Matthew Stewart blends electronics, synths, piano, and rock guitar on albums like his 2016 instrumental release A World Bathed in Sunlight. “The album is a musical chronicle of a fictional story I’ve had in mind,” explains Stewart. “The literal story arc follows the destruction of earth, the escape of a few seeds of humanity, and the discovery of a new world.”
A grand story indeed but, rather than being overly dark in the telling, Stewart sees it as more of a creation myth. “Metaphorically speaking, it’s about destruction and rebirth; honoring what was, discovering a new path to survival, choosing what must be sacrificed, and journeying to a new, unfamiliar world which still has its seeds in the old one.”
In early 2017, Stewart's song "Alternative Facts" used the phrase coined by Presidential counselor Kellyanne Conway as both title and topic of a tune that quickly earned heavy spins online. “It cuts right to the idea that if facts don’t support your position, you can just make up new ones, and then double down until it becomes the truth to a large segment of the populace.”