do have a Substack, which is itslovetempo.substack.com. And that's actually a much better way. But really the best way to connect with Lovetempo is to come to a show or come to a party and introduce yourself. I'm a nice guy.
MARCUS: Hopefully we can get a live session or a live show with Lovetempo next time in the future, yeah?
MATTIE: That would be amazing, yeah.
MARCUS: Anything else you want to share with the greater Bay Area about Lovetempo?
MATTIE: I got a lot of love for the Bay. I've always loved playing here and staying here and just, yeah — listen to the new Lovetempo record. Listen to the old Lovetempo records and thank you.
MARCUS: Awesome. Thank you so much, Mattie. We're going to get into it right now. Another cut from Mattie's Lovetempo record. This is KALW. Stay with us.
