Meet Matt Suave | DJ & Music Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Matt Suave and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Matt, what habits do you feel helped you succeed?
I would say two major habits have really been pivotal to changing my life around.

The first was learning about “imposter syndrome”, understanding how it effected me, and realizing that almost everyone deals with it (yes even the most successful most famous people). We are WAY to harsh on ourselves and our accomplishments. Especially in the social media age, we are constantly comparing ourselves to these photoshopped cherry-picked lives of our peers and idols. It’s impossible to grasp just how much this affects not only our self confidence but our creative output. I’ve learning to just say “who cares if I suck” which has coincidently improved my talents!

Secondly, I’ve learned that I can “de-mystify” the god-like status of art, passion, & inspiration. For most of my life, I saw music as this magic thing that only those who were truly blessed with its divine skills could create. I had to train myself that, no in fact the greats of our history are just normal people who were the best at what they did. Sure some people are natural talent but no one gets anywhere without spending time & focus on their craft. This has helped me force myself to sit down and learn the basics of my own artistic craft.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
House music saved my life, and I’m on a mission to do have it do the same for others.

I was in a deep depression out of college and couldn’t really figure out why. I had graduated from school with a degree in classical vocal performance (Opera singing) and had no idea what to do with it. This led me to excessive drinking and partying. A lot of days I wouldn’t even see the sun.

That changed one night at the Queen! party at Smartbar Chicago. This weekly dancefloor transported me into a serendipitous utopia that I had never experienced before – music & people in perfect harmony. At that moment I knew what had been missing in my life, a true passion and a beautiful community.

So the next week I quit my job, packed up, and drove across the country to pursue some kind of career as a DJ. After watching hours of training videos on Youtube and purchasing the cheapest equipment I could find, I finally landed my first gig.

So yeah, I DJ to spread that incredible experience that saved my life.

This year I plan to release my first original music, and I have some big gigs lined up including playing at the Pride In The Park festival in Chicago alongside Tiesto, Chaka Khan, Gryffin, and more.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I just learned that my favorite party on the whole planet is returning for the first time after Covid – the Ostbahnhof party in DTLA. This place is everything that is amazing about the underground LGBTQIA & BIPOC LA community. Definitely worth a stop if that’s your kind of thing.

Definitely stop at my favorite Mexican restaurant El Compadre in Hollywood for a flaming margarita.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I definitely wouldn’t be where I am today without the crazy underground nightlife community around the country that has shown me what true passion is and inspired me to live life to the fullest.

Website: https://soundcloud.com/mattsuave

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matt.suave/