Hello! My name is Matthew Hadley, but I go by Hadley. I’m a graphic designer and digital illustrator currently working for Iowa State University and Morning Bell Coffee in Ames, Iowa. Together with Connor Ferguson, I am the co-host of The New Sincerest spinoff New Sensation.
The EP (some quick fun facts)
Currently Spinning:
Still - Erika De Casier (a confident third album from one of the best Y2K influenced R&B artists currently working)
Orquídeas - Kali Uchis (a Columbian pop artist rides the creative highs from her previous album Red Moon In Venus to find new creative heights)
Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here - Friko (the best debut of the year so far, this Chicago based indie/emo band is one to watch for fans of Bright Eyes or Pinegrove)
“Transformation” - Nona Hendryx (has been on rotation since I saw the film Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart and Katie M. O’Brian)
What Genres Do You Listen To?
Chamber Pop
Plunderphonics
Lofi Indie Rock
PBR&B
Hyperpop
Some Unranked Favorite Albums:
The Album (some backstory)
My relationship to music technically started before I was born. Frequently when I would keep my mother up late at night during her pregnancy, she would be watching MTV. She told me later that the first time she saw the “Smells Like Teen Spirit” music video was on one of these nights and she could feel a new wave of music was cresting over the horizon. Which, yes, means that I was literally listening to Nirvana in utero. During my childhood, there was always music playing from my mom’s impressive CD and vinyl collection. Camcorder videos of Little Me exist where I’m dancing to Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors and trying to recreate what I was hearing with original songs of my own. When I was going into elementary school, my parents would sometimes let me pick out CDs from Best Buy or ordered in the mail through Columbia House music club. My first choice was Cher’s Believe, which yes, should have been a clear indication to them that I was gay.
In my preteen years, I gravitated to moody bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance, and Blink-182. From what I could tell, this was the epitome of punk music. When I was asked at a record shop if I needed help finding anything, I told the cashier I liked punk and listed her some of these bands. To my surprise, her face was appalled and she corrected that the “punk” I was listening to had very little in common with the roots of the genre. Soon she was flipping through CDs and building a stack for me to try out instead. They included Dead Kennedys, The Stooges, The Misfits, and The Ramones. I ended up buying all of them and poured over what I was hearing obsessively for weeks. While I still liked the newer music I came into that shop having requested, I appreciated her for giving me the history of the genre as well. It gave me appreciation for what I already liked, since I could now pinpoint the reference points and hallmarks of the music.
These tools led me farther and farther out from radio pop, and by the time I committed to buying my first vinyl records as a high school junior, I had discovered a huge rabbit hole with the genre of indie music. That first day I bought records from Neutral Milk Hotel, The Shins, and Belle and Sebastian. This was also the time I heard Sufjan Steven’s Illinois. Stevens has been my favorite musician since then and Illinois will always have a special place in my heart for how it reached me during my teenage years. Sufjan was singing vulnerable songs that reflected my own experiences of growing up queer in a fundamental Christian midwest environment.
By the time I got to college, I felt like I had a point of view and a taste level when it came to discovering music. I knew that it meant something to me, and that I wanted to share my love with others. Since I did not feel compelled to write the music myself, there had to be another way to access this expression. Around this time the term “synesthesia” was starting to become a buzzword. I never took it as a diagnostic term for myself like some artists do, but I did like the idea of one sense informing another. I’d close my eyes with my headphones on and daydream about what colors or fonts it sounded like. Finding out the pathways of those connections is key to the process of my own art, and it’s why I always get so excited when I get to design graphics for anything music related.
At university I started DJing for college radio. My show The Indie was a natural output for all the research I was doing with music in my free time. It strengthened my creativity and curiosity and gave me a reason to keep hunting the endless internet blogs to try and find music I thought my listeners would appreciate. Each week I challenged myself to go a little deeper and to put more and more passion into what I was making. Soon, the radio show caught the attention of my Mass Communications professor, and he asked if I wanted to fill the role of music director for the station even while I was still a freshman. I kept the job throughout my four years at Morningside College, eventually stripping the previous automated playlist to be replaced with a fresher, more informed sound. My work for the station continued to get me attention and I was even featured on the cover of the local culture magazine The Weekender. It was a time in my life where I felt like I was aligned and supported by the community around me and I was always excited to air a new episode of the show.
After college, I moved from Sioux City to Des Moines which I felt had a much richer music and art scene. It became a place where I flourished while making art under my Nice Try moniker. I was working with local bands which was always a dream of mine. Soon through networking and personal connections I was also working with breweries, coffee shops, and small businesses. I landed a few dream gigs and even designed a poster for the Gross Domestic Product music festival. This was around the time I met Connor, who was also putting in as much work as I was with his creative endeavors, had also previously DJ’d at his college, and someone who matched (and even exceeded) my love for music listening. Our shared interest has been the focal point of many fruitful conversations since then.
While living in Des Moines together, Connor began his creative master’s degree at Iowa State University. I was thrilled to hear he had landed a regular show slot at KURE, the college radio station. After a while there, he mentioned wanting to do a review podcast and invited me to co-host. Since we started New Sensation and moved to Ames, that alignment feeling I got in college has been returning. Even more so now that I have a partner who compliments my creativity and inspires me with his own.
