If you were part of the local indie scene back in the 90s, you'll definitely remember Matthew Engerer, then a member of Maltese indie band The Blunt. In recent years, Matthew has become synonymous with Walrus & The Carpenter, the music project he set up while travelling around the world. Walrus & The Carpenter brought Matthew in touch with a long list of musicians from several different countries and cultures, with each experience helping to hone his musical passion and authenticity, not to mention his amazing talent to write truly engaging songs.
Taking his cue from the current COVID-19 situation that has led to the shutdown of every physical social hangout and partial lockdown for most people, Matthew Engerer decided to upload a musical video on his Facebook. The video, uploaded yesterday, shows Matthew performing an as-yet unreleased song, along with the comment "Thought I would use my spare time in lockdown from the Corona virus to record a few live songs. This is the first one, aptly named, Behind Closed Doors".
Yesterday's post was the first of what will be a series of similar posts - in fact he posted another earlier today - that Matthew refers to as The Lockdown Sessions. When asked what prompted the idea of these sessions, Matthew replied that "it's kind of a dark time for everyone right now, and I think we're all feeling it in one way or another. I now have all this time on my hands and I need to do something to stay busy and sane".
Like Behind Closed Doors, the song Work of Art is also previously unreleased, making The Lockdown Sessions all the more appealing to fans of Matthew's music, to which he commented "well, I have all these new songs that I feel in some weird way fit the times we're in, so if I can share and get the message across that sometimes there is so much beauty and good that can come from the darkness, then I'm pretty stoked with that". He also encourages other artists to set up their own channel. "If I can get other artists to jump on board and share their talents, then we can fill people's uncertainty with music!"
To date, Walrus & The Carpenter has released two EPs, 2014's Old Soul's Eyes and last year's In My Hands, which you can listen to and/or buy either on Bandcamp or Spotify.
Walrus & The Carpenter Website