Mathien

Mathien is a multi-instrumental soul, funk, rock, and hip hop band originally formed in Chicago, IL and performed across the Midwest but now calls Knoxville home in order to play the Nashville club circuit. I found this band by checking out some new music on Knoxville Music Warehouse and discovered they moved from Chicago to connect with some funky soul roots in Tennessee. Mathien is named after Chris Mathien, the lead singer and guitarist for the group. After listening to a few tracks, it's incredibly easy to get into Mathien's lightly textured and impassioned voice and genre bending style. If you're a fan of St. Paul and the Broken Bones (and even if you're not) give Mathien a listen. I really liked tracks: "Say", "Wurlitzer Crowley", and "Sheep" and if any of those pique your interest, they have six albums all available on Spotify. The reason I chose Mathien is because after looking at a few of their social media sites, I saw Chance the Rapper and Hannibal Buress were following them on twitter. If Chance and Hannibal are fans, I thought it must be a good sign...but now that I think about it more, it could also just be a Chicago thing. Either way, Mathien is a must listen especially if you're looking for some relaxing, laid-back soul pop-rock music. They also have a  recently released instrumental album called, "Knoxvilluminati" which is a pretty great symphony of beats. But if you want to listen to this album, it's available exclusively on their bandcamp page. Even though they got their start in Chicago, Mathien is a great new addition to the local Knoxville music talent and really expands the scope of what types and genres of music are being made in this town.