Scott Matthews 'Passing Stranger' album

Now that U.S. music audiences are beginning to discover acclaimed UK artist Scott Matthews (he hails from near Wolverhampton, England, the same stomping grounds as rock great Robert Plant) the title of his debut Universal Republic album, Passing Stranger, stands in almost playful opposition to the lasting embrace the singer’s debut has received around the globe. Even more impressive, Matthews has garnered his network of true believers one fan at a time, nurturing the kind of hard earned word-of-mouth buzz that affirms his place as this year’s most authentic musical find. His recent win of the prestigious Ivor Novello Songwriting Award for his track “Elusive” only cements the acclaim.

Since its March 2006 UK release, the ‘Stranger’ has propelled Matthews into the top tier of England’s most promising singer/songwriters. Flexing both bare-boned and roots-driven songs (drawing comparisons to artists such as Jeff Buckley and Dave Matthews (no relation)) - and led by the UK acoustic lament “Elusive” – Matthews has captivated the hearts and minds of critics, digital music followers and traditional fans alike. ‘Scott Matthews is a star in the making,’ raved one UK scribe, with a BBC online reviewer describing Matthews’ word-perfect live show as: ‘Matthews plainly having the audience in the palm of his hand…he left (them) motionless and breathless.’

From the masterful debut’s reflective title track, to the hymnal “Elusive,” to the barnstorming romp of “The Fool’s Fooling Himself” (where Matthews’ showcases his other dazzling attribute: A-list guitarist with a penchant for muscular, bluesy riffs ala Hendrix and The Yardbirds, and others), Matthews cuts no corners in his effortless, artful snapshots of the human condition. With the groundswell of excitement about to blossom into a campfire roar, it’s best to leave it up to the unassuming Midlander to sort it all out.

“I’ve been fortunate to breakthrough certain avenues (the online buzz surrounding him) that weren’t available years ago. I benefited from people being able to check stuff out and pass the word along. I think that and the constant touring I did created really good feedback, whether it’s just me with the guitar or the full band stuff we do. What’s really amazing is I’ve only been singing since about 2003. I was a guitarist in bands for years, but I wanted to get out there and express myself more. I thought ‘I have something to say on things.’ The album worked out to be the culmination of all that.”

To say the least. With UK Tomes like Q Magazine now anointing the artist as : ‘The most promising home-grown singer-songwriter to emerge in years,’ it’s worth a look back at his steady-as-she goes ascension. Even Matthews reluctantly points out that, from early on, he seemed to possess a natural ability for getting up on a stage and ‘breaking the ice with people.’

It helps, of course, if you’re also aware you can ‘play a bit.’ Matthews owned his first guitar when he was 7 years old. He had an electric by the time he was 11. “Hendrix was the man for me,” he says about his early influences. “Still is.” Matthews is not as sure about his own singing though – a remarkable admission from an artist who will surely go down as one of the jaw-dropping vocal discoveries of 2006/2007.

He weaned himself of his obsession with what he calls “funky-driven rocky blues – I thought I was [Red Hot Chili Peppers’] John Frusciante,” he laughs. “Then I woke up.’ The songs poured out of him. And as far as becoming a ‘star’, the singer seemed to know instinctively that it would be the songs – poetic, tuneful, heartfelt – that would do all the heavy lifting.

He recorded a demo of Passing Stranger, pressed up 20 CDs and gave one to a ‘bloke’ who happened to catch his show and would eventually become his manager. A kind of by-the-bootstraps course was charted to record and self-promote his stunning debut album, which Universal Republic would add to their roster in 2007. Among the session musicians on the diverse disc would be Sukvinder Singh Namdhari, who has played alongside Ry Cooder and Ravi Shanka. Matthews also decided to employ the skills of Ray Staff to master the album, the man responsible for such classic records as, Zeppelins Physical Graffiti and Bowie’s Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust, among others.

Upon the UK release of the 17 song debut last March, Matthews set out immediately on a series of buzzed-about one-man gigs, managing to cobble together a provocative, atmospheric show with not much more than him and his guitar. But the methodical performer was also very keen to present what he calls the ‘heavier slant to the music.’ A picture he was unable to paint solely based on the one-man approach. “That’s why I’m thankful we’ve also gotten a band together to give people the full scope. To everybody that knows the record, there’s a diversity there that’s hard to capture purely on your own. I also like to think, particularly from the vantage point of the music I’ve grown up listening to, that mixing things up a bit puts everyone on the journey together.”

Does that mean Matthews is hell-bent on an even more ambitious mission now, one that includes bringing the wide-ranging, ultra-mobile American audience into the fold. “I was hoping more they’d find me,” he jokes. But kidding aside, one of the strengths of the Matthews’ story is precisely how organically-driven both the audience and accolades for Passing Stranger have been. Maybe, when you come right down to it, it’s one of those meant-to-be albums that are beyond any marketing strategy. “It’s funny, but at the time I wrote it, I really didn’t know where I was going with music,” says Scott. “To be honest, it has a feeling of familiarity, yet running in circles. Self explanatory, but also hitting a bigger nerve. Tapping that perspective that might fit into other peoples lives. Whatever the reason I’m grateful. And I’ll tell you something else: I’m having a real blast.”

biography
A late summer’s Saturday morning in Moseley, Birmingham. The kettle’s on and the biscuits are being dished out in Artisan Studios.

The recording of the album has been going well, on and off for the past few months. Scott Matthews, a singer-songwriter from Wolverhampton, can see everything coming together. All the ideas that he stockpiled while serving time playing guitar and keeping his mouth shut in other bands. All the passions – from, say, Jimi Hendrix to Ryan Adams via Elliott Smith – that he’s been stoking while shifting boxes in a warehouse. The musical ambition that bubbled away underneath as he made music in a local theatre and conducted workshops in schools.

Now, some final touches are all that are needed for Matthews’ debut album. He’s already had the string quartet in; the vibraphone, flute and clarinet are in the bag. He’s happy with his own playing, with the crunchy riffs, the delicate picking, the occasional slide guitar. But he’s been asking round the Midlands for a tabla player. This Saturday morning, a guy finally shows up. He’s a fortysomething called Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari, born in India but living in Birmingham.

For three hours Namdhari listens to Matthews’ songs and plays along, improvising and jamming and tweaking. He has ten different ideas for ‘Dream Song’, a swirling, epic number that, even in its unfinished state, is a gem – the missing link between Jeff Buckley and Led Zeppelin. ‘He’d do a loose groove then something quite dynamic,’ recalls Matthews. ‘He just blew us away. Who’d have thought you could get so many ideas out a drum?’

One of Namdhari’s ideas is shaped into ‘Little Man Tabla Jam Part 1’, which ends up opening the album. He also appears on ‘Musical Interval’, another of Matthews’ interludes – part of his grander vision for the almost-finished album, which he’s calling Passing Stranger.

‘I liked the idea of this seamless quality, where even “dead spaces” are interesting,’ says Matthews. ‘Even if it’s just a musical phrase or something, just some distraction from the formal structure of a song. Steal you away for ten seconds before you come back into a full song. I loved that quality about Badly Drawn Boy’s The Hour Of Bewilderbeast. The idea of linking songs, songs bleeding into each other… It’s a journey isn’t it?’

By lunchtime Sukhvinder Singh Namdhari was gone. He’d helped give an album of magical urban folk songs a vibe that was ancient and modern, locally-made and worldly-wise. This was Midlands blues with international welly.

‘Only after he’d left did I find out he’d been a member of Ravi Shankar’s orchestra,’ says Matthews with a shake of the head. He admits he’s kinda relieved he didn’t know of his guest musician’s pedigree – Matthews might have been a little intimidated. ‘And he was on Ry Cooder’s A Meeting By The River – that won the Grammy for Best World Music album in 1994! Bloody hell…’

Even when it’s ignorant of the fact, greatness attracts greatness. It’s been happening to the very great Scott Matthews since he began properly writing his own songs in 2002.

He knew he could play a bit: he’d gotten a guitar when he was seven, but really plugged himself in when he received an electric aged 11, before being spun arse over tit (in a good way) when he came across Hendrix in his early teens. ‘He was the man for me. Still is.’ Matthews wasn’t sure about his own singing though – a remarkable admission from an artist who will surely go down as one of the jaw-dropping vocal discoveries of 2006.

But he had a go. And he weaned himself of his obsession with what he calls ‘funky-driven rocky blues – I thought I was [Red Hot Chili Peppers’] John Frusciante,’ he laughs. ‘Then I woke up.’

The songs poured out of him. And as far as making a star of Matthews, it would be the songs – poetic, tuneful, heartfelt – that would do all the heavy lifting. Which is how things should be but usually aren’t.

He recorded a demo of Passing Stranger and pressed up 20 CDs. He gave one to a bloke who’d caught one of his early gigs round the Midlands. That punter was so blown away he became Matthews’ manager. The manager took it to an old friend with whom he’d been in a band. He was blown away too. The pair decided to form a label, simply so more people could get to hear this unknown kid. He could be the greatest star from Wolverhampton since Robert Plant…

The new label, San Remo, got together a modest budget for the recording of Passing Stranger. Matthews, a comic book fan who’d studied graphic design, would design the sleeve; his girlfriend took the photographs. (‘Although I think mebbe there’s a few too many of me,’ mutters the modest, semi-mortified Matthews.) To master it, they approached Ray Staff in London; he’d worked on Physical Graffiti, Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. Staff was blown away too.

In April this year, Passing Stranger was released on San Remo. Now it was the turn of the major record labels to fall for Scott Matthews. At one spring show at London’s 12 Bar Club, all the big labels were represented. In the end Island secured his handshake. For music obsessive Matthews it was more about heritage than any wodge of cash.

‘As a label it says everything to me about what I want to do with my music… Nick Drake, John Martyn, Bob Marley, PJ Harvey – there’s just a great mix of artists who’ve been on Island. Fairport Convention, Tom Waits… I was digging all these artists that had work on the label as far back as 30 years ago. I just felt comfortable with it.’

This autumn, as Island reissue Passing Stranger and he performs a series of buzzed-about one-man gigs, keep your ear out for Scott Matthews. But that shouldn’t be too difficult. His single ‘Elusive’ enjoyed heavy support from Zane Lowe, Mark Radcliffe and Jo Whiley. Its atmospheric, hymnal thrum, topped off with Matthews’ churchy choralling, is utterly spine-tingling.

There’s loads more like that on the album. Counting the musical interludes there are 17 tracks, offering an abundance of riches – all are fit for inclusion, and nothing outstays its welcome. ‘The Fool’s Fooling Himself’ is sure to be a barnstormer live, a big, ballsy tune that could be Pearl Jam covering The Doors. The rootsy blues groove of ‘Sweet Scented Figure’ suggests that Matthews comes not from Birmingham, England but Birmingham, Alabama. The title track has traces of The Faces, albeit in hungover, reflective mode rather than as beery shaggers. ‘Earth To Calm’ effortlessly demonstrates that finally, in an age where troubled troubadors are two-a-penny, we have a young singer-songwriter who bears proper, artful comparison with Nick Drake.

The result: a complete, whole, enveloping album, full of light and shade, romance and loss, uppers and downers, Indian vibes and American blues, modern English folk and proper full-on rock. With the debut from Scott Matthews, the (ahem) tablas have been turned on the British singer-songwriter tradition. Passing Stranger is, in short, pure magic.

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.

Details

Popular Songs

New Songs

Tracklisting

Scott Matthews - Passing Stranger