The first time I heard Matisa’s music was at Waterworks festival in London in September. Moxie dropped Matisa’s track “Brunela“, which was released earlier this year on Peggy Gou’s label Gudu records. I was standing by the speakers at the back, and watched as the crowd stopped dead in their tracks. Wide-eyed grins settled over their faces and everyone, collectively, lost it. Half-rolled cigarettes were abruptly forgotten and conversations were swept up by the sound of intermittent, wobbly vocals and a steady, pulsing house beat. Weeks later, I found out that it was indeed Matisa’s release. It’s hard to believe she’s only been making music since 2017.
To give you a sense of the kind of person she is, Rome-born Matisa (real name Isabella) has already had three impressive careers to date. Having studied politics at university, she subsequently moved to Brussels and worked in the European parliament. Then, craving something more creative, she went on to gain a Masters in Fashion Product Management at Polimoda: one of the top fashion institutes in the world, eventually working for Italian designer Ferragamo. Now, she’s an international DJ who’s gained support from the likes of Ben UFO, Peach, Mall Grab, Shanti Celeste, BICEP, Midland and more. That’s three, strikingly different, spectacular careers in one lifetime. Light work(!) And really, she’s just getting started.
We meet during Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) ahead of Matisa’s performance on Cercle X W Hotel’s ADE schedule. There’s a mysterious yet earnest air to Matisa, as she delicately shakes my hand and introduces herself in hushed reverential tones, like we’re old friends having a deeply private conversation. Her voice is so soft and quiet, I’m worried the man speaking loudly on the phone in the booth next to us will drown her out on the recording.
Immediately, she strikes me as the kind of person who is not only immensely talented, but also inexplicably dedicated to her craft, which in today’s cultural climate, feels no easy feat. I ask her how she stays focused, “First, I’m not using drugs and alcohol. For me, that is important, because it means I can feel like myself, I can just be tired. And when I’m tired, I’m taking vitamins and I try to sleep everywhere.” (Relatable).
To a punter, Amsterdam Dance Event is a marathon, with 2,500+ artists playing at 1,000+ events all over the city. Uniquely, the event also involves conferences and networking events for industry insiders. Aside from throwing unforgettable, intimate parties in luxury suites and on the W’s rooftop, Cercle X W Hotel’s schedule involves talks on topics such as mental health, tips for self promotion on social media and more. To Matisa, ADE is a celebration. A way to meet people, make real friendships and talk about topics that are often not visible, like education.
“It’s important to raise money for minority groups who want to work in music but don’t have the opportunity to study,” she says, it’s clear this is a topic close to her heart. ‘More funding to the arts’ is a mantra we hear time and time again. Possessing talent is one thing, but being able to harness that talent is something else entirely. “Confidence comes from education. Otherwise, you talk with your ego. [You say] “I’m cool. I’m amazing”, but you don’t have content. What do you want to share, that you’re cool? Sick!”, she adds sarcastically, rolling her eyes in a way only Italians can. Obviously, education can manifest itself in many ways, but ask anyone in the creative industries and they’ll tell you that (unfortunately) it is a privilege to have the tools to learn.
Throughout our chat, Matisa is calm and present, but I can tell her mind is alert, always thinking 10 steps ahead. She mentions how she’s moving from Florence to Milan, so I ask what her dream guestlist for a house-warming would be, “You know, I was a football player,” (another string to her bow) “So I want to start with Ronaldinho. Then Madonna, of course. And one from politics, maybe Cecile Kyenge. And then one of my favourite singers, Franco Battiato, I would love to have him. And maybe a model, Kate Moss.” Stellar line up.
It can be tempting to focus on the struggles an artist faces, rather than what they’ve achieved. Nevertheless, I hesitantly ask Matisa about another topic frequently discussed at ADE. The elephant in the room looming over the dance music industry is the fact that it is an extremely white and male-dominated space. The latter is a term that Matisa is quick to tell me she hates.
“Yeah, it’s a male dominated industry. But if we say it every time, this word is also not good. I don’t feel like a victim. When I play with men, for example, I’m good.” So what’s the solution? “We need more spaces for women in this industry, and also the positioning of the name [on a lineup]. Why do I have to do the opening every time? That’s why I love Amsterdam, because ADE is a full festival. And you can see a small name in the biggest stage, peak time, they smash it. That’s opportunity,” she adds triumphantly.
Her complaints are valid. As reported by The Jaguar Foundation, overall, “the gender split does considerably favour male artists, with the average percentage of female and non-binary acts performing comprising just 14% of the line-ups in 2018. However, it has improved over time, the report adds that “despite only being able to survey the 14 festivals which had released their line-ups for 2022 (at time of writing), this figure has already risen to 28%”.
In the same report, Senior Talent Agent and Founder of Daju Hannah Shogbola says the issue comes down to an attitude problem, and it’s systemic. “It’s a 100% fact that women agents are disrespected by male promoters more so than male promoters disrespect male agents. That is because of this inherent old schoolboys lads’ club that still exists within the booking world, within certain capacities. But that’s still there, so it’s our job to break that down.” DJ and producer TSHA adds that she used to “dress like a teenage boy and some of my friends still do that because they’re afraid of being told that they only get booked because” they look feminine.”
But Matisa is optimistic, so what’s next? She’d love to sign with a major label, “I’m very close.” I’m certain she’ll get there soon as collaborations are coming in hard and fast. She reveals an upcoming release with Jennifier Cardini, before casually letting it slip that she’s been working with Skepta and Kamaal Williams, “you know, things are moving. Ready to go.”
Before jetting off to prepare for her set, she humbly declares that outside of music, her aspirations lie closer to home, “I would love to buy my house also, that’s my dream” (she’s just like us, for real).
Stream Matisa’s latest release “Cuddle” and catch her on tour in the UK now.
