Emperor X

Chad R. Matheny, known professionally as Emperor X, is an American singer and songwriter.

Emperor X
Matheny in 2016
Background information
Born1979
Louisville, Kentucky
OriginJacksonville, Florida, United States
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • keyboard
  • vocals
Years active1998–present
Labels
Associated acts
  • The Cadets
  • Applied Communications
  • Beatcancel
  • Neosporin
Websitewww.emperorx.net

Early life and career

Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1979,[2] Matheny got his start in music when he was given a Casio SK-1 by his grandparents at age nine, and recorded his first album on a Tascam four-track before the age of 20.[3]

Matheny tours across the United States regularly and performs around the world as well, including tours in Mexico, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the European Union.[4]

In a self-described attempt to "address the diminishing utility of physical copies of music and the expanding role of marketing in the experience of art",[5] Matheny often hides or buries one-off physical copies and associated visual artwork of b-sides at GPS coordinates and posts them online as a part of a geocaching game to unlock MP3 copies of the audio. For the release of the 2011 Emperor X album Western Teleport, 41 "translucent purple audio cassettes" were buried across North America, many of which remain undiscovered. This received a feature on NPR's "Weekend Edition" program.[6]

In 2014, Matheny wrote the song "Don't Change Color, Kitty" for 99% Invisible, based on Françoise Bastide and Paolo Fabbri's concept of a millennia-long nuclear waste warning message in the form of a folk song about genetically engineered cats. Matheny wrote it to be "so catchy and annoying that it might be handed down from generation to generation over a span of 10,000 years".[7]

Personal life

Matheny is a former high school science teacher,[8] and in 2004 he stopped his pursuit of a master's degree in physics in order to dedicate his career to music.[9]

Matheny is a testicular cancer survivor and is legally blind.[10][11]

Discography

Full-length albums
  • The Joytakers' Rakes/Stars on the Ceiling, Pleasantly Kneeling (1998, self-released)
  • Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip on an Edgeless Platform (2004, Discos Mariscos) [3]
  • Central Hug/Friendarmy/Fractal Dunes (2005, Discos Mariscos)
  • The Blythe Archives Volumes One and Two (2009, Burnt Toast Vinyl/self-released)
  • Western Teleport (2011, Bar/None Records)
  • Nineteen Live Recordings (2013, Plan-It-X Records)
  • The Orlando Sentinel (2014, The Bomber Jacket) [12]
  • Oversleepers International (2017, Tiny Engines)

EPs and singles
  • Wuss/Strike/River/Preacher/Magnet/God/Unwuss (2006)
  • Dirt Dealership 7" (2007)
  • Defiance (for Elise Sunderhuse) (2010)
  • Wasted on the Senate Floor (2016)

Tour-only releases
  • Gasheater/Raytracer (2004)
  • East Coast and Freedom From/Freedom To (2004)
  • Everyone in Jacksonville (2006)
  • Australia Tour Tape (2010)
  • Several New Songs in Various Digital Formats (2011)

References
  1. "Tiny Engines biography page". Tiny Engines.
  2. "Emperor X: Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip on an Edgeless Platform". Pitchfork. July 1, 2004. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  3. Ubl, Sam. "Tectonic Membrane/Thin Strip on an Edgeless Platform Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  4. Matheny, Chad. "A POORLY-FORMATTED BUT COMPLETE LST OF EVERY EMPEROR X PERFORMACE EVER SO FAR". Emperor X Official Website. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  5. Wasoba, Ryan. "Emperor X On Stock Responses And Performative Marketing". Riverfront Times. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  6. "Digging For Tunes With Emperor X". NPR.org.
  7. "Raycats and earworms: How scientists are using colour-changing cats and nursery rhymes to warn future generations of nuclear danger". CityAM. November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  8. Deusner, Stephen. "The Most Underrated Albums of 2011". Salon. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
  9. "Emperor X Biography". Bar None Records.
  10. "Indieheads Podcast interview". YouTube.
  11. Greenspan, Sam. "Emperor X: 'We Are Much More Than The Sum Of The Diseases And Disabilities We Carry'". NPR.org. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
  12. Eakin, Marah. "Emperor X tries to put Orlando on the map (again) with a new single, EP". The AV Club. Retrieved March 2, 2016.
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