X-Factor winner Reece Mastin chats with AARON BRYANS about the growth of his career since winning the reality TV show and the evolution of his music ahead of his upcoming release, The Wolf In The Woods, and a tour which brings him to the Astor Theatre on Friday, September 12.
2011 was a huge year for South Australian Reece Mastin; who at the age of 17 won the TV talent show, X-Factor.
With a management and recording contract with Sony Music Australia, Mastin left his school days behind to pursue his dream as a musician.
“I didn’t end up finishing school so if this doesn’t work out I’m kind of stuffed,” Mastin laughs. “I was actually still in school when I started the show. I went from five days at school to touring the country, so it was a massive change but I think I’d much prefer that then school.”
For a Year 12 student, reality TV can be a demanding concept. However, Mastin’s drive and avoidance of backstage drama kept him focused on his musical goals and his winning pursuit.
“I just didn’t really get involved in it,” Mastin explains. “I think I just said things very plainly. I didn’t want to bitch, I didn’t want to get in anyone’s face or annoy anyone. I just gave the yes and no’s that they needed. I think that’s the best way to go about that side of things is to just be yourself and don’t over exaggerate anything.”
With the show behind him, Mastin would go on to release two studio albums that spawned four ARIA platinum singles. As Mastin continued to evolve his music he pushed for a shift from mainstream pop to rock and thus his new album, Wolf In The Woods, was born.
“I’d expect to hear something we haven’t heard for a while. Hopefully it’s going to be refreshing to have something that doesn’t technically have a synth or a digital bar in it. It’s got a proper drum kit, a proper band on it and crazy good musicians as well. It’s definitely an exciting album and I think musos will really love it and hopefully the fans will get into the nitty gritty of rock’n’roll.”
“There’s been some small changes throughout the last two years but this last year for me has been a massive one. I’ve really established what I want to do in music and really push the rock side because that is me, and in these songs you can kind of hear it. It’s really me, it’s really rock and I’m loving it at the moment.”
With youth on his side and a musical passion developed from the age of 12, Mastin won’t slow down until he reaches his full potential, taking as much experience as he can along the way.
“That’s the thing that’s cool about music,” he notes, “the older you get, the more experience you get and the better your music is going to be. Hopefully over the years I’m going to keep progressing the sound but sticking true to me. There’ll obviously be some big changes or even minor changes, but hopefully we can keep evolving and making the music better.
“There’s a big buzz for the tour so hopefully we’ll get some people out there and they’ll really enjoy the show and it’ll be a lot of fun and people seem to be really excited about it.”
