Successful Songwriter, Producer on Hunt for Hit Single in Dobbs Ferry Studio

Walk into Dobbs Ferry's and it's like entering a maze and a time capsule at the same time.

First, you're in a shop filled with instruments, sheet music, and all the toys avid musicians crave; wander back a little further, and you're in an old-time theater—the kind of place in which you might expect to hear traditional jazz musicians or watch foreign or silent films.

Go all the way to the back, and you'll find a professional-grade recording studio—complete with a sound board, recording booth and an in-house songwriter and producer who's just waiting for the right talent to meander back to his lair to create the next hit single to top the charts.

Matt Noble has been in the music business for more than 30 years, working as a staff songwriter for such companies as Sony, Chrysalis and W and R Music. He's recorded bands like the Beastie Boys and done vocal recordings for Rihanna and Shontelle.

"Writing and producing music is all about psychology," Noble said, sitting behind his mind-spinningly complex mixing board in Dobbs Ferry. "It's about the relationship between the songwriter and the artist. You have to make the singer trust you so you can write for that artist. That's how great music happens."

Though some of Noble's songs have garnered international fame—"For The Same Man" and "Theme from S'Express", for example—he's still chasing that electrifying hit single, the song he hopes to hear run simultaneously on multiple radio stations or headline the Grammy Awards.

After moving stateside for college—he grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands—Noble joined a band as a student at American University in the '70s. The school had a Moog synthesizer, and Noble immediately realized he was a natural at mixing and recording music. After graduating, he met a man who had a full studio, but a dearth of money; the owner told Noble that if he invested a couple thousand dollars in the studio, he'd give him the keys.

"I figured out the equipment all on my own, and we turned the place into a successful recording studio; I got my investment back and then some."

Once he had the skills as an engineer—the songwriting came to him naturally—Noble partnered with a number of recording studios and was hired by major companies, working on dance music, hip hop and eventually with some well-known bands.

"For artists to have any chance at success, they need to have a vision," Noble said. "They need to be people you can write for because you know who they are, what they stand for."

Now a father of two Edgemont High School alumni who have their own band, Noble smiles watching youtube videos of young recording artists with unlocked potential.

"The reality is that a songwriter makes only $8 per 250,000 hits on youtube," Noble said.

So he's not looking for the next internet sensation. Noble wants to write songs for passionate artists willing to put themselves on the line and make real records in a professional recording studio.

"I write both the music and lyrics for songs, so which comes first is never predictable," he said. "It's really a concept that emerges; and you have to do it in the room with the artist."

Him sitting alone in the studio with his equipment and a cup of black coffee is the equivalent of an aspiring singer walking into an agency with a powerful voice and marketable look but no songs to show for them.

"The internet certainly has made it harder for us to be profitable, but people are still making it," he said. "I'm waiting for that person to come in here really thinking 'I have a shot.'"

Noble has high hopes for his studio—"Riverworks Recording"—in Dobbs Ferry.

"They recently upgraded everything and people constantly say, 'This is amazing,'" Noble said.

Though flabbergasted and flattered to learn—while traveling for a song-writing contest in Poland—that one of his singles from more than 10 years prior was a hit sensation overseas, Noble is tired of delayed success.

"The hit single and pop sensation have been elusive for me," Noble said. "But I think I'll know the right person when he or she walks in the door. Amazing artists like that are still out there. And here we can offer them everything—from basic recording to fully-realized songs."

For more information about Matt Noble and Riverworks Recording, call (914) 693 2309 or email stolenmoments1@optonline.net.