Accidental Records (label)
04 December 2006 (released)
23 December 2006
He's been called a Brian Eno for the 21st century, has produced and remixed artists from Bjork to Yoko Ono, and has been a collector of musical household sounds (washing machines, toasters and even crisp packets as percussion instruments), such is his avant garde stature. He's often hailed in the electronic music world as one of the genre's most versatile figureheads. His apparent restless musical nature has given fruition to big band jazz swing 'Goodbye Swingtime' (2003), and the political experimental 2004 album 'Plat Du Jour' (experimantal for his use of food and its packaging as instruments), to pick out two.
Matthew Herbert's latest album, Scale, is regarded as his most accessible and pop-sensitive. Infact the current single, Something Isn't Right, masks his off centre musical approach with a seemingly traditional popular format, but it doesn't hide his unique musical ear. Within seconds you hear classical, smooth soul, big band, R 'n' B, jazz and 70's disco, you name it. Its flavour is slick, cool and effortless - imagine Earth, Wind and Fire, Chic and Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story all wrapped up in a modern flow. No wonder the likes of Roisin Murphy (Moloko), REM, John Cale and Serge Gainsbourg have sought this young Englishmans talents.
Rob Barnett, Music News
