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Scott Matthews heads to
Leaf, in Liverpool
THE critical acclaimed
Scott
Matthews, who was born in 1976, in Wolverhampton, is heading to
Leaf, in Liverpool, on 31 March 2017. LEAF Liverpool is located on Bold Street,
and it is a unique, independent teashop and bar. For more information visit:-
ThisIsLeaf.Co.UK.
Scott
Matthews'
ground breaking debut album, Passing Stranger earned him serious attention with
its bold mix of folk, rock, blues and Eastern inspired song writing. In 2007 his
1st single 'Elusive' won the Ivor Novello Award for 'Best Song
Musically and Lyrically.'
Scott progressed to perform on a number of
international sell out tours with respected artists such as Bert Jansch, Robert
Plant and Alison Kraus, Foo Fighters, Rufus Wainwright and Tori Amos.
Subsequently, Robert Plant came onboard for a guest contribution on Scott's
follow up album:- 'Elsewhere', and down the line legendary double
bassist Danny Thompson joined Scott on his 3rd release:- 'What The Night
Delivers', having encountered each other whilst performing in Joe Boyd's
stage production of:- 'Way to Blue ? The Songs' of Nick Drake.
The vision for albums 4 and 5 were, however,
much closer to home with Scott recording Home Part 1 in 2014 at the bottom of
his garden in his home built musical abode.
This organic means of creating music from his
home, in the West Midlands, inspired Scott to set up his own record label in
2016, 'Shedio Records', on which his new album, Home Part 2 has
been.
Home Part 2 finds Scott in many senses returning to the source, driven by what
he describes as:- "a need to rekindle a relationship with the artist I was
10 years ago, but joining forces with the artist I am today."
Speaking about the contrasting interplay
between the new record and its predecessor Home Part 1, Scott says:-
"After completing Part 1, I was very much aware of how I wanted Part 2 to sound,
look and feel. The more I record my music, the more I've realised I describe
what I'm looking for as colours. This method helps me to visualise what
instrumentation I'd like to hear. Part 1 has a very sepia like tone, with warm,
earthy browns and creams and has an almost grainy, sonic texture. Part 2 was
always going to be the complete opposite, with a very technicolor outlook; it's technicolor
brother!"
Whilst his own experiences are often the inspiration for his song writing,
books, films and art sit at the heart of many of his songs.
Strongly rooted in the Midlands, there is
undoubtedly inspiration to be found here with its rich musical heritage, and
Scott often references the landscape and its characters in his writing, most
recently in the slide blues guitar track on:- 'Home Part 2 Black Country
Boy', contrasted with the warmth and honesty in the song:- 'Good
Times'.
The social realist work of writers such as
Alan Sillitoe and the kitchen sink dramas that followed, such as:- 'Saturday
Night', 'Sunday Morning' and 'The L-shaped Room',
have influenced his own lyric writing with their reflections of humble, working
class life.
Among the reoccurring constants in his world
are "home" and what it means to everyone. It links the mix of new
songs on the album; whole heartedly embracing it whilst blending it with
dreamlike, otherworldly visions of escapism in the phantasmagorical:-
'Waltz, at Nightfall' and the beguiling:- 'Where I Long to Be',
that reveal the troubadour at heart is never far away.
His vocal style has been much referenced in
ethereal terms of "ghostly", "haunting",
"eerie" and "hypnotic", so perhaps there is magic afoot.
About his early start as a musician Scott says:- "Fundamentally, I've
always been a guitar player since the age of 11 and it's the only instrument I
can hold confidently and assuredly and write songs with. I was closer to 20
before I started getting into the realms of acoustic guitar playing. Neil Finn
is a pivotal artist who helped me to bridge the gap between understanding how I
could incorporate all the things I'd learnt on the guitar and how it can be a
trusty tool in pursuing my craft for writing songs. I then discovered the open
tuning approach to guitar playing through John Martyn, Bert Jansch, Nick Drake,
Davy Graham and Joni Mitchell, which over night seemed to blow my whole creative
world wide open. With Part 2 the palette of guitar textures has widened further
still with my love and rediscovery of the electric. My playing has naturally
developed more of a percussive nature over time through playing more fingerstyle
to accompany songs. I use the acoustic guitar to provide a structure, so I think
about the drive of the rhythm whether I fingerpick or strum and how it supports
my voice when writing. Interestingly, I've applied this fingerstyle approach to
the electric guitar and it's helped me find a new set of colours that I have
introduced to full band songs."
Scott is about to release his 3rd album,
entitled:- "What the Night Delivers." We are told that it was
recorded at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London and will be released on the San Remo
label.
To book tickets for Scott Matthews Liverpool performance, call:- 0151 707 7747
or pop in to:- Leaf Cafe, 65 to 67 Bold Street, Liverpool. L1 4EZ.
For more information visit:-
ThisIsLeaf.Co.UK.
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