Interviews
BUTCHIE Talks ‘Gaslight,’ Identity and Reinvention
Artist and designer Matthew Waldman discusses turning poetry into electropop, processing personal change and the creative partnerships behind EVERPRESENCE.
Matthew Waldman is returning to a body of writing he once set aside. Recording as BUTCHIE, the artist, poet, designer, and educator is using music to revisit questions of identity, memory, and emotional manipulation.
His renewed focus on songwriting began in 2024 while clearing out a New York City apartment as a long relationship was ending. Rediscovering old poems and lyrics led to a collaboration with producer Peter Cattermoul of Teleman, who helped develop material from that archive. Their work became EVERPRESENCE, released Sept. 10, 2026, through MOREMEN Music.
Although design became Waldman’s primary career, music had been part of his life since childhood. His mother sang, and his father played trombone. Waldman later performed poetry and music at New York open mics and recorded songs with Soichi Terada while living in Tokyo. His design work included the fashion brand NOOKA, and his career has continued across art, education, and creative practice.
“Gaslight,” a ...