Background and career
Syd Matters is a French indie band from Paris, France. The band was formed in 2002, and is fronted by composer Jonathan Morali. Other band members include Jean-Yves Lozac'h, Olivier Marguerit, Rémi Alexandre and Clément Carle.
Syd Matters originally started as a solo project by frontman Jonathan Morali, who started his performing career playing at small bars in 2001. The name Syd Matters comes from the slight modification of the names of two Pink Floyd members, Syd Barrett and Roger Waters. Morali won the inaugural CQFD contest in 2002, ran by French magazine Les Inrockuptibles, which earned him a recording contract with Third Side Records. Morali's first release as Syd Matters was Fever In Winter, Shiver In June, an EP released in 2002.
In 2003, Syd Matters released their debut album A Whisper and A Sigh. The album was mostly done by Morali solo with some help from others. After this album was released, Morali constructed a new quintet of bandmates, marking the band's official creation sometime in 2004. That same year, the band would record the second Syd Matters album, Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles, released in 2005. A mixture of folk and melancholic pop, the tracks combined slow melodies with acoustic instruments while holding true to roots in electronic music. A duet with Ane Brun, titled "Little Lights", was released in 2005 on Brun's collaborative album Duets. In 2006, a self-titled compilation CD containing various songs from the band's first two albums was released in America.
The band released their third album Ghost Days in 2008, and their fourth album Brotherocean in 2010. During this time, Morali was also part of the French rock band the Palmtree Family. In 2015, the band's songs "To All Of You" and "Obstacles" were featured in the 2015 video game Life Is Strange. Morali would also be the composer for the game's original soundtrack as well as its 2018 sequel Life Is Strange 2.
In 2021, in celebration of the record label's 20th anniversary, Third Side Records released new editions of A Whisper and A Sigh and Someday We Will Foresee Obstacles, which included bonus tracks and previously unreleased demos on the digital versions.
In November 2024, the band performed a new song titled "The Holy Ghost" during an appearance on the Radio France station France Culture. The band also announced they were recording new songs. In November 2025, the band's social media became active again, with the band announcing a show at L'Olympia for November 2026. In March 2026, Morali announced the band would be having additional Europe tour dates from October to December 2026. On 29 April 2026, the band released the song "Many Years in the Making", their first new music release in over 15 years. A month later on 28 May, the song "Nuclear" was released. On 4 June, the band announced their fifth album A Gospel of Some Sort with a release date of September 4, 2026.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
