‘Ghost’ by Matt Stevens
Image from:
http://mattstevens.bandcamp.c...
Matt Stevens is an Artist who has become a leading light in modern music that can be found on Web 2.0. Obviously with a statement such as that, Stevens has made full use of the modern arsenal of music promotion available to today’s liberated artists. By using Twitter and Facebook, he has created a buzz about his music both solo and with the amazing ‘Fierce and the Dead’ combo (look out for the astonishing ‘Part 1’ release - www.fierceandthedead.com ) , collaborative efforts such as the innovative Cafenoodle (http://cafenoodle.ning.com/ ), and by clever use of online gigs and public rehearsals via Ustream. Well known for his use of live and recorded looping techniques, Stevens is beginning to widen and improve his creative vision exponentially.
Matt’s First album, ‘Echo’ had all the nascent hallmarks found in the new release, with’ Ghost’ taking these and running with them to stunning effect and progression. This is mood music for all moods; Impressively standing as serious evening music but also working on a hot summers day, defining the room where it is being listened in. Stevens Wears his influences on his sleeve quite apparently sometimes, such as on leading track ‘Unto the Sea’ with its overt Radiohead influence, but doesn’t suffer as a result, quite the reverse in fact. Some bands and artists create genres, others to follow; with this release Matt has just about managed the former.
Some releases stand as creative islands in a sea of thoughtless repetition and ‘Ghost’ is and will increasingly become one such artistic pinnacle. Stevens realises this vision by the use of melody lines that are sometimes playful with the key/chords of the song and using chromatic scales to limit, such as in ‘Eleven’ or ‘Big Sky’. Alternatively the slow build of the Loops created, such as on ‘Late Man’ , evoke an acoustic blessed out Metallica.
Clever use of colour washes of Keyboards and gentle transients of glockenspiel perfectly fill out the sound; the odd stab of Fripp style laser guided guitar, as on ‘Draw’ also add atmosphere; and more fully realised arrangements such as the penguin cafe Orchestra – (‘Big Sky’ again)
Ghost is a far more mature, multi-faceted release, which sees him finding his true artistic and creative voice, integrating influences more fluidly and satisfactorily and if he maintains this creative purple patch, provides a platform for even greater achievements to come.
If you are a fan of electronic, proggy sounds, dramatic chord progressions, awash with delicate Latin overtones, then album this is for you, don’t wait, hop over to www.mattstevensguitar.com and get yourself the download and limited CD release now!
You can tell Matt how much you love this album on Twitter- @mattstevensloop. Go on say hi!
Image from:http://mattstevens.bandcamp.c...
Matt Stevens is an Artist who has become a leading light in modern music that can be found on Web 2.0. Obviously with a statement such as that, Stevens has made full use of the modern arsenal of music promotion available to today’s liberated artists. By using Twitter and Facebook, he has created a buzz about his music both solo and with the amazing ‘Fierce and the Dead’ combo (look out for the astonishing ‘Part 1’ release - www.fierceandthedead.com ) , collaborative efforts such as the innovative Cafenoodle (http://cafenoodle.ning.com/ ), and by clever use of online gigs and public rehearsals via Ustream. Well known for his use of live and recorded looping techniques, Stevens is beginning to widen and improve his creative vision exponentially.
Matt’s First album, ‘Echo’ had all the nascent hallmarks found in the new release, with’ Ghost’ taking these and running with them to stunning effect and progression. This is mood music for all moods; Impressively standing as serious evening music but also working on a hot summers day, defining the room where it is being listened in. Stevens Wears his influences on his sleeve quite apparently sometimes, such as on leading track ‘Unto the Sea’ with its overt Radiohead influence, but doesn’t suffer as a result, quite the reverse in fact. Some bands and artists create genres, others to follow; with this release Matt has just about managed the former.
Some releases stand as creative islands in a sea of thoughtless repetition and ‘Ghost’ is and will increasingly become one such artistic pinnacle. Stevens realises this vision by the use of melody lines that are sometimes playful with the key/chords of the song and using chromatic scales to limit, such as in ‘Eleven’ or ‘Big Sky’. Alternatively the slow build of the Loops created, such as on ‘Late Man’ , evoke an acoustic blessed out Metallica.
Clever use of colour washes of Keyboards and gentle transients of glockenspiel perfectly fill out the sound; the odd stab of Fripp style laser guided guitar, as on ‘Draw’ also add atmosphere; and more fully realised arrangements such as the penguin cafe Orchestra – (‘Big Sky’ again)
Ghost is a far more mature, multi-faceted release, which sees him finding his true artistic and creative voice, integrating influences more fluidly and satisfactorily and if he maintains this creative purple patch, provides a platform for even greater achievements to come.
If you are a fan of electronic, proggy sounds, dramatic chord progressions, awash with delicate Latin overtones, then album this is for you, don’t wait, hop over to www.mattstevensguitar.com and get yourself the download and limited CD release now!
You can tell Matt how much you love this album on Twitter- @mattstevensloop. Go on say hi!
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