I have always found it difficult to write a bio, to share the story that is both impactful and wanted by those that may value me as an artist, a writer, DJ, creative, or whatever else it may be. Over the years I have gotten to some bits of writing that did a decent job, but I was always compromising a bit, trying to fit the mold that works for the industry, or for everyone. It is not me. I do not like fluff being associated to me or even said to me. Every bit of me desires to be completely honest, completely genuine, even when it does not make me look good. Even when it turns people away.

So, here I am

My name is Matthew, I am 33, and my artist moniker is 2dreamagain. Between2Clouds is an art project which I am the creator, curator, and keeper of it, but it is essentially collaborative at its core. At first it was my artist name, but as I made my first events, people resonated with it so much that I gave up the name for us all to share. I will share the story of how the name came to be sometime. It is beautiful.

Nearly every event by Between2Clouds has been one of my ideas, where I did the extreme majority of the work behind the scenes, and made everything happen. Every step of the process from inspiration to venue negotiations, budgets, deals, teams, bookings, performing myself, marketing, everything you can think of. Also alongside this insane amount of work, I was supported directly by various friends and people over the years with their efforts, energy, presence, and occasionally money.

I have curated nearly 350 events of varying mediums, at dozens of venues, in multiple cities in the USA and beyond, since the fall of 2018. Thousands of people have been to the Between2Clouds happenings. They have taken place at warehouses, on rooftops, in a manor, on beaches, in artsy eclectic spaces, at concert venues, in the middle of the woods off grid, in the desert, and plenty more interesting spaces.

During that time I have also produced music, with no musical background. I always prioritized the events over my own direct art, because it was always clear to me that the “us” was always more important than the “me”. I have followed that idea strictly for a long time, even when it specifically did not benefit me, even requiring great sacrifice many times. I have put my money and efforts where my mouth is, risking everything I have many times over to bring people together in ways that I thought are beautiful, healthy, and abundant for everyone socially. I have booked and paid hundreds of artists of different mediums, provided platforms for many, opportunities, connections, and more. I did this all while working to improve in my own right as an artist. I put myself on the backburner for most of this time until now. Recently though, I have given myself more time and space to focus on me, to improve my craft, to believe in myself, and to see what the world had for me. I will be releasing an album soon, in May of 2025. It will be my first music release. No crazy marketing strategy or schema, no label deals, just sharing my music and a bit of story with whoever wants to sit with me for a bit. Also, I want to be able to listen to my own music on playlists sometimes, selfishly 🙃

I will never be able to claim that I am especially talented with audio engineering, music theory, music production, music creation, instrumentation, anything really. I am decent at a lot, and that is likely where I will always be with it. With writing, my potential may be a bit more. With DJing, my technical skillsets are okay, I am never trying to impress with the button touching, but I firmly believe my taste and flow is incredible. I am also starting to be able to flow and curate in an overwhelmingly genuine and empathetic way that I am grateful for. I approach sets poetically, trying to piece together both what I am feeling, what the environment is calling for within my style, and what connects with whoever is around me. It has been many hundreds, maybe thousands of hours to get to this point. In business and events, I scrape by with the marketing, plans, etc. I am not a business person, I just try to do a good enough job to make the art and togetherness happen in a way that is my best attempt at beauty. I have done quite well on many events though, and can hold my own in understanding and applying this experience.

My DJ library consists of over 3000 songs, almost all of which I have handpicked individually, paid for to support the artists directly, and only ever bought music I truly enjoy. I would go even further to say that the majority of this library is music that I feel personally protective of, in the sense that I only play it when it feels like its the right time to. There is music that took years to play for the first time, that I have wanted to and loved every day, but it was not the right moment that represented the song as purely as I love it. To go deeper, in this library is music from all corners of the planet including artists of various personalities, intentions, stories, and ways of living. Some artists have a few hundred people on the planet that listen to any of their music. Others, millions. If I play a song in a DJ set and it does not feel right, like I should not be the person playing that song, I do not play it anymore. That is even if I love hearing it and the people respond well. I only play the music that I feel deeply connected to and that I feel completely confident to be the one sharing. I mean every word I am saying, and it is how I think and act while DJing.

I am the favorite DJ of many of my friends, and enjoyed beyond, but truthfully, I do not have a large following that just values me for that. I do not get booked often, although I make the effort to be. I think my taste and skillsets are worthy of that kind of attention, but I do not play the industry games. I do not compromise on what feels deeply right, beautiful, and like the best use of my time. I am completely honest with everyone as I do so. It is what it is. Whoever happens to stumble upon what I do, enjoy it, and keep up with me for it, I am honored to be valued in such a way. Whoever provides me an opportunity that fits what I can provide beautifully, I put all of myself into.

My goal is not success, big states, money, accolades, any of that, it is to be completely honest, sincere, genuine, to share what I find to be beautiful, to try my best, and to live a beautiful life while doing so. I focus on that and I do not stray away. There is no head nodding or shoulder rubbing. There is no sell. There is no game-plan. There is no strategy. I work to be a beautiful person, to impact people in wonderful ways, to share what I find to be beautiful, to provide my best attempt at creating beautiful things, and to live in a beautiful way that is genuine to what feels right to me.

To maybe even simplify further, my goal is to do my part and to contribute the beauty and value I am able to for all of us. I do hope one day all of the effort and sharing can take care of me a bit more too.

As for my personal life, it has been quite interesting for both my own experience and for those that know it. There are many stories. I have travelled a fair bit, mostly throughout Latin America and across the United States. I have dozens of close friends that I share the knowledge of my struggles with, and the fruit of my successes. I am told I am loved nearly every day by at least a couple different people, sometimes more. Much of this and much else is a reflection of how far off the beaten path that my steps have taken me. At this point, I have not seen the path ahead for years. It is all untapped, unknown. Sometimes I do not know where I will be sleeping the next night, what country I will be in the next month, or otherwise. I live on very, very little money. 90% of what I spend on is food. I mostly consume eggs, basic meats/fish, vegetables, coffee. I am extremely frugal. I live out of a backpacking backpack, a regular backpack, and a couple small bags most of the time. I go to wherever the next free place opens up with a bed and space to exist for a bit. It kinda just goes - I ask around, put it out there, live, and see what happens. Usually things line up pretty smoothly and I have been able to stay at some pretty awesome places. The discomforts of each place varies quite drastically. I keep it easy, adapt, and do not ask for much. I like a lot of people and am quite understanding, so we make it work.

Wherever I end up, I try to make the world around me a bit better, however I can provide value in the ways I am best suited. I try to bring my friends and other folks together through music and art, I am there emotionally for folks, give my feedback on their projects, and am generally enjoyed by people. I am honest to everyone as I do this and genuinely care that they are having a good experience of life, even when I am not around. There is only but so much I can do, but I do what I can and try to involve folks in my life in ways that empower them.

I take each day one at a time, doing what feels the most right, working on what is available to me, and that I think is my best use of time. As for my own enjoyment, I keep it simple. I drink a cup of coffee every morning, listen to music, talk to people, walk, dance around whenever I feel the calling, and spend time with people I enjoy. I rarely do any kind of consumption whether that is alcohol or otherwise, and I do not eat much that is not vital. I do thoroughly enjoy my moments where I partake in a pastry, usually chocolate.

Currently, I am going through a major, long phase of healing. I have dealt with some unfortunately quite traumatic circumstances a few times over. Things I did not deserve, but that is life sometimes. It seems like I am always in a phase of healing a bit, but this one is especially so. I do not take any time for granted, as all things are precious. None of us know just how many more minutes we have left, so I take that seriously. I will risk a lot over and over to honor that I am a finite, temporary. I am one person of 8 billion, a drop in the ocean. I cannot claim any special considerations or value in the larger sense, I am just trying to do a good job and do my part, feel good good along the way. I have struggled with health issues my entire life too, nobody would know unless I told them. Mental health, absolutely. I was diagnosed with major depressive disorder at a young age. I have proper, diagnosed CPTSD. I struggle desperately with ADHD. I do not exaggerate with my words.

And this is only a small, small part. Both wonderful, good, bad, and devastating. It has been a long 33 years and I have lived many, many lifetimes within them. I have seen myself be incredibly kind, generous, sweet, forgiving, as well as cruel, harsh, and spiteful. Fortunately, almost all of the time, especially nowadays, it is the loving. I have succeeded greatly by many metrics at times, and failed miserably at others. I have tried with everything I have, every hour of every day for months, and other times accomplished nothing in months. I have fought, ran, hid, arrived, erupted, sat still, everything. I have been right and stood up for it valiently, standing my ground firmly no matter the cost, and I have also done the opposite. There are few people or behaviors that I can judge anymore, because I have either done it myself or I have seen enough to know life can be complicated, and that we all feel differently.

I still mess up. I mess up all the time. Mistakes, moments, words, everything. I own that, recognize it, and always try to become better. My response to noticing I could have been better is to work on that part of me, or that part of my life that caused that. I do not just say words, I mean them, and I back them with action. That is something I wish the world provided me a bit more of, and truthfully, that has caused me great suffering in my life. Well wishes, big words, ideas, promises, love letters, more, where I was so appreciative to receive the words, but so heartbroken to see the actions not match.

My friend, I could tell you so much more. I have so many cool stories of the things I have gotten to do, places I have travelled, people I have met, about falling in love, taking risks, a lot. A lot a lot. So many lessons learned that I want to share. I plan to share all of it over time with complete honesty. I have started to do so in various ways which are mostly all listed on this website above. Through the music I share in DJ sets, the photos, the people’s words to me, the writings on substack, and soon my album. Below though, I have started a new project that is pretty simple. I get my phone recording, pick up this little microphone, and I reflect and talk. I do not force anything and I only share what I know to be true. It is unfiltered, unapologetic, and it is well intended. I have no hopes or dreams for any of what I do to become popular, or really for anyone to partake in it.

My desire is to share thoroughly, honestly, and what I find to be beautiful or deeply human in some way. To make my effort to connect as deeply and genuinely as I am able with whoever happens to click with me in a way that works for both of us.

Please be good to yourself. I want you to know I understand how difficult it can be. That life is temporary and that yours matters. That you are capable of having good friends, good stories, good moments, and that I want you to experience a beautiful life. I want you to know that at least one person cares deeply that you are being honest, that you are trying, that you are growing, and that you are supported while doing so. I can only offer but so much, mostly through my creations, but I want you to know I do this for us, so we can be together, seeing eye to eye, existing alongside each other on the same team.

Thank you for your time.

With love, Matthew.