Matt Sephton performs Vā - eleven tracks made in Samoa from field recordings, hydrophone explorations, and live collaborations - in an intimate listening event with live electronics.
Matt Sephton is a producer and sound explorer based in Te Tara o Te Ika / Coromandel, Aotearoa New Zealand. Known for his bass-heavy music and raw dancefloor energy as Matt Rapid, he is now shifting focus to work under his own name - marking a deliberate move toward music that is more personal, more place-based, and more deeply rooted in the world around him. Vā, his debut full-length album (March 2026), is a sonic journal of place, time, and connection. Created during a 2025 residency at the Tiapapata Art Centre, Upolu, Samoa, it is woven from field recordings, hydrophone explorations, found sounds, and bass-heavy electronic production. Across eleven tracks, Sephton explores the Polynesian concept of vā - the relational space between people, sounds, and world: not empty, but alive with connection. Collaborators include Tau'ili'ili Alpha Maiava on Samoan nose flute, Ghanaian papermaker Awal Muhammed on spoken word, and Samoan producer Ben Percival on patē drums and Fala.
