Matthew Tavares

Matthew Adam Tavares[1] was born on September 15, 1990 and grew up in Mississauga, Ontario where he attended the local preparatory school Mentor College.[2][3] He attended Humber College where he studied jazz performance and later met drummer Alexander Sowinski and bassist Chester Hansen in the program. In 2010, they formed BADBADNOTGOOD. The band had viral success in 2011 after posting jazz covers of Odd Future online, and released their debut record that Fall. He withdrew from school in February 2012.[4]

With BBNG, Tavares released five full-length albums, including a collaborative record with Ghostface Killah, and was short-listed for the Polaris Music Prize twice. Following the release of their album IV in 2016, Tavares stepped away from touring with the group, and took time to focus on producing music as well as developing his solo project Matty.[5][6] However, he did make live appearances with BBNG from time-to-time, playing at the likes of Massey Hall in 2017, and the Virgil Abloh-curated Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer runway show, and in Tokyo in 2018, among other venues.[7][8][9][10][11]

Tavares has worked as a songwriter and music producer throughout his career, often producing tracks as part of BBNG and with producer Frank Dukes. Major early placements include tracks by Wu-Tang Clan, and Daniel Caesar, followed by songs by Kendrick Lamar, Taylor Swift, Post Malone, and Rosalía.

Tavares released his debut solo record in 2018, Déjàvu, under the name Matty. The project utilized the other members of BBNG as the backing band. That year, he also scored the CBC ten-part video game docuseries The Artists.[12] Following a series of singles released after the record, Tavares began using his full name for some of his solo work. In October 2019, Tavares announced his departure from BBNG.[13] In 2020, he released three full length solo albums as well as two collaborative jazz albums with former BBNG bandmate Leland Whitty.[14] In 2020, he was nominated for a Latin Grammy for his work production work on the Rosalía song "Dolerme".[15]

Tavares is based in Toronto.

Solo discography

• Déjàvu (2018) (as Matty)
• Richard Dry (2020)
• Mississauga (2020)
• Selected Ambient Squirts (2020) (as Matty)

With BADBADNOTGOOD

• BBNG (2011)
• BBNG2 (2012)
• III^[FD] (2014)
• Sour Soul (with Ghostface Killah)^[FD] (2015)
• IV (2016)

Other projects

• Score of CBC documentary series The Artists (2018)
• Homer – Best New Music (2019)[16]
• Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty – Visions (2020)[17]
• Matthew Tavares & Leland Whitty – January 12th (2020)[18]

Selected discography. For additional credits, see the BadBadNotGood production discography (2011–2020).

Production and songwriting

Producer credit unless noted otherwise.

• Earl Sweatshirt: – "Hoarse"^[BBNG] from Doris (2013)
• Danny Brown – "Float On"^[FD][BBNG] (featuring Charli XCX) from Old (2013)
• Logic – "Growing Pains III"^[FD] from Under Pressure (2014); writing, guitar, keys[19]
• Daniel Caesar – "Paradise"^[BBNG] from Pilgrims's Paradise (2015)
• Wiz Khalifa & Curren$y "Weed Nap"^[FD] (2015); writing, guitar, keys[19]
• Kaytranada – "Weight Off"^[BBNG] from 99.9% (2016)
• Mick Jenkins: "Drowning"^[BBNG] from The Healing Component (2016)[20]
• Kendrick Lamar – "Lust."^[BBNG] from Damn. (2016) (Certifications – US: gold)
• Daniel Caesar – "Get You" and "Japanese Denim"^[BBNG] (2016) (Certifications – US: 2x platinum; CAN: 2x platinum; UK: Silver)
• Post Malone: – "Déjà Vu"^[FD] featuring Justin Bieber" from Stoney (2016); writing, bass, guitar, keys[21] (Certifications – US: platinum)
• GoldLink – "Fall in Love"^[BBNG] (featuring Cisero) (2016)
• Lil Pump – "Flex Like Ouu"^[FD] from Lil Pump (2017); writing[22] (Certifications – US: gold)
• Ben Stevenson – "Honeycola" from Cara Cara (2017)[23]
• Sufyvn – "Thinking 'Bout You (Sleepless in Cairo)" single feat. BJ the Chicago Kid (2017)[24]
• Kodak Black – "Unexplainable"^[FD] from Project Baby 2 (2017)[19]
• Kali Uchis – "After the Storm"^[BBNG] (featuring Tyler, the Creator and Bootsy Collins) from Isolation (2018) (Certifications – US: gold)
• Travis Scott – "Astrothunder"^[FD] from Astroworld (2018)[19]
• John Mayer – "New Light" (2018); sample production, song-writing[19]
• Khalid and Swae Lee – "The Ways"^[BBNG] from Black Panther (2018)
• Jerry Paper – Like A Baby (2018)[25]
• Wes Allen – Funny Thing EP (2018); additional production[26]
• Charlotte Day Wilson – "Doubt," Let You Down," and "Falling Apart" from Stone Woman EP (2018)[27]
• Harrison – "Midnight Snack" from Apricity (2018); feature credit
• Kingsway Music Library – Matthew Tavares Vol. 1 (2019)[28]
• Thundercat: "King of the Hill"^[BBNG] (2018) (later part of 2020's It is What It Is)[29]
• Camila Cabello – "Feel It Twice"^[FD] from Romance (2019)[30]
• Post Malone – "Staring at the Sun"^[FD] feat. SZA and "Myself"^[FD](2019) from Hollywood's Bleeding;[31] writing credit only for "Myself"
• Taylor Swift – "Afterglow"^[FD] and "It's Nice to Have a Friend"^[FD] from Lover (2019); writing, guitar[32]
• Bakar – "Ghosts" from Will You Be My Yellow? (2019)[33]
• Paul Epworth – "Voyager 2" feat. Matty (2019); feature credit[34]
• Jessie Ware – "Mirage (Don't Stop)" from What's Your Pleasure? (2020)[35]
• Kingsway Music Library – Parkscapes Vol. 2 (2020)[36]
• Rosalía – "Dolerme"^[FD] single (2020); misc. production[15]
• Gabriel Garzón-Montano – "Tombs" from Agüita (2020); writing
• Maeta – "Teen Scene" (2020); writing
• James Blake – "I Keep Calling" from Before EP (2020); writing (samples Charlotte Day Wilson's "Falling Apart," which he produced)[37]
• Shawn Mendes – "Monster"^[FD] featuring Justin Bieber from Wonder (2020); additional production credit

^{^} produced as part of BADBADNOTGOOD

^{^} produced with/by Frank Dukes

Other credits

• Black Atlass – "Burning Man" from Young Bloods (2014); mixing
• Eschaton – ∆ (2014); guitar, keys[38]
• Eschaton – "Toronto, Ottawa, Low" single (2015); synth[39]
• Kingsway Music Library – "Terco," "House Of Lawd," and "Dark Massage" from Colors^[FD] (2015); keys
• River Tiber – "No Talk" from Indigo (2016); mixing[40]
• Eschaton – Torus (2016); engineering, mixing, bass guitar[41]
• Kilmanjaro – A Place Unknown To All You Ever Say (2017); mastering[42]
• Katie McBride – "The Skyline" and "N.B.S.L." from World of Dreams (2018); drum production[43]