Norwegian DJ-producer Tom Straete Lagergren is making a big name for himself in the music industry. The name? MATOMA. The Flisa-native grew up in Europe, on a balanced diet of classical rap, ABBA and The Beatles. After becoming âinternet famousâ with a Notorious B.I.G. âOld Thing Backâ remix, Matoma has received international critical-acclaim. Now, Matoma is known for his summery tropical house mash-ups of songs by talent the likes of Kygo and Felix Jaehn.
Intro: Camden Gaultney
Photographer: Lauren Engel
Interview: Mike Greene
How do you feel your childhood affected the way you create and produce music today?
I think it affects me in many ways, especially in the creative process and believing in myself and believing in the decisions I take when improving a track. There is a lot happening. You have to keep asking: is this good enough? When I was a kid, I started playing the piano. I got good criticism; people told me what was nice and what I needed to be better on. People have always supported me, which is big. In Norway, if you come from a good family with the right morals, you donât have so much pressure. You have free health care and school systems. So, if you want to try out music for a year, you can.
So, your parents were totally cool with you producing music and being a DJ?
In the beginning, I didnât want to become a DJ. But when I applied for music school and I was introduced to the college community, I saw people DJ-ing there and I became interested.
Do you think if you hadnât gone to college, you wouldnât be where you are today?Â
No. I went to music school for Music Technology and Production. I learnt so much about myself and about aesthetic choices and about being structured in doing tasks. Because to produce a track, you can have the right melodies and influence and inspiration to get down the melody, but you need to know the techniques to take yourself from the demo to a full-production. I learnt all of this in school.
What do you think youâd be doing if you hadnât gone to school? Do you ever think about it?
I would have probably gone to the army or I would have gone to some other school. But luckily, I got in to music school and now, four years later, Iâm here.
Did you have any mentors at school?
I had a professor when I wrote my bachelor thesis.
“I think I have inspired a lot of kids in Flisa there to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. When Iâm back in Norway, I always try to go to schools and to talk about morals and to be true to yourself and to not talk bullshit to others.”
Did he help you afterwards when making music?
No, now I donât have any mentors. But, he helped me a lot when I was at the college.
What kind of music do your parents listen to and do you think that influenced you at all?
Of course! Especially, what my big brother listened to: he listened to old school hip hop. Also my mom. She listened to ABBA and she liked the Beatles.
Do you ever play that into your music today?
I donât. But, thatâs mainly because the quality back then wasnât as good.
In terms of the sounds, not the actual music?
In terms of the sounds! There is a lot of noise in old vocal recordings and it’s also very hard to find acapellas. When I produce music, I want it to sound like a new song. I think the main reason why people like my music is because it doesnât sound like an original mash-up or a remix. It sounds like a totally different song.
I agree with that! Are you a home-town hero back in Flisa?
I think I have inspired a lot of kids in Flisa there to follow their dreams and believe in themselves. When Iâm back in Norway, I always try to go to schools and to talk about morals and to be true to yourself and to not talk bullshit to others. You can be really good in math and I can be really good in music; so, you can teach me about math and I can teach you about music.
Do you think that pushes you to the next level being able to go back and inspire these kids as a sort of role model?
Iâm sure a lot of those kids donât think about it in that way. They probably laugh and think: âhe plays piano and Iâm the football star.â But if you think about it, he has the same right to be treated nicely.
Intro: @camdengaultney
Photographer: @engelauren
Interview:@m1kegreene
8 comments
Reading Matomaâs story about how his school mentors and childhood support shaped his path as a producer instantly resonated with me â I also grew up playing music and dreaming big, but it was only after years of side projects that I finally turned my passion into a proper electronic music label. That decision to go professional pushed me to establish the company in Germany for its strong creative scene and stability, which is exactly when opening a business bank account germany became essential. I used the specialists at germanfirma and they made the whole process smooth, fast and fully remote. Now my label runs without friction, payments from platforms and artists arrive cleanly, and I can focus on creating and mentoring young talents just like Matoma does. It turned my personal dream into a real, structured business and gave me the freedom to inspire the next generation without administrative headaches.
The part about school mentors caught my attention. There is a lot of encouragement behind a child continuing with music, and it is good to see the teachers remembered here. I would have liked to hear more about those early lessons.
I noticed the part about being able to try music for a year because school and health care are covered. The cost of getting help deserves more attention in these conversations. This interview does not tell us how that works for everyone, but I would have liked another question about it.
I was interested in the part about free health care giving him room to spend a year on music. The interview does not tell us much about finding a doctor, but that practical side of having support deserves more attention when we talk about creative careers.
His comment about health care stayed with me. He describes having enough security to spend a year trying music, which is a detail I rarely see in artist interviews. I would be interested in a follow-up about the health concerns young musicians face. This interview gives us his experience, rather than evidence about musicians as a group.
I liked the example about one child being good at math and another at music. It gives a teacher something specific to work with. For a Sunday school activity, I would offer a Bible crossword alongside a spoken quiz, so children have another way to take part. That alone cannot tell us how much they have understood.
I would have liked another question about the health care he mentions. Having room to try music for a year depends on practical support too. For someone considering care abroad, even comparing hospitals in Turkey raises questions about follow-up after returning home. His experience in Norway does not tell us how that works elsewhere.
The bit about learning how to take a demo into full production stood out to me, especially his mention of being structured with tasks. Thereâs a useful parallel in vibe coding: Evgenii Arsentev (linkedin.com/in/jake-ars), an AI transformation executive, explains planning before execution and review before delivery for AI agents and AI adoption in companies. His wording, âno agent ships aloneâ, makes sense alongside that sequence. I find the emphasis on planning helpful. It doesnât answer questions of musical taste, but it gives a concrete starting point for thinking about how work gets finished.