Words by Willa Rudolph
“Coins” by Cowboy Clean, Matt Leibowitz’ second single from brand new project, is out today – calling upon sounds from Depeche Mode, Scissor Sisters, Alex G’s God Save the Animals, and LCD Soundsystem.
The synths, the funk, the electronic-goth-pop vibes, are all pretty hard to fight. Inspired by the “glaring disparities between the wealthy and the average person,” “Coins” begins, “The city is burning / The smell of your salty skin / You could defeat me / But I know that you let me win”
The Brooklyn-based artist, known for his collaborations with acts like Valley Latini, Caverns, Drager, Prison, Lily Jeanette, and Donald Cumming (The Virgins), began Cowboy Clean as an artistic exploration of collage-making that morphed into an audio/visual project, “weaving order from chaos.”
“Coins” grapples with the constant struggle between participating in this capitalistic society we’re all subject to and living the most authentic and least offensive life possible. Matt explains, “On the one hand, there’s this feeling that you want to actively go against these forces – don’t order from Amazon, stop using google, throw out your iPhone; but on the other hand, the convenience that they provide sometimes wins out. I feel a constant cognitive dissonance between doing good for others, the environment, taking care of myself and loved ones, being a good human, VS. living a lifestyle that allows me to pay the bills, pursue artistic goals, and be as happy and healthy as I can be… ‘Coins’ is about that feeling – being seduced by the idea of ownership only to have it slip through your fingers… How do we find hope in a world driven by progress and greed, and is there a way out before we lose ourselves and the natural world that we are a part of?”
The lyrics are poignant in describing this conundrum: “You give me a dollar / And take all I have left / Your profits are grow, grow, growing / And I’ve given you my last breath.” The image of coins reminds me of the Ancient Grecian practice of putting coins on the eyes of the dead to ensure that their trip across the River Styx to the underworld would be paid for. It’s like, we spend our whole lives trying to obtain, trying to grow our wealth, trying to keep up, and at the end, the physical objects we own will really mean nothing. Even if we have a couple of coins on our eyes, we can’t bring anything into the afterlife. Finding meaning in life can get lost in translation when so much value is put on wealth and our physical belongings.
Photo by Andrew Segreti
Cowboy Clean was inspired by collaging. Hunh? you may be thinking. Allow me to explain. While Matt was looking for therapists, he happened upon one specializing in art therapy that was covered by his insurance. He had never ever collaged before (crazy, I know… or am I just a rare person that loves collaging?) and it became a kind of ritual for him. “One of the first pieces I made was titled ‘Unnamed North Dakota Cowboy, 1947’” he tells Deli, “and it started this whole idea of a Don Quixote/Baron Munchausen persona: a rugged, yet soft, dreamy-eyed yet practical character.”
“I’ve always loved names that have some contradiction to them. My first project years ago was City Acres (before the supermarket existed, haha), and Cowboy Clean is this sort of whimsical and intense, yet soft and ironically “clean” character. The idea of a pristine cowboy somewhere out west intrigued me, and I went with it. From there I started messing with sounds, and here we are!”
Cowboy Clean is a solo project, but live shows may include other musicians. Mixing was assisted by Attila Ural, and mastering was done by Dustin Alexander. The project is a way for Matt to explore creating in ways he never has before – he is departing from his usual singing style by embracing his natural, lower register, “rather than trying desperately to get into rockstar range,” he says. It’s also a bit cleaner in the production style. He’s also writing with an entirely new technique by writing to a drum loop and a bass synth arpeggiator. “From there I cut it up, layer on guitars, add some extra synths and do the rest of the production thing. I really like writing to bass synth loops as it gives me both a percussive element to work off of and simple root notes that I can build from.”
Released in January, Cowboy Clean’s first single “Charcoal” is about going through life a bit dissociated. “It’s almost a third person experience of things happening around you…” Matt describes. “Steady as it goes, goes, goes / This is my ghost” He expresses a sort of apathy and disconnection, fittingly also working as a commentary on society right now, like “Coins.” “It’s also about trying to connect in a world surrounded by chaos and commotion– how you can watch this beautiful world flow past you and still be stuck in place, mentally.” Connection and disconnection seem to be big themes visited by Matt.
“Black Marble has been a heavy influence for this project, as well as Depeche Mode, Cabernet Nocturne, and some 80s coldwave/alt rock. Most of the beats have a disco tinge to them, so anything sort of cowboy-disco has been big. I’ve also been loving Dougie Poole’s music” Matt says about his influences.”Because of collage, I’m constantly picking up old books and magazines. I like how stories can come together from random images, and the way I collage is similar to how I write music – bringing pieces together in some disconnected way until they seem to fit. I also love the desert and am still finding influence from it, even after time away.
I went on a road trip, sleeping in my car with my dog in 2020, just finding remote places to camp out. I landed at an essential oil distillery in the middle of Utah for a bit, and that experience was beautiful and slow, and I think about the landscapes a lot when I write. Nature is a huge influence, as is kayaking around the city (mostly on the East River), climbing, and just being around other people. Also tarot cards, meditation, plants, weird stories about Jack Parsons and Aleister Crowley, and the colors/aesthetic/feel of Mexico City! I’ll be down there in February showing a piece in the Treasure Club International music and art festival on February 23-24. Really looking forward to that!”
Cowboy Clean fans have a 4-track EP to look forward to coming out in late March, with the renaissance man planning on a new music video and playing out live starting in the Spring. More from Cowboy Clean here: https://linktr.ee/maleibow