A Brief Conversation with Tiny Moving Parts during ‘breathe’ Tour
A week from now on, February 5th 2020 to be exact, Tiny Moving Parts will set foot in Indonesia for a concert. As a part of their ongoing world tour to promote their latest album “breathe”, the band comprised of Dylan Mattheisen, William Chevalier, and Matthew Chevalier are scheduled to perform in Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan. Amidst their packed schedule, we had a chance to have a brief conversation with Dylan during via email. The frontman opened up about mental health issues, the importance of keeping a healthy lifestyle, the band’s favorite musician to cover, as well as their experience of growing older as a band and as a family. Without further ado, let’s get down to our emo talk with Dylan from Tiny Moving Parts below.
The Display: Hello guys, so you hit the road again to promote your latest album ‘breathe’ which is incredible by the way. What changes with each tour you’ve had since it’s already your 7th studio album?
Dylan: Thank you so much!! Nothing too much has changed except the fact we’re getting older haha. We take better care of ourselves by working out on tours, drink a bunch of water, sleep a decent amount of hours, and not eating too unhealthy. We want to provide a high energy awesome show every night, and these things help to make sure we don’t get burnt out!
The Display: Being in a band with your own family, do you guys also talk about work during the holiday season where families usually gather around?
Dylan: We’ll chat about music, sports, and everything together! Our family loves to ask about the band since it’s much different from their jobs. To this day it still doesn’t really feel like a job to us since we’re having a blast being on tour or in the studio making records. We’re very thankful and we don’t hate each other!
The Display: Most publications always ask about Tiny Moving Parts’ evolving sound with each album, but this time around, we really are captured by the music videos you have put out. On “Medicine”, there is this element of comedy where a whole band was born through a C-Section, on “Bloody Nose” you guys play with little figurines that chronicle an odd plot, while on “Verterbrae” it is all kept simple and innocent. How did you come up with such ideas? Did each director pitch their interpretation of the song first or was it the other way around?
Dylan: The music videos ideas will come from us having a phone call with the director, and we all throw ideas at each out and figure it out on the fly! We always want to find creative ways to stay unique, musically and visually. It’s fun creating art!
The Display While most critics and major outlets gave relatively positive feedback for ‘breathe’, do you find it annoying when fans say they prefer the old stuff?
Dylan: Everyone will have opinions on their favorites and least favorites. We all know that, and it’s important to never let it bother us. We will always write what we want to write, and hope that everyone enjoys it as much as we do!
The Display: We observed that as you guys have grown older, the lyrics sound more positive. Through your lyrics, it seems that sadness or other ‘emo’ traits need to be acknowledged and embraced. Did it have something to do with the growing acknowledgement of mental health issues?
Dylan: Our message as a band has always been about staying positive when you’re hitting that bump in the road. Throughout your years of growing up, certain years can be better or harder for one, that’s the way life flows. We want to connect with people through music to let everyone know they’re not alone, and hope everyone can find their happiness sooner than later!
The Display: We read that Dylan in particular, has dealt with anxiety without even realizing it. How did you cope with that amidst your busy schedule?
Dylan: Staying healthy on the road helps tremendously. Sleeping well, drinking water, simple little things like that help a lot. The laughter I share with Billy, Matt, and whoever we are with in tour helps so much as well. Laughing can be contagious and I love that!
The Display: So for this album, Tiny Moving Parts are now signed with Hopeless Records. How has it been so far? What motivated you to join Hopeless Records?
Dylan: Hopeless Records have been awesome to us! Our contract was up with Triple Crown, so we were looking for a new label and Hopeless made the most sense. They’re very hardworking and positive people, seemed like a perfect fit for us!
The Display: Hopeless Records has previously made two compilation albums called ‘Songs That Saved My Life’ which features covers from their rosters. The albums shed light on mental health awareness and showcased that the musicians involved in it are mere human beings who have gone through ups and downs. If you were asked to participate in the next one, which song would you like to cover and why?
Dylan: “Understanding in a Car Crash” by Thursday would have to be my pick. Thursday totally changed my life and the rest of the band with the way we view music. I remember jamming “Full Collapse” in my bedroom a million times when I was younger, and nothing compares how hard I connected to it. We actually covered that song when we were in high school, and thinking back brings back special memories!
The Display: Indonesian emo/math rock scene has experienced a bit of revival these past few years with acts like Murphy Radio, Beeswax, or eleventwelfth who rose to fame. These bands managed to do what they do in times when lo-fi, R&B pop, and folk seem to dominate the charts. As a seasoned band, do Tiny Moving Part have any suggestions/advice to fellow emo/math rock musicians, so they can still stay on track and continue making music like you guys do?
Dylan: Keep on rocking and having fun with it! Make sure to pursue your passion. The more hard work you put into your music, the better the results will be. It may take a bit to time finding the balance of lacking dedication or doing too much and burning yourself out, so make sure you have fun with it all. Have fun with your friends, and rock on!
Catch the band on tour across Asia with the schedule listed below!
February 5th – Rossi Musik @ Jakarta, Indonesia
February 7th – Decline @ Singapore, Singapore
February 8th – Hanoi Rock City @ Hanoi, Vietnam
February 9th – SM Skydome @ Manila, Philippines
February 11th – Pipe Café @ Taipei, Taiwan
February 12th – De Commune @ Bangkok, Thailand
February 14th – B10 Livehouse @ Shenzhen, China
February 15th – SD Livehouse @ Guangzhou, China
February 16th – Vox @ Wuhan, China
February 18th – Yue Space @ Beijing, China
February 19th – Yuyintang Park @ Shanghai, China
February 21st – Socore Factory @ Osaka, Japan
February 22nd – 3STAR @ Nagoya, Japan
February 23rd – ERA @ Tokyo, Japan
Tickets are available here: eventevent.com/event/6649
Editor: Novita Widia
