IT is little wonder why the entertainment industry has kept Matt Cornell around for so long.
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He’s described the last 26-years of his career as an ‘apprenticeship’ and it’s only now that he feels like he’s qualified for the job.
Cornell’s learnt a lot, he’s played alongside the industry’s biggest names, and with mates and mentors like Adam Brand behind him, his latest album My Soundtrack promises big things.
He’ll officially release the album on Friday, March 24 with a launch party in Sydney to follow with his music taking listeners on a personal journey and giving them a taste of life on the road.
For five of the songs, he’s teamed up with iconic singer songwriter Alan Caswell where the duo have pieced together emotive, heartbreaking and feel-good tracks.
The title track, My Soundtrack, is one Cornell says he’s particularly proud of and wrote it with Caswell and Drew McAlister, documenting the songs, bands and artists that he grew up listening to in the 80s.
2017 Golden Guitar winner Damien Leith also played a part in the production, co writing Rest Of Our Lives, with Cornell.
Cornell says those lucky enough to listen to the album before the release have described it as a “road trip album.”
It’s his fourth release and his second country recording, but the singer-songwriter said he’s looking forward to his first ever launch party.
“It’s a great road trip album. Every track has a message with an infectious feel-good nature permeating the sound and stories,” he said.
“It was extremely interesting this time around.
“Normally I’m writing songs over a year or two and working on different ideas, and by the time the album comes around I’ve got all these songs collated.
“This time I didn’t have that many songs, I was working really hard for a period of a few months and collaborating with a few people to see what came out of it.
“It was intense three or four months of writing and from that came these seven tracks.”
Cornell has also been touring and opening the shows for his mate Adam Brand who has just released his own new album.
He said he was appreciative of the friendship and musical mate-ship he and Brand shared.
“He’s had a huge influence on me, not just musically but we are both a big part of each other’s lives,” he said.
“I play in the touring band and open his shows. I sound him out on a lot of things.
“ Adam is naturally a mentor and is always giving advice and taking people out on the open roads for the first time.”
And as for what the future holds, the musician said he is happy to see where the industry takes him.
“Even though I’ve been at it for a long time, I’m more than ready and more prepared to take this head on,” he said.
“I’ve seen young artists who have gone out there with little experience and are incredibly green and don’t know how the industry works.
“I feel like I’ve been in this business for so long I am comfortable in my own skin on stage; I think I’ve served my apprenticeship.”