Matthew Koma Says He’s Not ‘Ready’ to Write Winnetka Bowling League Songs About Fatherhood or Marriage (Exclusive)

The father of three and husband to Hilary Duff opens up to PEOPLE about the making of the Winnetka Bowling League’s debut album, “Sha La La.”

• Matthew Koma’s band Winnetka Bowling League has released its debut album, Sha La LaMay 31

• The album shows Koma reflecting on his early twenties and getting hyper specific about his life.

• The band will tour later in June, shortly after Koma and his wife Hilary Duff welcomed their third daughter, Townes, last month.

More than a decade after the start of his career, Matthew Koma’s debut album is finally here.

On May 31, the multi-hyphenate group of musicians and producers Winnetka Bowling League, also featuring Koma’s brother Kris Mazzarisi and Sam Beresford, released their debut album. Sha La Laa thoughtful collection of songs summarizing the frontman’s experience in his twenties.

The alternative project comes from the perspective of Koma, now 37, the father of three daughters – Banks Violet, 5, Mae James, 3, and Townes, born in May – shared with his wife Hilary Duff, who also has a son Luca Cruz, 12 years old. , from a previous marriage.

Related: Hilary Duff Celebrates Husband Matthew Koma’s Birthday One Month After Welcoming Their Fourth Baby

Sha La La was released just weeks after the couple welcomed Townes, which means Koma’s May has been pretty eventful — but which of the milestones was the most anticipated? “Well, I’ve had babies before, but I haven’t released an album,” Koma jokes to PEOPLE. “That being said, definitely the baby.”

Koma first rose to fame in the world of dance music, with hits such as Zedd and Foxes’ “Clarity” as a songwriter in 2012 and Tiësto’s “Wasted” as a vocalist in 2014. After releasing various singles and EPs as a solo artist, he launched the Winnetka Bowling League in 2018 and completed a few other abbreviated projects as the group found its footing in the COVID pandemic.

The debut album took a while to arrive, but he’s glad he was able to grow before bringing a full-length project into the world. “The best way to put it is I feel like you can try on a bunch of T-shirts before you decide which one you’re going to buy and you’re like, cool, that’s the fit, now I know which color I absolutely don’t want, and I know this one is too tight,” says Koma.

Related: Hilary Duff Welcomes Her Fourth Baby, Daughter Townes, With Husband Matthew Koma: “Pure Moments of Magic”

“It’s just a little bit more like we’re able to say, ‘OK, we’ve arrived at the identity of this thing,’ which is cool,” he adds. “It’s really nice to have a little bit bigger body and feel like there’s a little more you can sink your teeth into.”

Throughout his career, Koma has made music with numerous collaborators, in several genres and under the management of several labels. With Winnetka Bowling League, he had the chance to streamline his sound so that it sounded natural to him.

“It’s a really confusing process to then try to go back and say, ‘I want to do things that look like me – what am I?’ I don’t know, it seems like these people here are telling me that It is me, and I always think I grew up listening to Elvis Costello on Squeeze and stuff,” he says. “When we started (the band), it was like, ‘Cool, clean slate.’ Let’s just operate on our instinct: “Is this something I want to publish?” »

Related: Hilary Duff’s Husband Matthew Koma Undergoes Vasectomy as She Prepares to Welcome Baby No. 4

The process resulted in an album that only Koma could have made, as the project features hyper-specific lyrics about his experiences, from listening to Anderson .Paak while ordering food from a Halal cart to Dawson Creek plot points and not worry about astrology.

“It was fun to pause and think about some of the things that brought us here – or, selfishly, brought me here – in life and to feel somehow able to survive, whether it s “It’s about body dysmorphia or mental health,” says Koma, who has previously spoken about her experience with an eating disorder.

Some topics, however, were not on the table when he wrote it Sha La La. “I’m not really ready, or I don’t think I’ll ever be hungry, to talk to an audience about fatherhood or being a great husband. They’re just not the songs I’ve ever heard and I’m like, ‘I want to listen to this over and over again,’ and I don’t really want to share that part,” he adds.

Related: Matthew Koma Celebrates 4th Wedding Anniversary With Wife Hilary Duff: ‘I Love You So Much’

At some point in the future, Koma may feel ready to write about Duff and their children, but now is not the time. “So many songs I’ve written, it’s like you’re writing about war while you’re at war, and it’s nice to be a little removed from it now and be able to both justify the feelings that person had when I was in it and also appease it a little bit,” he says of crafting the lyrics from a reflective perspective.

Now that the album is out in the world, the Winnetka Bowling League is preparing to hit the road later this month for a North American tour that will last through the end of July. Despite Koma’s love of performing live, he didn’t really intend to travel with a newborn at home when planning the concerts.

“I don’t want to leave,” admits the artist, who plans to return home between shows to spend time with his family. “We plan things differently now than when we were 18 and touring for six months straight.”

With a schedule adjusted to accommodate fatherhood, the tour will be worth it for Koma, who hasn’t played a long run of Winnetka Bowling League shows in about two years.

“An hour and twenty minutes on stage is the rule. It’s the best,” he says, excited to spend time with fans and his brother on the road. “I think having (Kris) with us is probably one of the only things that keeps me sane and capable when we’re on tour. It’s like, “Okay, we’re continuing what we’ve been doing since we were 2 years old.” » But it’s hard to be away, that’s for sure.

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