Avn
Written by: Cait Elizabeth - March 2020
Edited by: Travis Ryan
Introductions
Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Matt Avn has been calling it like he sees it his whole life. Sometimes it’s abrasive, sometimes it’s vulnerable, often it rhymes. The way he serves up his slice-and-dice wordplay makes it immediately apparent that he’s been doing this since grade school: “I had an aptitude for battle rap, I would go into to school and pick apart my contemporaries.” He has a smooth, laid-back flow that he lays over classy instrumentals.
When it comes to writing, Avn says “I do my best to switch up my process as often as possible” by “changing the space in which [I write] and the people that I keep around me in the session.” Working from home (before it was government mandated—wash your hands!) as well as a slew of outposts like a private studio in Manhattan, New Royalty Records in Deer Park, and The Compound in Ronkonkoma (with the RX Kings) keeps his perspective on a turntable.
New Music & Adventures
After several mixtapes and albums across solo projects and the RX Kings, Avn has topped himself with his latest full-album release U.G.L.Y. now available on all platforms. The album is such a cohesive narrative that you can close your eyes and watch it like a movie. Tracks are interspersed with voicemails from friends and Siri, reflecting real-life moments and gags alongside heavier content.
A strong theme of U.G.L.Y. is identity, both in coming to terms with the past and working on self-improvement. The title track drops you right into a gorgeous classical instrumental, rich in delicate piano and groovy saxophone. Avn’s ease is intoxicating; “U.G.L.Y.” is a track that just sounds right.
The entire album has been meticulously crafted. It emphasizes that truth is more valuable than beauty. That the world is ugly, it’s dirty, it’s grounded. There is no sense in rejecting reality. We must come to terms with the truth in order to move forward.
Word has it there will be some music videos coming out to compliment this release. If Avn’s vision comes through the way it did in this album, we are in for a damn treat.
Avn has completed two major tours, one on each coast. A third is currently in the works for the New York area.
““We are all ugly/beautiful people
Upfront n deceitful
Negotiating our evils
(Boo).....
We all are some portion of feeble
Consorting illegal
Take caution with people
Who...
Bat their eyes in attraction
With surmise that their passion
Will take over your actions
And they do...
We are all Ugly/Beautiful people
Sum portion of Feeble
Don’t stare at the Easel for
Too long......””