We had a chat with Matt Smith of multi-national collaborative effort INTERCONTINEN7AL following the release of their new single ‘Love Is Everywhere’
A band who’s sheer scope and ambition feels like reason enough to give them plaudits in itself, INTERCONTINEN7AL are a modern rock band who’s bodies of work often feature dozens of collaborators that span from all across the globe, having featured musicians based in all seven continents across their body of work.
This often means that different tracks and releases will often feel entirely separate from each other, and that is part of the beauty of their appeal. Their sound is as much a celebration of different cultures and composition styles as it is anything else, and a wonderful showcase of what can be achieved if we pool these different ideas and schools of thought to create something new in the process. Following the release of their Beatles-inspired new single ‘Love Is Everywhere’, and ahead of the release of their upcoming final album Volume 7, we had a chat with founder Matt Smith to find out a bit more about their unique process and the journey that it has taken him and the band on as a whole.
Who TF are INTERCONTINEN7AL?
So our group is the first rock band in history to record music across all 7 continents, and is comprised of over 30 musicians from 15 different countries. Our songs “Manor Hill”, “Puerto Aisen”, “Night Shift”, “The Chamber”, and “Butterflies” are the only original compositions to ever include instrumentation recorded on all 7 continents – featuring percussion and/or guitar from research stations in Antarctica.
How long have you been making music?
The band formed in 2020, during the pandemic. At that time, I played in a local band in Maryland called Toast, and in an effort to continue collaborating and playing together, we began researching software applications that would allow for sharing recordings. We discovered BandLab, and started recording drum tracks, guitar riffs, and other ideas and collaborating internally with our band. After a couple of months, we decided to publish some song ideas and make them “forkable” to the BandLab public community. Within a few days of our first post, we received multiple lead/harmony vocal submissions, including vocals from Gustavo Prida of South America, sung in Spanish! Shortly thereafter, we posted a blues idea, and after a couple of hours received an addition of a fiery lead guitar solo from Robert James Shoveller from Australia! The idea to continue seeking out musicians from all over the world soon began to take shape…
Why do you make music?
I can’t speak for everyone in the band, but for me personally, making music is one of the most satisfying endeavors anyone can ever partake in. The fact that you can theoretically conclude your day with a newly written song that didn’t even exist that morning – something that you conjured out of “thin air” over the period of a few hours – is truly a magical thing and immensely gratifying.
What are your biggest influences?
Some of the most influential musicians and bands that have impacted our group include Pearl Jam, Porcupine Tree, Chris Cornell, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tool, Prince, Led Zeppelin, Foo Fighters, and Pink Floyd.
What would you say has been your best moment so far?
For me personally, I still vividly remember the moment in 2020 when I received a message on Whatsapp that we had received a recording of percussion – and then later, classical guitar – from a research station in Antarctica. The fact that our dream of composing a song with instrumentation across all 7 continents had become a reality was truly overwhelming to me.
How would you describe your sound to somebody unfamiliar with it?
Our sound is difficult to define, due to the sheer scope and scale of musicianship being applied. The band’s music runs the gamut, from alternative & hard rock, folk, pop, blues, jazz, Latin, Americana, funk, metal, country, gospel, prog, classical, reggae, bluegrass, bossa nova to even showtunes.
What’s your dream “I’ve made it” moment?
The dream “I’ve made it” moment would be Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters learning about our project – heavily inspired by his Sonic Highways album – and giving us the thumbs up or nod of approval.
We love your new single ‘Love Is Everywhere’, what more can you tell us about it?
‘Love is Everywhere’ was written and performed by Buenos Aires resident Nereo Paulus, and is a tribute to The Beatles. Nereo wrote amd sang the lyrics/vocals, and played all instruments on the track, to include classical guitar, bass, mandolin, bongo, egg shakers, and even a wooden frog percussion instrument! The video was recorded in the picturesque town of Bariloche, which is located in Argentina’s Patagonia region.
What else do you have planned for the near future?
Our farewell album Volume 7 will be released on December 30, 2025, and will be an epic conclusion to our journey of creating music across the world.
And finally, who is your biggest fan right now?
That’s a good question – I don’t think we have met our “biggest fan” yet, but they are out there somewhere…:)
