Keizer-native Matty Almendinger is known by millions as YouTuber Matty Tingles.
What many may not know is that Matty Tingles, an ASMR content creator, has also released multiple rap and hip-hop albums under the moniker Matty, with his most recent album, Not Supposed to Be Here, dropping July 12, after an eight-year hiatus.
Anticipating the release of his album, Matty plans to showcase the album single and music video for I’m Him on July 5, on Amazon, Apple music and Spotify.
Matty noted that the accompanying music video was created with the help of Riley Brown, a Portland-based video producer and photographer who directed the music video, Judgement Day, features former Portland Blazers star, Damian Lillard.
The album, Not Supposed to Be Here, will be available on most music streaming platforms.
Growing up in Keizer, Matty attended Clear Lake Elementary, Whiteaker Middle School and graduated from McNary High School in 2006.
Making friends through sports or the yearbook and AV clubs, Matty described how, throughout his life, music, particularly rap and hip-hop has been a constant.
This love of music inspired Matty to, a year after graduating high school begin a stream of self-released, solo-produced albums.
Matty released eight albums over the next seven years.
Despite his love for music, the albums did not pay the bills, requiring Matty to undertake a variety of jobs at places like a mortgage company and an Apple store.
He took a break from music and in 2015 began creating content for YouTube.
Starting as a way to upload his thoughts or travels and share with friends, his career took off, more or less, overnight, according to Matty.
Starting with two videos that garnered only a handful of views, his third video accrued around 170,000 views in a single night.
Today, his primary YouTube channel, Matty Tingles, boasts almost 700,000 subscribers while his TikTok channel has 500,000 followers.
His alternate channel More Matty Tingles, a travel-oriented video diary, has around 50,000.
Matty’s largest channel, Matty Tingles, is all about Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response or ASMR.
ASMR is the experience of tingling sensations in the crown of the head someone has in response to a range of audio-visual triggers such as whispering, tapping and hand movements, according to a 2018 National Institutes of Health study.
The sensory manipulation trend has become quite popular in mainstream culture, with this form of sensory media often utilized by people trying to relax.
Matty noted that, outside of the potential for fame and fiscal compensation, his main reason for making videos relies on the response of his audience.
“I get emails and messages every day that are like, ‘I’m going through something terrible and your videos have helped me get through that’ or I’ve had people say, ‘I was going to do something very bad to myself but now I’m going to get through it,” Matty stated.
“Once you start getting to that level where it’s actually helping people, it’s kind of hard to stop,” Matty finished.
For inspiration, Matty discussed the videos of Casey Niestat, a New York-based YouTube content creator who focuses on making videos about life in New York City.
Matty’s inspiration for his newest album has to do with, in part, the loss of his father in 2018 from cancer as well as losing two of his best friends in 2022 within several months of each other.
“This is the first album in eight years that I’ve done and to be honest, I didn’t think I would do it again with the success that I found but, for me personally, a lot of life has happened in the last eight years,” Matty said.
“When dramatic stuff happens it’s always on your mind and [the album] just kind of clicked one day. I actually have something to talk about.”
Matty’s goal for the album is to highlight the struggles that come with loss, dealing with mental health, maintaining self-confidence and a variety of other relatable issues.
The album, ideally, will also act as a “coming out” of sorts for the content creator.
“It is really interesting, because while millions of people know me, they don’t know me for that. I’m usually whispering. I’m quiet. This is abrasive and loud,” Matty said.
“Most musicians try to grow an audience through their music. I grew the audience first.”
Contact Quinn Stoddard
[email protected] or 503-390-1051
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