Matt and Michael Susong grew up learning music alongside each other in High Point. But it wasn't until after their dad passed away in 2017 that they really started writing and recording as a duo.
They call themselves susong, and their first EP, 'We Are All In This Together," got people's attention for its emotional honesty and layered sound.
Now the brothers are back with their second EP out this Friday called "Matae," a name that means "to give up" or "to surrender." The brothers spoke with WFAE's Nick de la Canal about their latest collaboration.
On discovering music as kids
Nick de la Canal: You guys have talked about how your dad was a big influence on you both and how he would bring home instruments for you guys to try out. Do either of you remember the first one that really clicked for you?
Matt Susong: He tried to get us to learn guitar, and wanted to teach us guitar, and it just never took until I went to a camp and learned 'Glycerine' from a friend of mine on an acoustic guitar and came home and was like, 'Look what I can do!' And then it kind of took off from there.
Michael Susong: Yeah, I took a little bit longer. ... We had a piano at the house. He had an accordion or harmonium or whatever, which I liked to play around with, but again, I didn't want to learn anything from Dad. But one day I asked Matt to teach me something, and he taught me, 'Today' by The Smashing Pumpkins ... That intro was the first thing I ever learned, and I was hooked from there.
And then we played music at the same time for many, many years, but literally never together, I don't think, until after he passed away — like days after the funeral, we sat down and started working on a song together. And we were like, 'Why did this take so long?'
On their new single, "Maiden Name"
Nick: Matt, you write the lyrics. What's the story behind the song?
Matt: 'Maiden Name,' like a lot of the songs on the EP, is a bit about relationships as you get more mature ... It's very much about dominance in a relationship where we've all grown up with like a patriarchy of Mr. and Mrs. 'the last name of the man.'
But a lot of times, it goes both ways. There are dominant relationships where a female is more assertive in a relationship. So that was just something I wrote down. It was like, why not call it Mr. and Mrs. Maiden Name?
On how they collaborate
Nick: Once you have a rough idea for the song, you send it to Michael, right?
Matt: Right. I usually write the verse, chorus, get the bones together, and then I send a voice note to Michael.
Michael: I'll listen to it a bunch of times, throw some of them away, pick a couple that are really, really good and usually there are parts in it that maybe I would move around. I'll be like, the thing that you think is the verse is actually your chorus. And it just genuinely starts ping ponging back and forth, and it becomes this hilarious 'version 39 most final cut.'
Nick: Yeah, the two of you have said that figuring out when a song is finished can be sometimes a lively debate. What does that look like and who usually wins?
Matt: Michael.
Michael: I would say you usually win too, which is funny ... Usually, if I can close my eyes and I can listen to it and nothing annoys me — like nothing jumps out at me and says 'that's wrong,' that's usually when it's done for me.
On "You Can't Stay Here Forever"
Nick: Matt, this song feels like it's about change and letting go. What was going through your mind as you were writing this?
Matt: This is more personal than the other three, I think, and it kind of taps into what I think is one of my best qualities but also one of the worst qualities that I have — or the worst quality — which is where someone is thinking, 'I don't care if I win. I only care if you lose.' So that's where the lyric says, 'I'll bring this house down on the both of us, and I'll wait it out.' It's more about an exploration of self and what you don't like about yourself.
On choosing the title "Matae"
Nick: The title of the EP, 'Matae,' is Japanese, I believe, for 'to give up' or 'to surrender.' Why that word? What does that mean to each of you?
Michael: Matt and I connect over movie quotes. We can almost speak entire conversations in movie quotes ... and 'Bloodsport' was one of our favorite movies growing up.
Matt: Is — is one of them.
Michael: Yeah, should be anyone's top. But you know where he gets — in the final fight — gets the guy to submit by saying, 'matae!' And I hadn't thought about it for years and years and years.
But I was starting to watch this show 'The Bear,' and they harken back to that quote when some of the brothers in the Fak family are fighting or whatever and they, 'Say Matae! Say it!' And I was like, 'Oh, there!' And it brought back a flood of things, and for some reason, we had just been working on this album where a lot of the lyrics and the themes were about surrendering and giving up, and his name is Matt and it's 'matae' and it has this movie connection.
Honestly, I called him. I think it was like 1 a.m. — which you should never do with somebody who has kids — and I'm like, 'It's Say Matae! It's Say Matae!'
And he was like, 'Maybe we drop the "say." And then it just worked out perfectly.
On why they keep coming back to make music
Nick: You both have day jobs, families, full lives outside of this. What keeps you coming back to make music together?
Michael: For me, Matt is what keeps me coming back right now. Even when I lost that musical spark, the spark of the relationship means more to me than the music at this point in my life ... I hope we keep doing this and maybe I'll drag him into the next one.
Matt: You think you're not gonna do it again and then you start a new song and it's incredibly exciting again, and then you feel like a push to finish it. And then you're like, well, that was cool. I don't know if I'll do it again. And then you do it again. It's a fantastic bad habit to have.
Susong's new EP, "Matae," is out Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, on Spotify. Tracks include "Broken French," "Maiden Name," "Tethered," and "You Can't Stay Here Forever."
