You might know Matthew C. Whitaker better by his stage name – Zpor. As lead singer of Manchester’s space squadron HENGE, Whitaker has captured the imagination and funny bone of festival goers worldwide. However, with his latest solo LP, Songs For The Weary, he has eschewed the futuristic silliness of HENGE for the cosy bliss of 70s folk pop. I asked the Whitaker ten questions to better understand the mind of this half-alien, half-Mancunian musician.
THE ARGUS FAR FIVE
How would you describe the sound of Matthew C Whitaker?
Hmmmm, I just write the music I want to hear. Describing it is a job for music journalists. Be my guest!
Damn you, Mr Whitaker! As I say in a later question, I’d describe his sound as a throwback to late 60s/70s ethereal folk/baroque pop.
What are your biggest non-music influences?
I have to admit, I always bristle when asked about ‘influences’ because I feel like there is a massive overstatement of the relevance of other people’s work when it comes to my own. It seems to me like people are desperate to find threads that just aren’t there… but seeing as you have taken the novel approach of asking for non-musical influences I will indulge…
The work of screenwriter/director/novelist Charlie Kaufman, novels of Tom Robbins, artists Matisse, Leonora Carrington and René Magritte, filmmakers David Lynch, the Coen Brothers, David Cronenberg and Michel Gondry… but the biggest influence on me is of course my friends, their ways of talking, their tastes in music and senses of humour.
If you had to cover any song and put your own spin on it, which would you choose?
I had a really fun few years doing twisted covers in a gypsy jazz style with some good friends of mine. I’ve had my fill of that. I have zero interest in covering other people’s music at the moment.
What is your earliest memory of music?
I started learning classical guitar when I was 9 years old. Prior to that, I hadn’t really thought much about music (apart from my dad entertaining me and my brother with his rendition of ‘Runaway Train’ on harmonica). It took a couple of years of playing guitar for me to get past the ‘chore’ of doing my daily practice, but when I got into it I was obsessed. Burning through as much of the Latin American and Spanish guitar repertoire as my teacher could supply me with.
Other early memories include dancing around our living room to my parents’ Best of Gheorghe Zamfir record, being totally blown away by virtuosic panpipes. We also had a Django Reinhardt record which I loved.
What does 2026 have in store for you?
It has been a busy year so far! Aside from releasing Songs for the Weary, I am finishing up the fifth HENGE record and on the road touring the solo show. Then, there is a European tour with HENGE and I am staying behind after that to do some solo shows in Germany and Belgium. After that, HENGE have a huge festival season. We are also plotting some good things for the latter part of the year but that is all top secret at the moment.
THE MATTHEW C. WHITAKER FIVE
Are there any shared themes/sounds between your HENGE work and your solo output?
I like melodies. I think you could argue that you get them in most of my songs. The eagle-eared listener will also be aware that I am partial to a twangy electric guitar – the type you might find in an Ennio Morricone soundtrack.
You’ve recommended listeners to ‘listen to this album somewhere comfortable. A cozy chair or beanbag, or perhaps in the bath.’ Which other LPs do you find perfect for this setting?
Eden Ahbez – Eden’s Island, a collection of synthesiser versions of Debussy works called Snowflakes are Dancing by Isao Tomita, Mother Earth’s Plantasia by Mort Garson and pretty much any album by Martin Denny.
The opening of ‘A Portrait of an Artist As An Old Man’, particularly the accent, reminds me of Brian and Michael’s ‘Matchstalk Men’, a song wholly reverential of Manchester. How important is the city for you?
I like to sing in my own accent, which isn’t really a full Mancunian accent (I am originally from Carlise but don’t have that accent either). I guess I have a non-specific northern English accent. Weirdly, singing in your own accent doesn’t necessarily come as naturally as you might expect. It can take a conscious effort to remove accidental or unconscious affectations. When I started singing as a teenager my vocals came out sounding a bit American. I quickly got embarrassed about this lack of authenticity and corrected it. Feeling genuinely myself when delivering vocals is a hugely important part of me feeling comfortable in my own skin. On stage or on a record. Of course, I can be more fluid with different accents and silly voices when singing HENGE material as I am embodying a fictional alien character (who is himself a rather silly entity). This is fun…and still feels authentic to me as it comes from a playful nature, mirroring the sort of daft voices that me and my friends do to make each other laugh.
But to answer your question, Manchester is, of course, important to me. I have lived here for the last 20 years and the city has been kind to me.
The video for ‘Lucid Dreamer’ shows you holding a notebook. What do you write in this?
The lyrics to Lucid Dreamer.
Your HENGE work is irreverently futuristic; Songs For The Weary sounds indebted to late 60s/70s ethereal folk/baroque. What is your relationship with time, and how does it inspire your songwriting?
Deep question! I have a shallow, potentially disappointing answer for you though – I just put together sounds that I like. Sometimes this sounds retro and sometimes futuristic. I don’t worry about it. It only really occurred to me recently that Songs for the Weary sounds quite old fashioned which possibly makes it so far removed from the zeitgeist as to be completely irrelevant. The thought came and went, I didn’t lose any sleep because I don’t care about the zeitgeist… or being relevant.
The two different projects sound very different as they have totally different functions – therefore a different sound palette and different energy levels are required. I am enjoying doing both of these projects in parallel. I find the contrast to be really healthy.
Join our (free) mailing list to support the site and never miss an article again!
Argus Far 
Leave a comment