For some, a small blessing of the pandemic may be that it has gifted us more time at home. Some of us perfected sourdough, and some created music. Such is the case for Greenpoint musician Matt Megan, who adopted his stage name Snowsuit Pony (bookworms will get a kick out of its origins), wrote five original songs, and released them in a debut EP, now streaming wherever you get your music. The indie songs, full of “half-truths,” as Matt calls them, ripple with all the glory, confusion, and yearning germane to being in your mid-20s. Get to know Matt and his music in our interview!
Greenpointers: Let’s start with the band name, Snowsuit Pony. It’s so fun — where did it come from?
Matt Megan: To be honest, it’s entirely random. I didn’t want to use my name because it felt too singer-songwriter. I was FaceTiming a friend in DC and he came up with the idea of pulling a phrase from a book. I love Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon so we started flipping through and “snowsuit pony” was just too ridiculous to ignore.
Was this music that you had created during or pre-pandemic? How did it all come together during this strange time?
This was a pandemic project for sure. I was always making music before COVID but never really let it escape my voice memos. When everything shut down in March, I had way too much free time and started learning to produce. And the more I got into it, the happier I was. It just snowballed.
Can you discuss the themes of your music, and its influences?
I was listening to a lot of Jai Paul, Beatles, Tame Impala, Arca — musicians who sound like they’re exploring the studio. I love songs that feel like little bursts of imagination and wanted to emulate that. Lyrically, the songs are sort of half-truths. They all started with a line or two about some real emotion I was feeling, but after that, I was trying to write to the character of the song. Phoebe Bridgers is definitely the biggest influence there. I love how her lines plant you in a moment. You get details but you have to infer the context.
Sharing live music has been a challenge at this time; have you been doing any live performances or are you aiming to when able?
I haven’t played these songs live yet. But maybe soon 🙂
The tracks are really polished — where did you record, and with whom? Who makes up the band?
Thank you! Most of it was done in my bedroom, but I used a soundproofed space at the Greenpoint Pencil Factory for some of the vocals. There’s also a piano solo on “Far Too Low” that my friend Jacques played.
Anything else to add?
Yes! All of the artwork was done by Natania Wolansky (@nwolansky_art) and all of the animation was done by Haydyn Meythaler (@not.haydyn). They’re both insanely talented — check them out.