Syd Matters

Biography

Syd Matters is a French indie band from Paris, France. The band was formed in 2002, and is fronted by composer Jonathan Morali. Other band members include Jean-Yves Lozac'h, Olivier Marguerit, Rémi Alexandre and Clément Carle.

2001–2002: Solo project beginnings and early career

Syd Matters originally started as a solo project by frontman Jonathan Morali, who started his performing career playing at small bars in 2001. The name Syd Matters comes from the slight modification of the names of two Pink Floyd members, Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. Morali won the inaugural CQFD contest in 2002, ran by French magazine Les Inrockuptibles, which earned him a recording contract with Third Side Records.
Morali's first release as Syd Matters was Fever In Winter, Shiver In June, an EP released in 2002.

2003–2007: A Whisper and A Sigh and Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles

In 2003, Syd Matters released their debut album A Whisper and A Sigh×A Whisper and a SighApril 2003 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Automatic5:222Black & White Eyes3:333Battle of Olympus5:434Stone Man5:135Bones5:496End & Start Again5:557Dead Machine4:258Morpheus4:329Have a Nice Day5:5910Love & Sleep2:4211Tired Young Man6:27. The album was mostly done by Morali solo with some help from others. After this album was released, Morali constructed a new quintet of bandmates, marking the band's official creation sometime in 2004. That same year, the band would record the second Syd Matters album, Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles×Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles5 April 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1City Talks2:132Obstacles3:293To All of You4:434Icare3:315Someday Sometimes5:176Passe Muraille3:037Watcher5:068Lost Bird4:599Flow Backwards3:5810English Way4:3811Middle Class Men6:0312Motion4:2113What Are You Looking At?5:5614Passe Muraille (live at Théâtre des Pavés)5:5215Battle of Olympus (live at Théâtre des Pavés)5:1516Obstacles (live at Théâtre des Pavés)6:1617To All of You (live at Théâtre des Pavés)3:16, released in 2005. A mixture of folk and melancholic pop, the tracks combined slow melodies with acoustic instruments while holding true to roots in electronic music.
A duet with Ane Brun, titled "Little Lights", was released in 2005 on Brun's collaborative album Duets.
In 2006, a self-titled compilation CD containing various songs from the band's first two albums was released in America.

2008–2019: Ghost Days, Brotherocean, and Life is Strange

The band released their third album Ghost Days×Ghost Days14 January 2008 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Everything Else4:452I Was Asleep3:203Ill Jackson4:254It’s a Nickname5:065Ghost Days1:436My Lover’s on the Pier4:237Cloud Flakes3:078After All These Years3:189Louise4:4310Big Moon4:5911Anytime Now3:5912Me and My Horses6:2813Nobody Told Me4:22 in 2008, and their fourth album Brotherocean×Brotherocean30 August 2010 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks · 2 discsDisc 11Wolfmother3:112Hi Life3:523Halalcsillag3:354A Robbery4:085We Are Invisible4:116River Sister4:207Lost3:328Rest4:459I Might Float4:5010Hadrian's Wall8:33Disc 21One by One3:422Ocean Soul3:15 in 2010. During this time, Morali was also part of the French rock band the Palmtree Family.
In 2015, the band's songs "To All Of You" and "Obstacles" were featured in the 2015 video game Life Is Strange. Morali would also be the composer for the game's original soundtrack as well as its 2018 sequel Life Is Strange 2.

2020–2023: Hiatus and anniversary releases

In 2021, in celebration of the record label's 20th anniversary, Third Side Records released new editions of A Whisper and A Sigh and Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles, which included bonus tracks and previously unreleased demos on the digital versions.

2024–present: Touring comeback and A Gospel of Some Sort

In November 2024, the band performed a new song titled "The Holy Ghost" during an appearance on the Radio France station France Culture. The band also announced they were recording new songs.
In November 2025, the band's social media became active again, with the band announcing a show at L'Olympia for November 2026. In March 2026, Morali announced the band would be having additional Europe tour dates from October to December 2026.
On 29 April 2026, the band released the song "Many Years in the Making×Many Years in the Making29 April 2026 · SingleSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1Many Years in the Making3:48", their first new music release in over 15 years. A month later on 28 May, the song "Nuclear" was released. On 4 June, the band announced their fifth album A Gospel of Some Sort×A Gospel of Some Sort4 September 2026 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Armageddon Time6:232Choking on Anger4:023Easy3:574Memorize3:085Many Years in the Making3:486The Devil3:337In the Darkness4:168Ténèbres7:069The Holy Ghost3:3210Tongues6:2911Nuclear3:59 with a release date of September 4, 2026.

Media appearances

Morali's songs "To All of You" ("American Girls") and "Hello Sunshine", a Super Furry Animals cover, were featured in the television series The O.C. in season 3's The Party Favor and season 4's The Metamorphosis, respectively. Additionally, "Obstacles" and "To All of You" were featured in Dontnod Entertainment's 2015 video game Life Is Strange. Morali also composed the original score for the game. The soundtrack to Life Is Strange won numerous awards including: best soundtrack at the 2015 PlayStation Universe awards, best soundtrack at the Game Informer Best of 2015 awards and best soundtrack at the Titanium Awards. Following this, Morali also collaborated with director Rémi Chayé to create the score for the animated film Long Way North (2015), where he included two tracks by Syd Matters in the soundtrack. In 2020, Syd Matters performed a composition of The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka for French Radio in which the book was read by actor Micha Lescot with accompanying music.

Reputation

Since Syd Matters’ debut, their experiments with genre have been continuously praised by critics. Their second album, "Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles×Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles5 April 2005 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1City Talks2:132Obstacles3:293To All of You4:434Icare3:315Someday Sometimes5:176Passe Muraille3:037Watcher5:068Lost Bird4:599Flow Backwards3:5810English Way4:3811Middle Class Men6:0312Motion4:2113What Are You Looking At?5:5614Passe Muraille (live at Théâtre des Pavés)5:5215Battle of Olympus (live at Théâtre des Pavés)5:1516Obstacles (live at Théâtre des Pavés)6:1617To All of You (live at Théâtre des Pavés)3:16", brought the band mainstream attention with a review in the 32nd issue of Music Week. The unique sound they produce has been said to draw inspiration from genres such as prog rock, dub music, and traditional pop, while also resembling that of singer-songwriter artists, but at its core is often considered a mix between folk and electronic genres. In their reviews, they have also been compared to other artists such as Fleet Foxes, Fionn Regan, Grandaddy, The Flaming Lips, and Nick Drake.