Patrick Mathers
Patrick Mathers is a Canadian born experimental musician and visual artist based in Helsinki, Finland. A fabricator and composer whose practice explores the unification of these fields. Heavily charged by the more alchemical philosophies of art and science, his meditative approach to sound and design is supposed by some to have therapeutic properties and to be closely associated with music that is “engraved in the shaman’s consciousness.”
Song and design become one.
EXPERIENCE / ABILITIES
Documentary, Drama, Experimental, Horror, Science Fiction
PROFESSIONAL ROLES
Composer, Music Director, Music Producer, Music Supervisor, Sound Designer
LANGUAGE
English
PERFORMING RIGHTS SOCIETIES
SOCAN
UNIQUE EXPERIENCE / INFORMATION
Composer / Music Director
I Still Love Her (2025)
● Canadian short documentary film.
● Pierce Csurgo, director
● Joseph Zentli, producer
● Strange Customs, studio
Shadow Box (2023)
● Canadian short film.
● Pierce Csurgo, director
● Joseph Zentli, producer
● Eric Bizzarri, producer
● Strange Customs, studio
L’Uomo Strano’s Toronto Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2023 Runway Show
● Fashion event by Fashion Art Toronto at Black Creek Assembly.
● Matthew Carter, co-director
● Mic Carter, designer
● Vanja Vasic, director
L’Uomo Strano’s Make It Fashion (by FAT/TIFF) 2022 Runway Show
● Fashion event by Fashion Art Toronto at TIFF Lightbox Theatre.
● Matthew Carter, co-director
● Mic Carter, designer
● Vanja Vasic, director
● https://goldenohms.bandcamp.com/album/golden-hms-luomo-strano-make-it-fashion
L’Uomo Strano’s Toronto Fashion Week Spring / Summer 2022 Runway Show
● Fashion event by Fashion Art Toronto at Design Exchange.
● Matthew Carter, co-director
● Mic Carter, designer
● Vanja Vasic, director
Producer / Writer / Performer - selected works
A Void To Be Held by Golden Ohms (2023)
● https://goldenohms.bandcamp.com/album/a-void-to-be-held
The Milk of Human Machinery by Golden Ohms (2022)
● https://goldenohms.bandcamp.com/album/the-milk-of-human-machinery
Writer / Performer - selected works
Getting To Know ... by The Victim Party (Ugly Pop Records 2014)
● https://victimparty.bandcamp.com/album/getting-to-know-the-victim-party
Pagan Holiday by Black Lungs (Dine Alone Records 2015)
● https://blacklungsgang.bandcamp.com/album/pagan-holiday
Walking Paper by Hostage Life (Underground Operations / Universal Music 2006)
● https://youtu.be/1XJCT6XVPR4?si=TYDX3gFKs7Ein8jr
OTHER INFORMATION
Before relocating to Europe, Patrick had firmly established himself as an “elder statesman” of Toronto’s punk and hardcore scene. At the age of 20, upon moving to the city, his band Hostage Life released their debut album, Walking Papers (Underground Operations / Universal Music, 2006), which ignited local radio station Edge 102. The album’s impact, coupled with their “intimidating” live performances, led Hostage Life to share stages with international acts like Rancid, NOFX, and Rise Against, as well as Canadian rock groups such as Billy Talent and Alexisonfire.
Patrick’s deep involvement in the underground hardcore scene and his reputation as a “riff machine” caught the attention of Alexisonfire guitarist Wade MacNeil. Following the disbandment of Hostage Life, the duo revived Black Lungs with a more aggressive sound, co-writing the album Pagan Holiday (Dine Alone, 2015). Although the project was brief, Patrick continued to explore his darker punk inclinations with bands like HOUNDS and Katatonix. Between these ventures, he reunited with longtime collaborator and Hostage Life singer Colin Lichti to form The Victim Party, resulting in three releases, including the grandiose and comically self-involved concept album Getting to Know The Victim Party (Ugly Pop, 2015).
During this period, Patrick immersed himself in music beyond the punk rock umbrella, especially while on the road during long overnight drives. He delved into the works of groups like Swans, sunn O))), and Wolf Eyes, as well as solo artists such as Diamanda Galás, Scott Walker, and Pharmakon. Bold sounds from fearless artists. He began to discern between entertainment and art: the former serves an existing emotional vocabulary, while the latter expands it. This distinction made it challenging for him to collaborate in the band format, which seeks to inspire musical action through thought and consensus. The entertainer’s approach to music making can be meticulous, fragmented, and often overthought. Art, however, takes a different approach: it inspires thought through action. And in the late 2010s, inspired by his free jazz heroes, he discarded his practical rock n’ roll education in favor of creating his own musical language.
This new methodology led to years of improvisation-based music under the name Grey Heaven Grey Earth, a body of work that prioritizes sound, spells, and (dare we say) prayer over conventional song structures. Exploration was the driver, and nothing was off-limits. Not even visual art, of which a large parallel body exists. His research in synthesis, field recording, and sampling has created a musical language that includes everything from vast instrumental soundscape albums to acid jazz fusion mixtapes.
The introduction of a drum machine quickly transformed his cinematic sounds into hip-hop beats, scratching a long held creative itch. And his return to the live stage after COVID saw Grey Heaven Grey Earth transformed into an avant-garde hip-hop project, fronted by Toronto MC Matthew “Raleal” Carter, called Golden Ohms. This new sound swiftly caught the attention of friends in both film and fashion, leading Patrick to score his first film, a short drama called Shadow Box, blending deep, ambient drone music with hip-hop.
It’s not about standing still and becoming safe. If anybody wants to keep creating, they have to be about change.
– Miles Davis
