Cheat Codes Matthew Russell Explains What It Took To Get to “Heaven”

Musician Matthew Russell, member of the wildly popular electronic group, Cheat Codes, remembers being broke at 19-years-old. He’d recently moved to Los Angeles from St. Louis to pursue his dream of producing records. He’d also just dropped out of college. He’d enrolled to study music production but after learning it would be two years of general classes before he could touch Pro Tools, he quit. But walking the boulevards of L.A., he had an idea. He went into a bank, applied for a $10,000 loan, got it and bought his own equipment. He began learning from friends and YouTube tutorials. At the time, he was banking on hope. That bet would pay off as his soon-to-be trio would release songs that would earn millions of streams worldwide, including the band’s latest, “Heaven.”