Matt Costa Heads Overseas for New Album

Matt Costa’s never been an easy one to pin down. Born in England and raised in Huntington Beach, California, Costa’s approach to songwriting is both ambitious and nostalgia imbued. As a member of Jack Johnson’s Brushfire Records family, he operates well in folksy acoustic mode, but he’s also no stranger to sumptuous arrangements. While discussing his new, self-titled release for Brushfire, he cites players like Donovan and Bert Jansch as inspiration.

Like past Costa outputs, the album provides a warm and welcoming mix of folk and ’60s-inspired Brit pop. Here, though, it takes the form of lush, string- and horn-filled orchestrations. Recorded in Glasgow with producer Tony Doogan (Teenage Fanclub, Mojave 3, Super Furry Animals), the album features guest appearances by baroque pop act Belle and Sebastian, as well as the ethereal-voiced Spanish songstress Russian Red, and provides some seriously sunny sonic highlights (“Good Times,” “Shotgun”). The result is a record that feels at once adventurous and familiar, much like Costa himself. This Thursday, May 16, Matt Costa heads to Santa Barbara for a show at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. I recently caught up with the singer/songwriter to talk about new songs, Scotland, and finding inspiration in Ennio Morricone.

You recorded your new album in Glasgow. What led you to Scotland? It was mostly my producer, Tony Doogan. He brought up where we would record, and it was either L.A. or his place in Glasgow. He knew a bunch of people over there, like Russian Red and the Belle and Sebastian folks, and he knew they could come contribute parts, so I decided to rent a flat and go for it. I knew I wanted to be around like-minded people, and I have a lot of respect for everyone who ended up working on this album.