"Matilda" is a song by British rock band alt-J from their debut studio album An Awesome Wave, released on 10 January 2012 as a digital download. It was released as a split single with "Fitzpleasure" on 24 February as a digital download and on 10" triangle shaped vinyl. It was written by Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury and Thom Green and produced by Charlie Andrew. The song relates to the movie Léon, specifically the relationship between the main character (a hitman) and a young girl called Mathilda.[1] The band would later release the song "Leon", a tribute to the main character of the film. The cover image is a photograph of Ball's Pyramid.
"Matilda" | ||||
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Single by alt-J | ||||
from the album An Awesome Wave | ||||
B-side | "Fitzpleasure" | |||
Released | 10 January 2012 | |||
Recorded | 2009 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:48 | |||
Label | Infectious | |||
Songwriter(s) | Joe Newman, Gus Unger-Hamilton, Gwilym Sainsbury and Thom Green | |||
Producer(s) | Charlie Andrew | |||
Alt-J singles chronology | ||||
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The song has a YouTube video featuring imagery of human faces which steadily morph so that every so often you are looking at a new face. This video was a neat gimmick as at the time of release "Alt-J" was the shortcut for a YouTube video to rewind 7 seconds which was the perfect amount of time to go from one "finished" facial image to another so you would see a new face each time you pressed it. This no longer is the case as the shortcut is simply "j" and is now a 10 second skip so it no longer syncs up with the video.
Digital download[2]
10" single[3]
7" single[4]
Digital iTunes EP[5]
Chart (2012–13) | Peak position |
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Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[6] | 59 |
France (SNEP)[7] | 6 |
UK Singles (OCC)[8] | 83 |
UK Indie (OCC)[9] | 7 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Silver | 200,000![]() |
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Region | Date | Format | Label |
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United Kingdom | 10 January 2012 | Digital Single | Infectious |
24 February 2012 | Digital EP, 10" vinyl | ||
10 December 2012 | 7" vinyl |
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Studio albums |
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Extended plays |
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Singles |
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Related articles |
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Authority control ![]() |
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