Mathieu Santos
Mathieu Santos — best known as the bassist and co-founding member of indie-pop stalwarts Ra Ra Riot — is set to release his second solo album, Fan Fiction, on November 11, 2024. It will be Santos’s first release under his own name since 2011’s Massachusetts 2010.
It’s been a long road to completion: the album, comprised of ten original songs, was first conceived of over a decade ago, with basic tracking beginning in 2015. Over the course of the next ten years, the process was continually delayed by matters logistical, including many moves (including three across the country), a global pandemic, and the birth of Santos’s first child. “There were a lot of times when it felt pretty frustrating; I had all this energy to get it all done, but I also didn’t want to force anything and just wanted to let it develop on its own, however long that took. In retrospect, having lots of time away from the songs, being able to keep coming back to them with new perspectives, was really a special part of the whole thing and, in a weird way, kept it feeling fresh,” explains Santos.
The album boasts a cast of collaborators close to Santos’s heart. “On [my] first record, I intentionally wanted things to feel a little rough and amateurish — kind of lo-fi and idiosyncratic, like a lot of my personal favorite records. But this time around, I really wanted to emphasize the playfulness and innocence, the silliness, while combining it with better and more adventurous musicianship and production. Make it all a bit more maximal. And mostly, I just wanted to be able to work on some fun, low-stakes stuff with some of my favorite people.” Personnel includes ex-Ra Ra Riot drummer Gabriel Duquette; ex-Ra Ra Riot front-of-house engineer Andrew Maury; Ra Ra Riot bandmates Wes Miles and Milo Bonacci; and Young & Sick’s Nick Van Hofwegen. “Honestly, the most fun part for me was just sitting back and seeing what everyone would come up with. Everything was all pretty mapped out, but being able to trust some of my closest friends with the material made everything more fun, and so many cool surprises ended up on the record that never would have been there otherwise. I’m so grateful to know such talented and generous people.”
Santos describes the album’s genre as “cartoon rock,” a term he lifted from his friend Delicate Steve’s 2017 album This is Steve. “If it doesn’t make you laugh, or at least smile, then what’s the point?” asks Santos. Fan Fiction will be available on all major streaming platforms November 11, 2024 – pre-save/preorder HERE.
