Man from Pontypool shares journey through the music scene
Matt Lewis of Malphorix formerly known as Stitch (Image: Matt Lewis) Matt, now 46-years-old, opened up about his musical journey.
He told the Argus: 'I've been writing music for as long as I can remember, since I was about eight or nine years old.
'I started a band called Mainstream Distortion. It was just me and a guitarist in the beginning. I would lay down lyrics over the top of our music, and before long, we evolved into an 'industrial band.
'We got signed to Some Bizarre Records—a label known for huge names in the electronic scene, especially in the 80s. We released an album with them, but to be honest, they didn't do us justice.'
Matt was under the thumb of major record producer Stevo Pearce. Stevo, known as a 'live wire', gained a reputation for being a maverick.
Mainstream Distortion's debut album Bully (Image: Matt Lewis) It was under Stevo's London based record company that Matt's career in music first blossomed.
During this time Mainstream Distortion released an angsty electro album called 'Bully.'
A standout feature of the album is the video for the track 'Insect,' directed by cult filmmaker Alex Chandon, known for his work on Cradle of Fear.
Matt said: 'One of our tracks, Redefining the Prologue, appeared on a compilation just two songs down from Soft Cell, that was a big moment.'
Now, 22 years later, Matt has made the decision to return to the music scene.
Speaking about what prompted this he said: 'I've recently undergone a full creative redesign and now go by the name Malphorix.
'I've gone through my entire back catalogue. Stuff I've worked on over the last 30 years that's never been released.'
Malphorix's new release New World (Image: Matt Lewis) Malphorix's new album 'New World' is Matt's latest project.
Speaking of the album Matt said: 'One of the songs on the new album, Hybrid, I actually wrote back in 1997.
'The full album is 16 tracks deep, spanning over three decades of music.'
Matt added: 'I just wanted to finally get this out there. I thought, 'It's time' I got a kick up the backside so let's see what happens.'
New World is available to stream on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon for more information on Malphorix click here.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The white bikini that made Myleene Klass worth £13M: Star recreates THAT I'm A Celeb moment in sizzling holiday snaps nearly two decades after the racy scenes gave her a 'second shot at fame'
Myleene Klass has become synonymous with white bikinis ever since her iconic appearance on I'm A Celeb in 2006. The nation's attention was grabbed when she went for a shower in the jungle while sporting a tiny two-piece, which showcased her incredible frame. And the headlines continued when the radio and TV star, now 47, returned for the all-star series I'm A Celebrity South Africa in 2023 and she wore a version of the swimwear. She frequently recreates the moment on various sun-soaked holidays and did exactly that this week while abroad as she penned in the caption: 'forever partial to a white bikini.' In interviews, the star who is now worth a reported £13million, has admitted that she felt her time on I'm A Celeb - which featured the racy shower scenes - gave her a 'second shot' at fame. Iconic moments such as her showers in the skimpy swimwear saw her gain popularity with viewers, and she came second behind Matt Willis. Upon leaving the jungle, she was offered countless presenting jobs, magazine shoots and chat show work, worth millions of pounds. Myleene is said to have received so many offers after her stint in the jungle that she netted three million pounds in the year that followed. Myleene previously revealed that the first white bikini she wore in 2006 sold for a whopping £7,500 after the show - after she bought it for just £40. 'I bought that white bikini for £40. After the show I sold it off - for £7,500!' she said ahead of entering the jungle for the all-stars edition in 2023. The singer has been spotted time and time again in white bikinis over the years, even playing the I'm A Celeb theme tune on the piano while wearing one to promote the series two years ago. Myleene jokingly captioned that post at the time: 'Do you live in your white bikini? Me…' Last month Myleene revealed she had gifted her lookalike sister a white bikini as she posted to Instagram. In the post the former Hear'Say singer sprayed her younger sibling with champagne as they both danced around a swimming pool in their bikinis. Myleene previously revealed that the first white bikini she wore in 2006 sold for a whopping £7,500 after the show - after she bought it for just £40 'I bought that white bikini for £40. After the show I sold it off - for £7,500!' she said ahead of entering the jungle for the all-stars edition in 2023 Myleene showed off her amazing figure in a black and white spotted two-piece which she teamed with a matching headscarf and chic white sunglasses. Meanwhile her bride-to-be sister Jessie, who lives in Australia, rocked her new white bikini showcasing her toned abs as they partied in the sunshine. Myleene penned: 'Hey Mrs Saunders. My gift to the bride, a white bikini!! My baby sister love you Mrs Saunders.' The lookalike pair looked happier than ever as they threw their arms in the air while partying and celebrating Jessie's marriage. The famous tiny white bikini was auctioned for charity for £7,500 and Myleene later revealed it was a last-minute purchase. She explained she had spent just £40 on the two-piece after producers informed her the striped number she had originally packed would not look good on film. Prior to entering I'm A Celebrity South Africa, Myleene warned viewers not to expect the same shower scenes as she 'doesn't look like that anymore'. But she appeared to have made a U-turn on her decision as she sizzled in the swimwear. Ahead of entering the camp, Myleene spoke about her white bikini. Prior to entering I'm A Celebrity South Africa, Myleene warned viewers not to expect the same shower scenes as she 'doesn't look like that anymore' She has never shied away from recreating the look She explained: 'After doing the programme I saw the photo and I was like '"my goodness, it does look glamorous", but it certainly didn't feel like it - far from it! 'There are worse things to be known for than being really clean! Since then, I have had three babies and I don't look like that now.' She added: 'I am really proud of how strong my body has been. It has been through lots of trials and tribulations since and part of the reason for doing this all star version is I want to remind myself of that.
The Guardian
2 days ago
- The Guardian
Does a song conjure painful memories? Try to rehabilitate it, say scientists
When Bonnie hears the opening bars of the Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony, she is transported back to 1997. But it isn't a joyful memory that comes to mind; it is the painful recollection of driving home from school and seeing the sheriff changing a lock on her house. Then a teenager, Bonnie and her family were about to be evicted. And the Verve's song was everywhere. 'It was a big hit at the time, and it just seemed to be playing all the time, in takeaway shops and shopping centres, on the radio in the car. I just couldn't get away from this song,' she says. To this day the 46-year-old who lives in Canberra, Australia, says she will change the radio or leave the location where the song is playing to avoid hearing it. 'The lyrics of this song too closely described our situation,' she says. Indeed, many people avoid particular tunes because they are attached to the memory of an event that was either upsetting, or was once pleasant but has since become painful to recall. For Matt, 52, an engineer in the north of England, the entire oeuvre of Neil Diamond is to be avoided after a partner with a love of the singer confessed to having lied about the nature of a relationship with a colleague. 'We used to like Friday night kitchen discos. We used to listen to all kinds, and usually Neil Diamond would be on,' Matt says, adding his former partner had been to several Neil Diamond concerts, including one with her boss before she met Matt. The colleague, the woman insisted, had just been a friend. But after three years in a relationship with Matt, she confessed she had had an affair with her boss while she was married to her former husband and still had feelings for the colleague. Now, says Matt, when a Neil Diamond song comes on the radio, he has to skip the track. 'If I go into my local pub and it's on the jukebox I'll go into the other room or go outside,' he says. According to Ilja Salakka, a doctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki, the relationship between music and memories is linked to emotions. 'Emotions play a key role in long-lasting memories generally, and since music can evoke strong emotions, it is likely that music can enhance the memory related to an event,' he said. 'Of course, this can also work in reverse: an event itself may be emotional and strengthen the memory of a situation that involves music.' Dr Stephanie Leal, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, Berkley, said that when emotionally arousing music occurs, or is paired with, an emotional experience, it can be difficult to pin down which is causing the emotions that help instil the memory. 'The type of emotional response can really dictate what we're holding on to in our memories,' she said. In one study, Leal and colleagues found when people listened to music that induced either very strong or very weak emotions they were better able to remember the gist of an event, whereas they were better able to remember details when they had a more moderate emotional response. Salakka added that typically it is music from a listener's teenage years or early adulthood that evokes most memories. '[The] majority of memories attached to music tend to be positive in nature,' he added. But that is not always the case. 'Positive music-related memories are often more general in nature, whereas negative memories tend to be related to more specific events,' he said. As Matt's experience shows, however, the emotions attached to a song, and its associated memory, can change. 'Now it's drawing up negative memories in that [it's] stirring up new emotions that weren't originally there,' said Leal. While that may seem like the perfect reason to avoid a song, perhaps it could also bring hope. Although experts say there is a dearth of research in the area, they say it could be that listening to a painful song in new, happier contexts could rehabilitate it. 'If it's a very, very negative association with that song, maybe you'll never get over it,' said Leal. 'But the way to try is repeating it with new events that do make you happy and to hope that it overpowers and kind of reconnects your brain and rewires it to this new association.' Prof Renee Timmers of the University of Sheffield added that these new associations must involve strong emotions, ideally occur in a social context, and be meaningful. But Timmers also suggested another potential approach. 'Rather than seeing the music as something that is there, you can't do anything with it, and you are the victim of it, you can actually actively engage,' she said, adding that could involving humming along or even improvising on the music. 'Then the music becomes the active thing that you're engaging with, rather than the memory.'
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Man from Pontypool shares journey through the music scene
In 2003, Pontypool man Matt Lewis went by the name of 'Stitch'. Back then, he was signed under Some Bizarre Records, a label which managed legendary acts such as Depeche Mode and Soft Cell. Matt Lewis of Malphorix formerly known as Stitch (Image: Matt Lewis) Matt, now 46-years-old, opened up about his musical journey. He told the Argus: 'I've been writing music for as long as I can remember, since I was about eight or nine years old. 'I started a band called Mainstream Distortion. It was just me and a guitarist in the beginning. I would lay down lyrics over the top of our music, and before long, we evolved into an 'industrial band. 'We got signed to Some Bizarre Records—a label known for huge names in the electronic scene, especially in the 80s. We released an album with them, but to be honest, they didn't do us justice.' Matt was under the thumb of major record producer Stevo Pearce. Stevo, known as a 'live wire', gained a reputation for being a maverick. Mainstream Distortion's debut album Bully (Image: Matt Lewis) It was under Stevo's London based record company that Matt's career in music first blossomed. During this time Mainstream Distortion released an angsty electro album called 'Bully.' A standout feature of the album is the video for the track 'Insect,' directed by cult filmmaker Alex Chandon, known for his work on Cradle of Fear. Matt said: 'One of our tracks, Redefining the Prologue, appeared on a compilation just two songs down from Soft Cell, that was a big moment.' Now, 22 years later, Matt has made the decision to return to the music scene. Speaking about what prompted this he said: 'I've recently undergone a full creative redesign and now go by the name Malphorix. 'I've gone through my entire back catalogue. Stuff I've worked on over the last 30 years that's never been released.' Malphorix's new release New World (Image: Matt Lewis) Malphorix's new album 'New World' is Matt's latest project. Speaking of the album Matt said: 'One of the songs on the new album, Hybrid, I actually wrote back in 1997. 'The full album is 16 tracks deep, spanning over three decades of music.' Matt added: 'I just wanted to finally get this out there. I thought, 'It's time' I got a kick up the backside so let's see what happens.' New World is available to stream on Spotify, YouTube and Amazon for more information on Malphorix click here.
