ifitbeyourwill S05E27 • Matt Gallaway

Matt Gallaway’s creative journey unfolds like a carefully crafted album—each chapter a different sound or mood, yet all tied together by a thread of honest self-expression. From basement jam sessions in Brooklyn to publishing acclaimed novels, Matt’s story is a powerful reminder of how art can shape, and be shaped by, personal transformation.

In our conversation, Matt shares how Saturnine came together almost by accident. He had moved to New York, supposedly for law school, but really to chase the city’s music scene. He lucked into a Brooklyn apartment with a basement perfect for band rehearsals, and soon after, Saturnine was born. They’d go on to record a handful of under-the-radar but beloved indie albums. Matt still lights up when talking about their first show at Brownies, booked by the legendary Karen Edlitz, and an unforgettable rooftop gig on a sweltering July 4th in Chinatown.

What really sets Matt’s story apart is how deeply intertwined his art is with his personal life. Listening back to Saturnine’s albums—especially Mid the Green Fields—he can now hear the hidden struggle he was going through. “I listen to that record and I’m just like, ‘this is about wanting to kill myself,’” he says, half-laughing, half-sighing. It’s raw, but honest—and a reflection of what it meant to grow up gay in a time when role models were few and far between.

Matt didn’t leave music behind; he just found a new way to tell his story. Writing novels like The Metropolis Case and #gods let him explore identity and emotion in a more direct way. “A song takes me a few weeks,” he says. “A novel takes years.” But both are cut from the same creative cloth.

Now, with his latest project Death Culture at Sea, Matt is circling back to songwriting—this time with a broader view and a deeper well to draw from. Last summer, he teamed up with former bandmate Mike D’Onofrio and Matt Kadane of Bedhead/The New Year for recording sessions in Vermont, and there’s more music to come.

Want to hear what this journey sounds like? Head to Matt's blog for a playlist of his latest work with Death Culture at Sea.

 

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“Matthew Gallaway’s storytelling manages to be both dreamy and serious; lean and luxurious. His words carry an incantatory power of mythic storytelling where beauty and savagery wrap around each other like bright threads in a gorgeous tapestry.” —Natasha Vargas-Cooper, author of Mad Men Unbuttoned: A Romp Through 1960s America