Matt Stalker Voice, guitar, piano, harmonica, omnichord, banjo & glockenspiel
Jenny Nendick Cello
Laura Jobson Voice & omnichord
Joss Elliott Double Bass, voice
Influences
Adem, Andy McKee, Battles, Bon Iver, Bowerbirds, Jeff Buckley, Ben Gibbard & Death Cab For Cutie; Francis Dunnery; Explosions In The Sky, Fleet Floxes, José Gonzàlez, Kings of Convenience, Joanna Newsom, Radiohead, Fionn Regan, Damien Rice, James Mercer & The Shins; Sigur Rós, Simon & Garfunkel, Tortoise.
Simon Armitage, Slyvia Plath, Philip Larkin, Geoffrey Hill, Will Self, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Eliott Perlman, Milan Kundera, Dave Eggers, Jorges Luis Borges, Alice Oswald.
www.etsy.com, www.blogotheque.net, Michel Gondry, Edward Hopper, Amelie, independent cinema, reading the Saturday Guardian with Laura, The Great English Language in all its glory, sentiments expressed in obscure ways, the familiar but overlooked, candlelight; empty, echoey rooms; skinny jeans and glasses (www.scarletribbons.co.uk).
"It's amazing, your music is like a spring sunshine poured into the woods.
Your voice is wonderful,,,,very tender voice and tenderness is limitless. I recall Chet Baker while listening your voice. Not only voice and guitar, but I feel your sound is so unique and good...voice, guitar, violin, piano....wonderful ensemble." c/o Amy, aka 'Apple Scruff', Japan
Matt Stalker is an indie/folk singer-songwriter, with a love of the Great English Language, an eye for the minutiae of things, and a penchant for juxtaposing the tongue-in-cheek with the geeky and the sentimental; lyrical themes range from unspoken intimacy through to the misuse of punctuation. Matt plays fingerstyle acoustic guitar (mostly), frequently in resonant altered tunings (and therefore retunes a lot...) with a style harking of Fionn Regan and Kings of Convenience; on a good day he draws vocal comparisons to Jeff Buckley. He also 'plays' harmonica (in the way Alanis Morrissette 'plays' it), and on recordings he'll play a bit of banjo, piano, glockenspiel, omnichord, and whatever else is lying around.
Fables is a changing collective of musicians whose varied instruments (including double bass, cello, omnichord, kalimba, piano, flute, and vocals) add a richness to Matt's songs, lifting them high above the average bedroom troubadour output. Their friendship is a key ingredient in the Fables sound.
Jenny Nendick accompanied Maximo Park at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena last xmas and features on their recent DVD release. She is a classically-trained cellist and member of the wonderful Armstrong Quartet (www.myspace.com/thearmstrongquartet). She has a secret desire to usurp Damien Rice's cellist of her position, and has in the past dabbled in a bit of piano and oboe, too.
Laura Jobson of Ask Ruby (..www.askruby.co.uk) ups the Fables numbers, singing lovely harmonies, and playing percussion, Suzuki omnichord, and a bit of kalimba.
Joss Elliott is a vastly experienced musician, and double bass prodigy, heavily-inspired by John Martyn's bassist Danny Thompson. In the 80s he was singed to a major label with Well Well Well, and now has involvement in several projects including Fables, Capote, and Robot Elvis with Baz from The Stranglers. He also does live and studio session work and played with fiddle legend, Tom McConville, at the Sage, Gateshead this Summer.
Fables are also sometimes joined by pianist, flautist, guitarist, vocal teacher and talented singer-songwriter in her own right, Jayne Lewis (..www.myspace.com/jaynelewis..), on record and for shows.
In 2008 Matt Stalker & Fables sneaked into the studio at The Sage, Gateshead, and produced a sampler/EP of live takes with Richard Halling and Olly Nendick at the ProTools helm. It features four folk songs about adults fighting like petty children, being ignored, non-verbal communication of love, and accidental alcoholism. It's called 'Press Your Ear To My Chest, Listen EP' , and is available to buy here (using PayPal for secure payments), at at gigs, and for those of mp3 persuasion selected tracks are available at the band's label, www.dollyswashrecordings.co.uk.
To date Matt Stalker & Fables have played The Sage, Gateshead, and New Islington Urban Folk for Urban Folk Festival in Manchester, as well as playing selected pubs and clubs around the Northof England.
If you're reading this and you're interested in joining the Fables ranks and/or collaborating on something lovely, please do get in touch.
For bookings, and if you're planning folk or acoustic line-ups, please contact us here .
Hey Matt I hear Macdonalds are employing folk who are well read up on Greek Mythology !! lol ....No I really did laugh out loud !! ha ha Loads a luv mate Pete*
Thank you Matt and your beautiful STALKERS for a superb set. I really enjoyed it 0- even through the noise of the pubs BEST CUSTOMER ???????????????? Pete* Ignoramus !!
Hey Matt Not owa lang noo hinney t'ya candlelit baptism. Are ya bringing that Dollwash Boogie Chile - Jonny Swift with ya ? You ought t' persuade Jossie Elliott - the bastard child of Al Paccino - to come doon as well. Howay man. Pete* Dee the Dollywash Booooooo-gae !!
wellz come mauve'ure one night this week look, an we'llz have a gurt SMART lush jam lyke, could'st end up zoundin lyke portzed tho if we bissent too careful lyke
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