BLLM Media

BLLM Media is the collective works and ideas of Darrin Matthies.

Darrin Matthies has been writing and recording music for
the past 25 years as a solo artist as well as the original
bass player for The Giftmachine (he is still a contributing
member on occasion).

Darrin first picked up a guitar at age 6 after being given
an old beat up acoustic that once belonged to his dad.
This began a lifetime of music, from brass in the school
band, to a tenor in the choir.

He continued his music education at Skagit Valley College in Washington State. where he study composition and performed in both the small and large choral ensemble.  Darrin continued on to study Music Business at Central
Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington.

After leaving Ellensburg, Darrin joined with his brother Dave (Yukon Stove, Trespassers-W) to play as the Giftmachine.

The “rock band” era of the Giftmachine saw the release of two full length albums
including Sooner or Later, or Not (2000, knw-yr-own) and Don't Turn Me Off (2002, knw-yr-own).

Following his time with the Giftmachine, Darrin continued to write and record his own music with
a solo, self-titled album (2004). He also participated in multiple compilations including: Remote
Wing (2001), Trust in Sirens (2004), and Flotsum and Jetsam (2005).

In 2006 Darrin earned a Masters in Teaching from City University of Seattle. Darrin has been a
proponent of music in the classroom- the regular classroom- not just an hour a week in music
class. He received a second Masters in Education in Learning and technology.  He also hold's an endorsement in General Music.

 

He’s currently enrolled in the Southern Utah University Masters in Music Technology, with a studio and film
composition emphasis.

Darrin has released music and his other creative experiments under the banner Big Lake little
mountain since 2019.

Darrin plans on continuing writing, recording, and performing as Big Lake, little mountain,
hoping to release an unnamed album in 2025. He also plans on continuing his sound
collages with his first major piece in over a decade- The Inner Planets- a sound voyage through
the inner planets of our solar system based around NASA’s recordings of magnetic waves
emitted from each planet and the Sun. Darrin also plans to develop his film and television
composing, with the goal of scoring a feature length film by 2027. He also plans on continuing
his work in education, combining music with multimedia and interactive media to improve
student engagement and improve learning outcomes.