Today Fat Possum is thrilled to introduce you to Don Lifted, the moniker under which Lawrence Matthews pens intimate, genre spanning confessionals that pull from rap, alternative rock, and indie. Already a legend in Memphis, where his success as a photographer and painter has made him a community figure, Matthews recent signing to Fat Possum has him poised for a breakout year.
On "Lost in Orion", his first single of 2021, Matthews reflects on the weight of a tumultuous year, the constant, looming threat to his own body, and the dissonance of embracing his fluid sexuality. It's a song full of gentle empathy - melodies that sound like whispered affirmations from a new partner, and an accompanying visual steeped in the loaded imagery of the South.
He explains, "Lost in Orion feels confessional to me... the weight of feelings that through the summer of 2020 couldn't escape me, personally and societally. So much of those fears and anxieties manifested themselves in introspection, mystical imagery and poetry. It's a sacrificial and ritualistic piece of art for me. A culmination of growth and shedding of every version of myself that's been informed by love, societal pressures and fear. This visual is a new beginning for me. The end of many other things but the start of something I've been on a journey to share for quite some time..."
Watch the moving visual below, and stay tuned for more from Don Lifted.
