Matthew Young

Matthew Young is a musician, graphic designer, and author. He is known for two 1980s electronic recordings that were privately released. A folk musician for years, he became interested in both popular electronic music and serious computer music in the early '70s. In the summer of 1976, doctoral students in Princeton University's music department sponsored a summer seminar in computer music, and Young attended. He programmed his first sounds on punch cards on the school's IBM mainframe, which were taken as digital tapes to the digital-to-analog lab in the engineering department. Encouraged by the results, he purchased his first synth — an EMS Synthi AKS (better known as "Eno's Little Suitcase") shortly thereafter, as well as some Revox A-77 reel-to-reel tape recorders and a Roland. From his sonic experiments he eventually recorded and privately released his debut offering, Recurring Dreams, in 1981. Young's experiments with electronics expanded, as did his interest in folk, blues, and modern classical music. On his second record, Traveler's Advisory, released by his Mt. Rose Records label in 1986, he wed all three, incorporating hammered dulcimer, banjo, vocals, Casio, and drum machines. Included among his own compositions was a cover of Michael Hurley's "Werewolf" that the songwriter later claimed was one of the better versions of his tune. Though Young continued to play, write, and record music, none was released. He eventually began his own business serving as a graphic designer, art director, and copywriter. He published two books on 19th century graphic design and printing. Traveler's Advisory was reissued in 2010, followed by a new edition of Recurring Dreams in the summer of 2014. Both were released by Yoga/Drag City.