welcome to lovetempo
lovetempo is the new project from Mattie Safer. This Substack is (hopefully) how we are going to stay connected.
TL;DR at the top: lovetempo is a new project from Mattie Safer, who you might know from The Rapture or Poolside. You can listen to the first single here, watch a live performance here, and get tickets for a show Feb 14 in NYC here.
Hi! Many of you are seeing this because you are signed up for my (Mattie Safer’s) mailing list (but if you’re not a subscriber, hit the button below). Because lovetempo is my new music project, I thought I’d try a new platform to share music, news and ramblings. Let’s see how it goes! Here’s a little Q&A to get the ball rolling…
What is lovetempo?
My (Mattie’s) new musical project! This is our bio blurb: “Featuring Safer’s soft, sultry vocals and sophisti-pop sensibilities over a hypnotic blend of jazz-funk, disco, latin percussion, and house music, lovetempo’s unique brand of lonelyhearts disco is guaranteed to move you, body and soul.”
I’m intrigued. Who is Mattie Safer, again?
Allow me to reintroduce myself; I am a multi-instrumentalist and singer and cut my teeth in the New York City indie scene as the bassist and vocalist with The Rapture. Among other things, our album Echoes was Pitchfork’s album of the year in 2003, which is cool, right? I also currently sing and play bass with daytime disco progenitors Poolside, and another band of my own SAFER.
Ok, that sounds sick. Where can I hear what lovetempo actually sounds like?
So far lovetempo has one song out called “Turnaround.” It was released on December 16 on NYC’s influential dance juggernaut Razor-N-Tape’s ‘Family Affair Vol. 2’ compilation. There will be more music this spring, and I’ll be playing shows all around the country to support it (more on that later).
Ok, I really like this, will there be any opportunities to see a live performance?
In fact, I can tell you about a couple of opportunities on the horizon. If you are in the New York City area lovetempo will be performing live on Valentine’s Day at Berlin, you can get tickets here. We are also an official artist at SXSW this year (!!!) and will be performing in Austin between March 13-18. There are more shows coming later this spring, including a west coast tour, so it’s a great reason to subscribe. If you want to get a taste of what it sounds like live, here is a little video we made at our friend’s recording studio.
Why are you doing a Substack? Why not just do an email list?
It’s a good question! Tbh, I am figuring that out still, but I have a ~feeling~ that this is going to be more interesting than an email list. Email lists feel like straight-up marketing most of the time. While there will certainly be some of that here (of the “there’s a new single out this Friday” variety), I am hopeful that this will also be a place where I can share a bit more than this—in-progress music, more in-depth thoughts about the work I’m creating, sharing music + art that I love. So, maybe something that is in between a newsletter, a blog, and a Patreon? We’ll see where things end up, but the exploration feels exciting!
Speaking of Patreon, what’s up with this paid subscription option?
Again, figuring that out, but my feeling is this: being a musician is hard and can get expensive, especially for an artist or project just starting out. Recording, mixing, photos, music videos, etc. all cost money, and it gets tough out here! My hope is that having a paid subscription option might help offset some of those costs and allow me to create more and better things.
I don’t think there will be a ton of ~exclusive~ subscriber content, tbh, and I’m certainly not gonna get all pledge drive on it and offer tote bags, monthly phone calls, tarot readings, etc. to those who choose to subscribe. But if even a few of you love the music (or me) enough to want to give a little support maybe that will add up to enough to pay for a mix or two. Just as an extra little thank you for reading this far, here is a little discount for a paid subscription.
Alright, seems chill. Anything else you want us to know?
Just that I love you, I appreciate you and I hope you stick around while I build this new project. Also, since I’m new to this, I am very open to suggestions/questions/requests, so please hit me with them if you’ve got ‘em.
Oh! And you can of course follow the project on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and Facebook.
Discovered you while clicking around on Substack, and now listening to your new album on Bandcamp! This is fun stuff 🎶❤️🎶
Thanks for making. 🗣️