“I grew up listening to a lot of crooners like Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and Michael Bublé,” Matthew Ifield tells Apple Music. “But at the same time, I’m also inspired by contemporary pop artists. I want to have that classic feel but with a contemporary spin on it.” That contrast shines on Ifield’s debut album, one that draws on the traditions of the Great American Songbook, offset by modern influences such as Joji (“She Doesn’t Care”) and Jamiroquai (“Start from Scratch”). Tying it together is the singer’s warm, inviting croon, one that bounces playfully across the bossa nova-inspired “Dinner for Two” and “My Favourite Place to Be,” while gliding atop the swooning strings of “Ready for Love” and lounge jazz of “While the City Sleeps.” Thematically, My Favourite Place to Be focuses on romance and matters of the heart, informed for the most part by a brief but intense relationship. Ifield also draws on inspirations such as K-drama (“Ready for Love”) and short stories (“While the City Sleeps”), contributing to the singer’s knack for penning wonderfully vivid lyrics (“The orange glow of evening warms your skin and calms my heart,” he croons in the title track). For an artist who decided to pursue a career in music after starring in a school performance of The Lion King, Ifield understands the power of drama, as evidenced by the flourishes of strings that open the album. “I wanted to make it feel like a story, like curtains opening,” he offers. Here, Ifield gives Apple Music a guided tour through the chapters of My Favourite Place to Be. “Dinner for Two” “I wanted to capture a moment in time; this very cute moment, sitting with someone that you’re falling in love with, over something as simple as dinner. It’s very different to the rest of the album, but it sets the scene.” “When I Loved You” “At the time of writing this I had gone through a pretty intense relationship. It only went for four weeks, but it was super intense. After that period passed, I kept thinking about the time we spent together and what it all meant, and whether we actually loved each other or if we just loved the moments we spent together. [Writing it] was a pretty emotional experience. I like to pour my heart out onto the page and be really vulnerable.” “Ready for Love” “The idea behind this song is when you fall in love you start second-guessing yourself and getting really nervous and stuttering over your words. You start thinking about whether you’re ready for a relationship. Are you ever going to be ready? And the answer is no. You have to figure it out by actually going for it.” “While the City Sleeps” “Like ‘Dinner for Two’ it’s capturing a moment, where you’re just walking through the city at night while it’s very calm and peaceful. You’re lost in your thoughts and you’re thinking about the relationship that had just passed and whether or not it was you that was the issue or other circumstances. It’s inspired by a short story called The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury.” “Start from Scratch” “This is inspired by Jamiroquai. I feel like it gives Jamiroquai vibes. ‘Start from Scratch’ talks about this desire to restart a relationship all over again and forget about everything that happened; learn from mistakes and try again.” “My Favourite Place to Be” “In the past two years, I’ve done a lot of traveling through Indonesia, Thailand, and Korea. As I go to these new places and meet new people and have these new experiences, I’m trying to figure out where I’m super comfortable. I’m realizing that as long as I’m with someone that I love, that is my favorite place to be. So I could travel anywhere and I could experience all these different things as long as I’m with that one person.” “If I Were Yours” “The main idea is, when we’re together, just be yourself. You don’t need to dress up fancy and try to impress me with money or buying fancy food. Just be yourself. We can do something cute like sitting on the beach with a pizza. Just spending a really nice moment together.” “Sunflower” “This is about another relationship. During this relationship, we created this perfect picture and this ideal world around us, and when that happens you start getting expectations of each other that become very difficult to reach. It ends up pulling both of you further apart, and it can break a relationship.” “She Doesn’t Care” “This song’s inspired a lot by Joji. It’s about the realization that she has moved on, she doesn’t care anymore, and you’re left there in the dust. During the relationship you’re just thinking about, ‘What did this mean and what did that mean?’ and looking too far into it and stressing out about it.” “In the Event of Her Departure” “It’s a song close to my heart. I wanted it to serve as a piece of advice for other people of my age going through this similar breakup experience. When you break up and you still love them and they’re moving on from you, it’s very tough to move on and forget about everything. So the song serves as a piece of advice: this is what you’re going to feel, this is what will happen, and this is what you can do to help it.” “She Likes Me” “This song was recorded in one take. It’s a response to [2024 single] ‘Like I Do’; you hear hints of that song with the lyrics and the melody. It’s very mellow and calms the listener down, and that’s what I was going for.”