Matilda (Alt-J song)

Last updated

"Matilda"
Alt-J matilda.jpg
Single by Alt-J
from the album An Awesome Wave
B-side "Fitzpleasure"
Released10 January 2012
Recorded2009
Genre
Length3:48
Label Infectious
Songwriter(s) Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury and Thom Green
Producer(s) Charlie Andrew
Alt-J singles chronology
"Bloodflood"
(2011)		"Matilda"
(2012)		"Breezeblocks"
(2012)

"Matilda" is a song by British rock band Alt-J from their debut studio album An Awesome Wave , released on 10 January 2012 as a digital download. It was released as a split single with "Fitzpleasure" on 24 February as a digital download and on 10" triangle-shaped vinyl. It was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury and Thom Green and produced by Charlie Andrew. The song relates to the movie Léon (1994), specifically the relationship between the main character (a hitman) and a young girl called Mathilda. [1] The opening lines are the last ones said by the main character (portrayed by Jean Reno) in the film. The band would later release the song "Leon", a tribute to the main character of the film. The cover image is a photograph of Ball's Pyramid.

Contents

The song has a YouTube video featuring imagery of human faces which steadily morph so that every so often you are looking at a new face. This video contained a self-referential gimmick as at the time of release Alt+J was the shortcut for a YouTube video to rewind 7 seconds which was the perfect amount of time to go from one "finished" facial image to another so you would see a new face each time you pressed it. This no longer is the case as the shortcut is simply J and is now a 10-second skip so it no longer syncs up with the video.

Track listing

Digital download [2]

  1. "Matilda" – 3:48

10" single [3]

  1. "Matilda" – 3:48
  2. "Fitzpleasure" – 3:39

7" single [4]

  1. "Matilda" – 3:48
  2. "Matilda" (Johnson Somerset Radio Mix)

Digital iTunes EP [5]

  1. "Matilda" – 3:48
  2. "Fitzpleasure" – 3:39
  3. "Matilda" (Remix) – 3:49
  4. "Fitzpleasure" (bretonLABS Ghost Remix) – 4:23

Charts

Chart (2012–13)Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders) [6] 59
France (SNEP) [7] 6
UK Singles (OCC) [8] 83
UK Indie (OCC) [9] 7

Certifications

Certifications for Matilda
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI) [10] Silver200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

RegionDateFormatLabel
United Kingdom10 January 2012Digital SingleInfectious
24 February 2012Digital EP, 10" vinyl
10 December 20127" vinyl

References

  1. ↑ "Alt-J (∆) interview - Joe Newman (part 1)". YouTube. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Matilda - Single by alt-J". iTunes. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  3. ↑ "alt-J - Matilda / Fitzpleasure (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "alt-J - Matilda". Discogs. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Matilda / Fitzpleasure - EP by alt-J". iTunes. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  6. ↑ "Alt-J – Matilda" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "Alt-J – Matilda" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Official Independent Singles Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  10. ↑ "British single certifications – Alt-J – Matilda". British Phonographic Industry.
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