“a whiskey tinged mix of bluegrass and rock ‘n roll that’s
made him a fast-track superstar on the local scene”
- Flavor Pill
"Sublime beauty. The writing is exceptional"
- Peter Merritt, 3RRR Radio
"Matt Ellis is one of Australia's most promising
singer songwriters"
- Dan Condon, Time Off Magazine
"Ellis has a pleasurable way with darker moods
and a sturdy approach to songwriting"
- Bob Gordon, Rolling Stone
"His voice is hypnotizing, smile inducing and has
a distinct individuality that adds an extra dose
of flavour"
- Max Easton, www.soulshine.com.au
"Tortured rock topped with lashings of
bluegrass and a dose of folk."
- The Sydney Morning Herald
"The songs? Structured but raw and diverse.
The playing? Fucking fantastic."
- Revolver
"A lovingly rendered piece of pop melancholia"
- The Brag
"Channeling influences from punk rock to
bluegrass, singer/songwriter Matt Ellis' folky
tunes are peppered with innocent truth and
sparing dramatics. And while raw country
may build the base of the cake, there's
always a rock 'n roll cherry on top."
- Flavor Pill
"Ellis oozes a sort of sexy melancholy"
- Rave Magazine
New Album "Births, Deaths & Marriages" OUT FEB 2010
Ellis rounds out a full year of writing, touring, recording and song placements with a scheduled release of album 4.
Venice Beach, California: November, 2009 - Matt Ellis is putting the finishing touches on his fourth solo album. Featuring eleven new tracks, the new album is arguably his best work to date. "Births, Deaths & Marriages" will see a digital release in February 2010, followed by a full release closer to SxSW in March. With a few teaser tracks already making appearances on Little Radio, Hear Ya and the Buzz Bands blog out of LA, this new set of songs has already begun creating a healthy buzz.
The inspiration for this new album came from a road trip to the Mississippi Delta and Southern States of America. Unequivocally influenced by the private moments Ellis had on the road, you sense the grit of the legendary juke joints, the lulling quiet of the desert and the effect the slide has on the soul. These new tracks have sincere, plainspoken lyrics and a foot in the fervent sound of old Bruce Springsteen and Waylon Jennings, yet fuse a pop sensibility ideal for radio.
Recording began in January 2009, with Ellis cutting his vocal and acoustic guitar tracks live with drummer Branden Harper, in a Venice Beach loft. The laid back recording environment suited the songs and Ellis perfectly. The pair were free from the pressures found in modern studios and decided to work alone, building each song from the ground up, sometimes capturing and keeping a song played in full for the first time.
Ellis spent the following months in between shows, bringing in special guest musicians, adding layers to the songs, note by note. Returning guest, Greg Leisz (Joni Mitchell, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris) added his haunting signature pedal steel, lap steel and Banjo to four tracks while Tim Young (Beck, Daniel Johnston) channeled the desert through his Telecaster on five of them. Calexico's Nick Luca added further electric guitars, piano and Fender rhodes while band mate Jacob Valenzuela rounded out two songs with trumpet. The guest list continued with accordion, cello, electric and upright bass, percussion and more guitars, however the best was saved for last with a visit from the one and only, Merry Clayton. Best known for her vocals on The Rolling Stones hit "Gimme Shelter", Merry's career and voice have a life of their own. Merry lent her incredible range to a gospel-inspired track entitled "Ghosts", a definite highlight of this new set of songs.
The album was recently mixed at Wave Lab studios in Tucson, Arizona by Craig Schumacher. Known for his production and mixing credits with Neko Case, Calexico, Iron & Wine, Devotchka and many more, Craig was the perfect, final addition to this new album.
Matt's last body of work was displayed on his internationally-acclaimed, 2007 album "Tell the People". This much-talked-about album featured a who's who of the alt-country scene and is still receiving accolades from the media. (ABC just recently licensed a track for their hit TV show "Brothers and Sisters"). The level of song writing attracted guest musicians Nels Cline (Wilco) and Tim Young (Beck) on guitars, Greg Leisz (KD Lang, Joni Mitchell) on lap steel, pedal steel and mandolin, Tim Luntzel (Bright Eyes, Emmylou Harris) on bass and Dave Palmer (Fiona Apple, AIR) on piano and Rhodes, and took the songwriter on countless tours, including two visits back to his native, Australia.
For media inquiries please contact: Hilary Craven at MAVEN
Email: cravenh@themavenprojects.com
For bookings and further info: www.mattellis.com Email: info@krowpie.com
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wow, thanks for being friends with the body parts. you are invited to take a listen to our two new songs. "conditional love" and "front porch rocking chair song". only if you really feel like it though, don't do us any favors just because we're "friends" now.
Matt, dude, how you doing?? Just stopping by to wish you good luck and to share our new songs. Hope you could hear them man, it will be an honour, seriously. Congratulations for you work, your songs are very well played and recorded, great work. Have a great week buddy!
Hey hope you had a great Labor-day weekend Matt Ellis!!!
What have you been up to? I just wanted to catch up and let you know that my new CD "Change is Good" is now available on the official JTL Site... http://www.jacobtylerlucas.com or you can just click the link below to download it on iTunes! It would help me out to keep making more music and I will love you for it!!!
We're heading back to the US again in October for our 'Shadows Emerge Tour' of the West Coast USA and we'll be supporting Tiger Army & 45 Grave at Octoberflame, Oct 30th at the Grove of Anaheim CA.
hey there, thanks alot for becoming our friend, did you get a chance to pop past and listen to our tunes? if so what you think?. Keep in contact, we feel alot of people have friends for the numbers but we want to know you! Hope your ok? Peace.. Lc - Praxis IV x
Thanks! I'm writing that down. It's too bad we didn't live closer, I'd love to open for you sometime. I'll let you know when I get some live videos up so you have an idea of what I sound like live. Take it easy Matt.
My friend bought one of their Angel guitars recently! Sweet tone. Any suggestions for a city to visit in Australia? I'm thinking about going next summer.
Online Now!
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