The Yard had the opportunity to catch up with doctor-by-day, singer-songwriter-by-night Mat Hunsley to discuss the challenges of breaking into the industry, juggling careers, and his forthcoming debut album.
When beginning their journeys into the music industry, it is commonplace for musicians to hold down day jobs. Kurt Cobain cleaned toilet bowls as a janitor. Jarvis Cocker scrubbed crabs in a fishmonger. Morrissey even worked for Inland Revenue.
Very few, however, have taken the hippocratic oath.
For the majority of his working hours, Newcastle-based musician Mat is Dr Hunsley the GP – a career that has proven equal parts challenging and pivotal to his music career.
“It’s forever a balance but it’s one that I think is quite important for me,” he says.
“I couldn’t do the same thing all of the time, and it’s a juggling act that I’ve become very used to and enamoured with. Having that variety makes the whole thing much more interesting for me.”
Image credit: Mat Hunsley
Hailing from Scunthorpe, Mat moved to Newcastle to study Medicine and never left, with his training providing a unique lens through which to see the world – one that has had a direct impact on his songwriting.
“I get a lot of my ethics and morals from having studied medicine and that’s reflected in a lot of my more recent writing about the bad things that happen in the world, the good things, the way that we love our friends and family, and the way that we try and empathise with other people.
“I spend a lot of my working week reflecting on how fortunate I am, how difficult other people’s lives are, how much I want to help people…” – Mat Hunsley
“I spend a lot of my working week reflecting on how fortunate I am, how difficult other people’s lives are, how much I want to help people – how things happening in other parts of the world must be impacting other people’s mental and physical health.”
Mat took his first steps into the music industry while studying, starting with open mic nights before playing the likes of the Cluny and other mainstays of Newcastle’s grassroots music scene.
It was then that Mick Ross, now CEO of Generator – an organisation that advocates for the North East’s music industry – first showed him the ropes of music production.
What followed was Mat’s debut EP, To Being Free, in November 2016.
“I had absolutely no idea what I was doing back in 2016 and very much relied on other people to even do the bare bones of a recording.
“I was being driven by somebody else’s ideas, perhaps just simply for fear of or a lack of confidence in my own.”
“I was being driven by somebody else’s ideas, perhaps just simply for fear of or a lack of confidence in my own…” – Mat Hunsley
Much has changed in the nearly nine years since – time he has spent honing his production skills.
“It’s had to be a gradual process for me, I don’t think I could have done it any quicker, and that’s not for want of time or trying,” he says in reflection, “I obviously needed to live those nine years to be able to progress in my music.
“The songs are better nowadays, but also the production and the other elements that make songs a bit individual and a bit more special.”
This individuality is something Mat brought to one of his live performances back in May at Three Tanners Bank, North Shields. With a creative take on the typical gig format, fans were given a uniquely intimate experience.
As Mat sits in the centre of the brightly lit room – joined by his band mates, guitarist Ben Helm and singer Emma Robson – the audience choose how to listen – with headphones to hear what’s played through the band’s mics, or without, for an unplugged experience.
This intimacy – epitomised by a half-time break to allow questions from the audience – is a quality that shines through in Mat’s songs, with open tunings and thoughtful songwriting combining like a warm hug.
As his following steadily grows and the music becomes more polished, Mat hopes that he can eventually swap the stethoscope for the mic on a more permanent basis, though he is well aware of the challenges involved.
“At the moment, it’s very much a glorified hobby in terms of the money that you make from music (…). I don’t think it reflects what we can achieve as artists,” he says.
“But what I’d love to do is play more shows. Get outside the North East, meet more people, build a proper loyal fan base that will be engaged for years or decades to come.
“And if that can be achieved through slow, hard grind, as opposed to ‘flash in the pan’ viral, streaming, TikTok, social media success, then I would take that any day of the week.
“It’s taken me a long time to realise that way of doing it is way more important and enjoyable and a better use of your time as an artist, because I’ve spent a long, long time stressing about the nonsense and the numbers, and I don’t think I’m alone in that at all.”
“I’ve spent a long, long time stressing about the nonsense and the numbers, and I don’t think I’m alone in that at all…” – Mat Hunsley
Now working on his forthcoming debut album, Mat updated fans on a recent Instagram post, suggesting completion by the end of August.
Funding from the PRS (Performing Right Society) Foundation has enabled the fleshing out of the album’s tracks with strings and horns, which Mat expects will translate into a ‘more mature and developed’ sound than earlier releases.
“I think it’s just going to be a more lush ‘Mat’ experience, with songwriting that has developed over the years. All I want to achieve is ultimately progress. And so far, I think we’re doing all right.”
Mat’s debut album is currently slated for release in the early months of 2026.