Matt Woosey at Kitchen Garden Cafe, Birmingham - Preview

Post

Subscribe

Wed 02 Mar 2016 - Sat 02 Apr 2016

Midland musician Matt Woosey will showcase his new album during a UK tour that visits Birmingham's Kitchen Garden Cafe on March 15, 2016.

The Malvern-based singer-songwriter releases his eighth studio album, Desiderata, on March 2.



"The new album represents changes in my life," he explains. ''Y'know, getting married, becoming a father, turning 30. I guess the music is a musical interpretation of those things. To me, it doesn't really sound like anyone else."

Recorded between tour dates at five separate UK studios, it features an all-star cast of musicians overseen by producer Tony Hobden. Joining Matt are drummer Clive Deamer (Radiohead/ Robert Plant), bassist Danny Thompson (John Martyn/ Richard Thompson) and the Royal Shakespeare Company's Head Of Music, Bruce O'Neil, on piano.



"The instrumentation on this album is very different for me," reflects Matt. "There's upright bass, piano, some pedal-steel, electronica. Having the other musicians pulling and pushing in other directions takes the stress off me. I'm letting it happen around me. There're so many styles and feelings on the album musically, but that's where Tony comes in, because it's all tied together by the production."

Highlights include the six-minute, trip-hop-inflected Lighthouse that gives the album its thematic fulcrum, openly tipping a hat to Max Ehrmann's original Desiderata poem which laid out the ingredients for a worthwhile life.

"A copy of that poem has been hung in my mum and dad's toilet for 14 years," laughs Matt, "so every time I have a pee there, I read bits of it. It's very poignant, with very simple language. It means a lot to me. Lighthouse is my version, just my very simple thoughts on life."



Also worth noting is the track Million Miles which offers tumbling harmonies and an electric solo.

"That song was on my first album," Matt recalls, "but I thought it deserved to see light of day because back then I only sold a few CDs to drunk people!"

Having said that, Matt's general rule is that he always likes to offer something new.

"When people come up after a gig and ask which CD to buy, I'll always recommend the newest one," he says. "I have a real fear of repeating myself. My music has to be creative and artistic. It has to keep pushing things forward. I just want people to come with me on my journey, whatever changes I make. And this album is a bit special to me…"

Matt Woosey's 2016 tour dates:

**March 2: Album Launch, Jazz Café, Camden, London;
March 4: Goin' Up The Country, Worthenbury;
March 5: West Malvern Social Club, Malvern;
March 6: Bristol Folk House, Bristol;
March 8: Robin 2, Bilston;
March 12: Scarborough Blues Festival;
March 15: Kitchen Garden Cafe, Kings Heath, Birmingham;
March 18: Winchcombe Live, Gloucestershire;
March 22: 39 Hopstar, Darwen, Gloucestershire;
March 24: Sofa Sessions, Kettering;
March 25: Marrs Bar, Worcester;
March 26: Florence Mine Arts Centre, Egremont, Cumbria;
March 27: Blues Bar, Harrogate;
March 31: Grain Barge, Bristol;
April 1: St James Wine Vaults, Bath;
April 2: Dorchester Arts Centre.
**

#bands
#concerts
#kings_heath
#music
#music -venues
#pop_culture
#shows
#south_birmingham
#march
#april
!date 02/03/2016 -- 02/04/2016
%wnbirmingham