Matthew Ifield is on set in Paris, thinking about what makes a great love song. It’s only right in the city of love. “I think a perfect love song is about human connection,” he says. “It needs to be deep. That’s what people relate to, that’s what feels so personal.” Since 2020, the Australian-Malaysian singer-songwriter has steadily taken over the internet with his jazz-inspired modern pop, producing one of the country’s most impressive voices. With a debut album, My Favourite Place To Be, released last year and a new project on the way, Ifield has one of the most compelling voices of a new generation.

The breakthrough happened for Ifield how it does for most young musicians nowadays. Five years ago, in his mid-teens, he decided to defy his parents’ rules of not having social media and begin secretly uploading TikTok videos of himself singing. “If it wasn’t for Covid, I wouldn’t have set up my camera in my bedroom to record myself singing out of boredom. We were all stuck in our rooms.” Ifield had been gifted a microphone for his birthday and had begun playing around with GarageBand. Within the first year of posting, Ifield’s cover videos songs began to go viral, his audience enamoured with his vocal tone and style. As the numbers began to rise into the hundreds of thousands, Ifield had to tell his parents. “Initially they were angry, but then they saw how positive the comments were and that I was consistent. And how much I was enjoying it.” Now, the artist has 1.7 million followers on the app.

Ifield grew up in a musical environment on the North Shore of Sydney. “My parents played mostly jazz,” he says. Ifield’s great-uncle, Australian legend Frank Ifield, famously had The Beatles open for him. “He was based in England and known for yodelling… My mum plays piano, my dad plays the flute. Around Christmas they would play Michael Bublé the entire time. So I would always be listening to that. I always had his voice stuck in my head. That got me into doing covers of that style: Elvis Presley, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra.” He would cover songs by artists including Bruno Mars, Daniel Caesar – who he cites as a massive inspiration for his overall soundscape – and Michael Jackson. “I was trying to figure out what style I liked,” he says. Modern pop love songs with a jazzy smooth sophistication are how Ifield has developed his songwriting skills. He describes his music as “easy listening, but the lyrics are usually deep” and finds it easiest to write about love more than anything else. Although he may call it easy, there’s a level of intellect to fully comprehend his intricate melodies and genre. “I think people are resonating [with my music] because I’m writing about similar experiences to people my age.”

Before Ifield began making music, he was interested in becoming an actor. It’s what drove him to join his school musical at 12 years old. “I was already playing clarinet and singing. But then I played Mufasa in The Lion King. I had to sing a solo piece on stage to Simba. That was when I knew I had a strong passion for music. One day I want to be involved in the film industry in some way, maybe with directing.” Ifield has had a hand in creative direction for all his music videos, which he says he sometimes sees in his mind before the song is even written. His most recent music video for his song Thinking, the first single since his coming-of-age debut album My Favourite Place To Be, was inspired by early 2000s Asian cinema, which “has all of these experimental camera angles, playing around with different lenses, just having really intentional, well-thought-out shots”. Ifield’s creative lens has translated into intimate shows, where he creates a lounge-like experience for his fans and styles himself in a “90s street style-inspired” way. “I like to chat with the audience as if we’re having a one-on-one conversation. My songs are quite quiet and jazz-driven. Even after the shows, I hang out with the people who stay around… I think that's my introverted self. I like to connect with everyone. I prefer that over being on stage in front of such a large audience who I never get to talk to.”

Ifield realises how powerful of a platform he holds, with millions of followers and an audience of mostly teenage listeners. “It’s important to talk about things for the right reasons. I don’t want to come across as performative. What people don’t realise is when you’re an artist, and you’ve got a following of any size, Instagram is a tool. It’s very powerful. With that comes a lot of responsibility and a lot of people use it in a negative way, to promote something that is not ethical. I don’t want to be involved in that.” Instead, Ifield uses artists he admires as ‘blueprints’ of sorts, like the Australian artist Grentperez, who he admires for his stage presence, and fellow jazz singer Laufey, both of whom he has toured with. Jacob Collier, an artist who Ifield has been drawing comparisons to, is also a big inspiration. “Mainly for his stagecraft,” he says. “I saw him perform in December in Sydney last year, and oh my gosh, watching that made me realise what is possible on stage.” Artists in similar positions to Ifield are who he talks to for advice, like Wim from the Thai duo HYBS. “I was about to go on stage and he was backstage. He asked me if I was nervous and I said yes. Then I asked him the same question and he said, ‘Yes, but if you’re nervous, it means you’re passionate. If you don’t have any nerves at all, then you don’t really have any passion. You don’t care. It’s important to have nerves before you go on stage because it shows how much you care and how much passion you put into your music.’ That really stuck with me.”

When we speak, he’s most excited about the music he has been making in recent weeks. His upcoming single Thrifting is his favourite song he’s ever made so far. “It’s about walking into a thrift store, not knowing what you're going to find and then meeting someone there and getting to know them, learning about their past experiences and what they love and hate. That’s a very similar thing to finding a piece of clothing.” He recently went to Malaysia for the first time – his mum is Chinese-Malaysian – and met his family. “I’ve learned more about artists in Malaysia from that experience, and I think it’s influenced me a lot in the music I’ve been writing recently.” When Ifield was in Malaysia, he played a few shows. “I accidentally started crying on stage,” he says. “I was saying thank you to the crowd… I was overwhelmed. So much gratitude. I feel very fortunate for where I’m at and what’s to come.”

Taken from Issue 28 of 10 Men Australia - FUTURE, LEGACY, HERITAGE - out Wednesday.

Photographer ROB TENNENT
‍Fashion Editor KAMRAN RAJPUT
‍Talent MATTHEW IFIELD
Text ROXY LOLA
Grooming TOMOKO OHAMA
Fashion assistant SABRINA RASO
‍Photographer’s assistant LACHLAN RYAN
‍Production BRONTE MOLYNEUX

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