“I love tech, I love that everyone can have whatever music they want on their phones. “I love music for its ability to bring people together,” Russell says. That he’s assuredly in the mix, the artist is truly cherishing it. It’s the community of creative cohorts he’s always pined for. It’s what ultimately inspires him most as a Whether talking about two people or ten thousand, Russell I love and care about and feel safe with in bed together, that can be a sweet It was just people fighting over toilet paper. “Helicopters were flying around constantlyĪnd every time you stepped outside it was like a zombie apocalypse. “When lockdown happened, I didn’t see anybody for monthsĮxcept my girlfriend,” Russell says. Life worth fighting for when love is on the tip of two tongues. The song is meant to highlight the respites away from the fight. Glance, the song may appear at odds with the turbulent protests and the global The world, snuggled up in bed with a loved one, limbs entwined. That celebrates those moments in life when you can be away from the travails of It’s just a numbers game but if you put too much pressure on yourself to makeĮverything work or fit in one specific song, it can come off looking like youĬheat Codes’ latest endeavor, “Heaven,” is a blissful song Write the songs and do as many as you can. “You have to show up and do it,” Russell says. Investment hasn’t changed – and it likely never will. Greatness is some small part inspiration and a much larger part perspiration.įor someone who has loved music since he was young, that appreciation and Russell subscribes to the age-old adage that The track was a product of significant work and time spentīy the members of Cheat Codes. “They were really nice, really cool,” Russell says of the The famous hook from the hip-hop group, Salt-N-Pepa. Release was the 2016 track, “ Sex,” which flipped The trio would quicklyĬollaborate and, as Russell says, one song soon became six. Russell would make beats over which Ford would rap. One of Russell’s many projects led him to the front man, Kevin Ford. The duo, not yet a formal band, would make music together in Studio and getting a song on the radio seemed like a crazy, magical thing. “For a kid from Missouri, the idea of being in a recording “Learning the process from a friend is always a great way toĭo things,” he says. For an aspiring artistįrom the Midwest, this was staggering. Publishing deals and he’d worked with major producers. Dahl was already somewhat established, he had record and Dahl, who’d already had success in music professionally, helped teach in need of a place to crash, Russell was there to offer him aĬouch. Nevertheless,Īs fate would have it, Russell met his future Cheat Codesīand mate, Trevor Dahl, in St. The idea of charting on Billboard, for example, seemed impossible. In high school rock bands and loved music since 8-years, never knew how toīreak into the business. It was the window that would open his world up to the fresh air ofĭedication and demystification.
Get jobs to save up for new musical gear, to a new life as a professional That bit of brilliance led Russell, who, as a teenager would I had no idea if they were going to laugh in my face. “The lesson for me,” says Russell, “is invest in yourself.Įven if you’re broke, try to find ways to do it. Would release songs that would earn millions of streams worldwide, including That bet would pay off as his soon-to-be trio He began learning from friends and YouTube tutorials. He went into a bank, applied for a $10,000 loan, got it and bought his But walking the boulevards of L.A., he hadĪn idea. Production but after learning it would be two years of general classes before Musician Matthew Russell, member of the wildly popularĮlectronic group, Cheat Codes, remembers being broke at 19-years-old.