Matthew Neel &
Luke Brighty
with the brave assistance of
Ricky Barber &
Jimmy Shoo
Influences
Matthew: Nick Drake, Beck, Radiohead, Elliott Smith, The Beatles, The Smiths, Richard Hawley, The Be-good Tanyas, Elbow, John Martyn, Portishead, Massive Attack, BRMC, The Cure, The Dandy Warhols, Fiona Apple, Fountains of Wayne, Grandaddy, Grant-Lee Buffalo, I am Kloot, Kid Loco, Kings of Convenience, The La's, Loudon Wainwright, Frank Sinatra, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, The Police, Queen, Screaming Blue Messiahs, Soulwax, Soundgarden, The Vapors
Hello. I left school at 18 and came straight to London, with the express intention of joining a band. Via the back pages of Melody Maker, I found one. We were called "The Secret Garden". We were not good. After a year or so I stole the guitarist and went off to form a new band, then spent a couple of years firing everyone and finding sparkly, talented new people to put in their places. We lasted a few years but eventually became allergic to each other and died of toxic shock in a rehearsal room in Putney. Since then, thanks to snapping my wrist and not being able to strum for 8 months, I have taught myself to fingerpick, and from there come new songs and soon an album. I've always been a sucker for the dark folkiness, and recently this is the way the songs seem to go. The lovely Luke Brighty is playing guitar, Ricky Barber is managing Bass duties, Jimmy Shoo is tub-thumping, and Matty Sime is shouting commands and left-field suggestions from the control room like a hairy Brian Eno. Have a look at the slideshow if you don't believe me. The fruits of all this labour will be released in January 2010 on Scratchy Records. Hope you like.
