Interview: JATK avoids a connection on ‘Don’t Call’
Matt Jatkola discusses his project’s quirky 5th single, the art of the phone call, and setting a tone for what’s next
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JATK’s debut album ‘Shut Up and Be the Light’ set for April 15 release
LISTEN TO THE ‘DON’T CALL’ MAXI-SINGLE VIA SPOTIFY
Art Credit: Niki Fandel
BOSTON, MASS. [JANUARY 21, 2021] -- We communicate in all sorts of ways in 2022, but when we really need to reach someone, we tend to rely on the trusty ol’ telephone. And when we want to stay out of reach, avoiding an incoming call is the best way to do so. So when JATK, the musical project of multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Matt Jatkola, wants to remain unreachable, he issues a simple mantra: “Don’t Call.”
That also doubles as the title of the new single, set for release via maxi-single on Friday, January 21. “Don’t Call,” complete with companion b-side “Don’t Come Knockin’” and a stripped-down Drums & Vocals version, marks the fifth JATK single from the forthcoming debut album, Shut Up and Be the Light, out April 15. It follows a quartet of 2021 singles – the rock-out anthem “When Tomorrow Comes”; power-pop sparkplug “Japanese Butterfly”; Americana slider “Conscious Wonder”; and dream-like “Ride the Wind” – and serves as the project’s first new music of 2022.
While many of the tracks on Shut Up and Be the Light deal with Jatkola’s cancer journey, which began in March 2020 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, and chronicle his therapy, recovery, and all the emotions that came with facing his own mortality, this latest effort from the musician with a clean bill of health centers around an age-old tale of staying out of reach after the end of a relationship.
Perhaps the most quirky of JATK’s recent musical output, the soulful “Don’t Call” features no traditional chorus or pop song structure, and, maybe most bizarrely, no guitars. Instead it leans on a drum machine, samples, piano, bass, and pitched-up vocals and production – directly inspired by Prince. We chatted with Jatkola to get the scoop on his latest single, and some advanced word on JATK’s debut album.
publi*sist: Hey Matt! So right off the bat, what is “Don't Call” all about?
Matt Jatkola: “Don't Call” is sort of a state of the union post-breakup song, but also an “I’m good, don’t bother me” song, which is my natural state of being in general, so it was very easy to write from that point of view. It features a protagonist that is singing about everything that's good in their life now they aren't bothered by calls from the antagonist anymore. It also came from a process of automatic writing – just writing whatever came to my head in the moment and not thinking about it too hard. For all it's quirky songwriting and production it's also a song that means exactly what it says – “Don't call. I'm fine here now.” It's pretty straightforward in that regard.
Is the art of the phone call dead?
The art of the phone call is certainly not what it used to be. I don’t make many phone calls myself and when I get one, I'm often startled by it. I also hate the sound of the phone ringing and always think that three-tone “this phone has been disconnected” tone is creepy, so incorporating them into this song feels so right and so wrong at the same time. Both sounds are jarring yet familiar, from a time that's fading but not gone, which feels like a perfect compliment to the narrative.
How does “Don't Call” set a (dial)tone for the forthcoming album? (Sorry!)
I think this song is one of the weirdest songs on the album production-wise, but it's also pretty straightforward lyrically. The album is all over the place stylistically and this track is on the outer edge of where it goes, trading in guitars for drum machines and piano, but the songs are always coming from a real place. So in that way, this song and the album are perfect examples of one another.
As a casual listener or someone is used to my "real voice” you might get turned off by the vocals. In sharing early versions of this with peers, the reaction has often been “Cool song… but what is up with the vocals?” or “This is my favorite track, I can't get enough of the vocals!,” which I've taken as a good sign. I don't like middle of the road feedback. I really chose to do the vocals this way because it fits the song. It sounds like me, but it also sounds like a character.
I was very inspired by Prince, specifically his work as his alter ego Camille. For these songs, he would often record the music at regular speed, slow the tape down as he recorded the vocals, then speed it back up when he mixed it, which is essentially what I did. I recorded all the drum machine sounds, piano, and bass at regular speed, then slowed it all down while I recorded the vocals and sped it back up to mix it. I actually used this technique to varying degrees to record vocals on three songs on the album. Some are more apparent than others. I did it with a bunch of guitar tracks too.
What is the relationship between “Don't Call” and its maxi-single b-side, “Don’t Come Knockin’”?
“Don’t Come Knockin’” and “Don’t Call” are sister songs. Totally cut from the same cloth and sharing the same musical DNA. Lyrically, they tackle similar themes. One is about “Don’t call, I’m fine” and the other is “If you're gonna knock, you better be there when I open the door.” The sentiments are related, but not the same. Both incorporate real world samples (door knocks and ringing phones) as well as R&B inspired production – ‘80s era Prince on “Don’t Call” and classic ‘60s R&B like The Temptations and Smokey Robinson on “Don’t Come Knockin’”.
“Don't Come Knockin'” came first and I feel like I couldn't have written “Don’t Call” if I hadn't written “Don't Come Knockin’” first. They will forever be linked to me, so I wanted to put them out together on this maxi-single.
After four singles in 2021, and two this year before the LP, how have the singles begun to tell the story of Shut Up And Be The Light?
We came out swinging with some loud as hell guitar rock tracks (“When Tomorrow Comes” and “Japanese Butterfly”), then there was some jangley power-pop and even dream pop going on (“Conscious Wonder” and “Ride the Wind”), then this song is just... weird! But it's all pop and melody and about the songs, even if the styles change. I hope putting these varied singles out paints the picture that Shut Up and Be the Light (and JATK in general) isn't one genre, sound, or style. The message is more like – expect something real, even if the realness isn't cookie cutter or similar to what you've heard before.
Ok, what else should we know?
Censorship can be fun?? The original unreleased dirty mix drops an S-bomb and F-bomb. Since it’s the only song on the album to do so, I figured I should work on a radio edit. I ended up liking the radio edit way more (which replaces “shit” with a “shhhhh" and “Fuck” with another disconnected phone tone sample), so I decided to not even release the dirty version. It sounds more interesting without the swears.
Also, this is the first JATK maxi-single to include a real full song b-side in “Don't Come Knockin’” – the others have been alternate mixes, reprises, or Songs Lite (“No Rock & Roll”). The Drums & Vocals version is an alternate mix that highlights how much can still be communicated without the other instruments (and how important the changes in the drums are to this song) as well as the alone-ness of the protagonist and the quirkiness of the vocals.
There are no guitars on “Don’t Call.” The sounds consist of drum machine samples, piano, bass, and pitched up vocals. There are phones ringing throughout the track, and a lyrical nod to No Doubt's "Spiderwebs" in one of the verses.
The phantom voice mail in Spanish is by D. Orxata, my bandmate in FBGM, who appears on other tracks on Shut Up and Be the Light.
Contact michael@publisist.co or jatktheband@gmail.com for more information.
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JATK press photo:
Photo Credit: Jean-Paul DiSciscio, Overdue Films; illustration by Cat Bennett
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JATK short bio:
JATK (pronounced “Jack”), the power-pop project from Boston-based songwriter Matt Jatkola and his circle of collaborators, cranks up an arsenal of hooks and riffs with affecting jolts of guitar-rock reflected through his knack for pop melody. After the release of four eclectic singles in 2021, and two more in 2022, the debut full-length album Shut Up And Be The Light is set for release on April 15.
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Credits on the ‘Don’t Call’ maxi-single:
“Don't Call”
Matt Jatkola: Vocals, piano, bass, drum programming
D. Orxata: Phone call
Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Matt Jatkola at Peace & Love Laboratories, Arlington, MA
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, Somerville, MA
“Don't Come Knockin'”
Matt Jatkola: Vocals, guitar, bass, drum programming
Written, produced, recorded, and mixed by Matt Jatkola at Peace & Love Laboratories, Arlington, MA
Mixed by Adam Taylor at Bang-A-Song Studios, Gloucester, MA
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East, Somerville, MA
© & ℗ 2022, 2 STEP IZ DED (ASCAP)
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The music of JATK has been heard and featured on:
The Rodney Bingenheimer Show on SiriusXM, idobi Radio, UncertainFM, The River 92.5 FM (Boston, MA), If It’s Too Loud, Citywide Blackout, BumbleBee Radio, WZBC’s Virtual Detention; Christian's Cosmic Corner on Mark Skin Radio, Your First Listen on KNNZ 89.1 FM (Fargo, ND), Sweet Sunday Sounds on Banks Radio (Australia), Garagerocktopia with Robert Kreutzer, POP! The Beat Bubble Burst on KDHX (St. Louis); Boston Emissions with Anngelle Wood, Rising with Skybar and On The Town with Mikey D on WMFO Tufts University, Bay State Rock, Tinnitist, Lonely Oak Radio, The Menace’s House of Indies, Radio X (Nova Southeastern University, Florida), Blood Makes Noise, Ricky’s Daily Bangers, and other fine radio stations, outlets, and programs.
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Media praise for JATK:
“There's a garage rock jangle and an indie rock vibrancy to the song, all framing some surprisingly delicate songwriting... In short, the song's a brisk, uplifting joy.” _Worcester Magazine
“The track’s constant battle between fuzz and melody combined with an optimistic outlook deserves to bring JATK new fans.” _Real Gone Rocks
“Such poppy magic” _Boston Emissions
“‘Japanese Butterfly’ is a burst of mid-’90s style power pop with some T-Rex style glam thrown in. It's all buzzy guitars swirling with some of the catchiest vocals around... [it's] one of the most positive songs about cancer out there."_If It’s Too Loud
"Opening with a wall of feedback... the song announces its arrival with a dark undertone, but barely thirty seconds in, its thinly disguised sunny alt-pop melody calls out with real confidence, while Matt's distorted guitar cranks through the riffs as if it's 1993 and he's an aspiring Bob Mould." _Real Gone Rocks
“The guitar riffs sound straight out of a Dinosaur Jr. or Superdrag track from the ‘90s. On this maxi-single the great guitar work is even more apparent on the instrumental version. I don’t usually give grades or bullshit like that but this gets an A in my book, this student of music was paying attention in class.” _Blood Makes Noise
"’When Tomorrow Comes’ is a fresh blast of indie rock/power-pop... that hits you with ferocity, yet also brings vocals filled with melodies that are super catchy and lyrically relevant. [It’s] a killer rock song for us to sing along with, as endearing and contemplative as it is simply rocking.” _Rebel Noise
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Media contact and all press/radio inquiries: michael@publisist.co or jatktheband@gmail.com
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