Matt Pond PA Shares 'Starlet' Acoustic Video

On February 7, Matt Pond PA will release A Collection of Bees Part 1 (pre-order). Today Matt Pond PA shared an acoustic version of their 2013 single "Starlet," along with a video which guest vocals by Anya Marina. The video premiere at Brooklyn Vegan who said, "It's a gorgeous, tender take on the song, and it's really a true reinvention that takes on a whole new life of its own compared to the original." Matt Pond adds, "There's a local photographer named Justin Schmidt who shoots amazing nature photos. I don't know who was a fan of whom first, but I love his photography and he's into our music. He shot the photo for A Collection Of Bees, Part 1. I asked Justin if he had any extra video clips lying around. Simply playing these videos in succession felt perfect on top of the music for "'Starlet.'"

When the lights go down and the tours cease, when the band disbands and the wheel stops turning, there are walls of hard-drives still full of unreleased music that aches for ears to hear it. We have all heard posthumous releases of our favorite artists - mixed and mastered by other hands - but what if the artist could do it themselves while they were still alive? Matt Pond says the idea for Bees came as a result of slowing down and reflecting: "whether it's nostalgia or second guessing - I realized that there was still a lot of material [from the Matt Pond PA era] which should be allowed to breathe, have space, and be heard - without the pressure of touring and putting out music quickly, you can think more clearly."

To find the right tracks for this record, Pond sifted through their back catalog carefully but made a choice not to be chronological or scientific. The choices needed to flow musically, to adhere to no specific theme, and most importantly they needed to have a human connection. Some tracks, like "Starlet Country" (Acoustic) even had the benefit of a re-recording and a guest artist (Anya Marina) to bring the music to life. "[Revisiting old songs] is interesting, because your natural phrasings have changed over the years, and things that you were so desperate to write about, and that were hard to perform - now become inspiring and interesting in a totally different way without dragging you down."

Although Matt Pond PA may no longer be together, they are committed to releasing as many records as they can with archived material over the coming years as a way to reabsorb and revisit music that means so much to them, and to connect and share with audiences old and new... and who knows, perhaps revisiting this legacy is the catalyst for the band to find its own new life.

Watch the acoustic video here:

Photo Credit: Anya Marina

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