Cleft Music: ARTISTS

The Mattoid is a vagabond and troubadour in the troubist sense of the word. A native of Helsinki, Finland, Ville Kiviniemi once swore under the moniker, Ville Nash, that he would never visit Nashville. That all changed when he was traveling the states on a sold out, open mic tour and his mini van broke down in Music City. He and his friends, The Poppy Fields, had no choice but to hit the bountiful open mic circuit, wowing kids at Guido's and blowing minds at the legendary Bluebird Cafe. A chance sighting by Cleft producer, Loney John Hutchins lead to his first breakthrough album, "HELLO," on Cleft Music in 2004. Two EP's later, Mr. Mattoid released his spiritual masterpiece, "The Glory Holy" on Infinity Cat Records. While this was a concerted effort to reach Nashville's robust, contemporary Christian scene, the album ended up appealing to the punkers and rockers, instead. A self proclaimed comedian, The Mattoid has done extensive touring with comics like Doug Stanhope, as well as open for artists like Daniel Johnston and Silver Jews. His performances are often crass, half handed and absurd while his recordings display an intense focus on catchy songwriting and an eclectic sound and rhythm style he refers to as "sango" music. Love him or hate him, there is NOTHING quite like The Mattoid. Listen.

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