We’ve been playlisting Driftwood Of Love by Finland’s MATD featuring Johanna here on Phoenix FM recently – but who are MATD? We caught up with them to find out …
So who are MATD and how did you get started?
MATD is Marcos Kuusjärvi and Veli Eronen. We have known each other for many years. We made a song together for a friend’s birthday party; it was very well received, so we started a band.
Do you work with other musicians?
We started a band Max and the Ducks back in 2009. Today we work with musicians all over the world. On our current single we have a great artist, Johanna Koskiniemi, as our vocalist.
How have the songs performed in your native country?
We have had nine songs on the official Finnish download chart. One made number 1 and it sold copies in over ten countries in 2015. It was based on the Alice in Wonderland story “Who The Fuck is Alice”.
We recorded it again when we changed our name to the shorter MATD 2020 and performed it with a singer from Los Angeles, Nida (Hana Muftic).
What other songs have you made?
With Max and the Ducks we’ve made 17 singles and a compilation album. Since 2020, MATD has recorded 10 singles. The most famous MATD song is “Me and My Dog” with British singer Tom Bedlam. We have also tried several times to represent Finland and Switzerland Eurovision song contest.
Who are your influences?
We are influenced by 70s rock – Sweet, ELO, Suzi Quatro, Queen, Kate Bush etc. Today we like everything from Sarah Brightman to heavier stuff like Nightwish.
Are collaborations important to you?
We like to collaborate now with different singers and we also love to find new talented musicians to work with.
How would you describe your music?
Our music is “colours of life” stories. We hope that our music makes people think.
Any plans for the future?
We want to do all kinds of music – not only rock. We also use a little bit of classical music in our background and we like to do something “Country” and “Musical” in future.
We have made a plan for 2024 to release 3-5 songs together with musicians and vocalists all over the world.
Where can we hear more about you?
You can find us on streaming services such as Spotify and you can also see us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
