Tag Archives: Matthew Herbert

On Record – Herbert & Momoko: Clay (Strut / Accidental)

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by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is an intriguing collaboration between the multi-skilled producer and instrumentalist Matthew Herbert, and drummer / vocalist Momoko Gill. Clay is the result of a musical relationship begun in 2024 with the song Fallen.

Typically for Herbert releases there are some intriguing sound sources involved, with live improvisation and sampling paired with the use of instruments ranging from kotos to basketballs. In the words of the Bandcamp commentary, “Clay treads nimbly between the dancefloor and the more introspective moods of the early hours”.

What’s the music like?

Intriguing at the very least, and often touching on the sweet spot between the end of the night and the start of the morning, capturing a rarefied set of sounds.

Gill’s pure voice conjures memories of Sade on occasion, and with sensitive and creative drumming proves the ideal foil to Herbert’s creative production. As the album progresses the songs only get better and more substantial.

Mowing is reminiscent of early Herbert, with its ‘kitchen sink’ percussion paired with a sonorous vocal, and so is Fallen Again, a particularly beautiful number. Drums and vocals – upper and lower registers – trade off to good effect on More And More, while the vocals dovetail nicely with minimal accompaniment on the short Heart.

Animals pairs flickering riffs from percussion and keyboard with the voice, but the longer songs are even more effective, developing in hypnotic fashion. Fallen Again is definitely one of those, while Circle Shore, by contrast, proves to be a thoughtful coda led by Gill’s drums.

Does it all work?

It does, though where you listen is key, as sometimes the level dips on headphones and the intricate production cannot be fully appreciated. When at their peak, though, Gill and Herbert are frequently compelling.

Is it recommended?

Yes. With such creative minds in play the results could never be less than interesting, and with Clay Matthew Herbert and Momoko Gill have created a bewitching and seductive album.

For fans of… Jamie Lidell, M J Cole, Roisin Murphy, Dani Siciliano

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Published post no.2,597 – Wednesday 16 July 2025

New music – Hatis Noit: Thor (Matthew Herbert Rework) (Erased Tapes)

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How reassuring to know that the art of the remix is still in good hands!

Matthew Herbert has been a practiced exponent of the form for at least 25 years now, but this remake of Hatis Noit’s Thor shows that he continues to find new and imaginative ways of presenting other people’s music. The process had an effect on both artists. “When I first listened to the sonic world of Matthew’s Thor rework”, says Hatis, “I felt so nostalgic that I cried. The song evokes in me an interactive energy exchange between forest spirits and people singing and dancing around a fire. It is an even more colourful and playful representation of the landscape that I wanted to portray.”

Herbert, meanwhile, talked about his approach to the task in hand. “I liked the devotional aspect of the original so recorded a few round glass and steel bowls to create a kind of found-gamelan set of sounds. I wanted it to feel like you walked out of a festival and stumbled across some voices and people in the woodland nearby, like an auditory hallucination where more modern techniques merged with ancient-sounding voices.”

Have a listen below and see what you think:

Switched On – Matthew Herbert: Musca (Accidental)

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musca

reviewed by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

With more than 25 years’ worth of experience in making house music, Matthew Herbert knows more than most how to make people dance. He has done so in a wide variety of ways, none more so than in his so-called ‘domestic’ albums Around The House and Bodily Functions – where the music was made from home appliances and the human body respectively.

Musca completes a trilogy of these albums, as far as the production goes – with added vocals from eight singers who Herbert had not met at the time of recording. It is, in effect, the ultimate lockdown album.

What’s the music like?

If you liked Herbert’s 1990s deep house, with its experimental tendencies and intimate language, you’ll love this. To get his musical sounds the composer manipulated a number of sounds from around the farm where he lives – so there are cameos from the pigs, dogs and foxes to name just a few. This being Herbert the sounds are expertly treated and fashioned into the language of house music, which on this occasion is a soulful model, especially with some of the vocalists involved.

Bianca Rose stands out for her contributions to Chain Reaction, Gold Dust and Let Me Sleep. The first of these has a lovely choral effect that Herbert secures as part of his word painting, while the last is a dreamy, piano-led nocturnal number with a wide sonic scope. Verushka is another to stand out on Fantasy, which has a clunking beat reminiscent of mid-90s Herbert and a sublime vocal.

Allie Armstrong is also an ideal foil for Herbert’s music, with the sombre but curiously moving The Horror a standout among her three contributions, its lyrics especially moving. The Impossible, meanwhile, has the backdrop of what sounds like a dripping tap in a barn, but the multi-tracked vocals are like a warm blanket in the coda.

Meanwhile Hypnotised, with Mel Uye-Parker, works really well thanks to deep keyboards and lovely layered vocals to dive into. It comes off the back of the treated vocals of Joy Morgan in Two Doors, with shuffling beats the backdrop to quite an eerie experience.

Only one of the 14 tracks is instrumental, The Slip positioned in the centre of the album and taking a jazzier profile, with flute solo and plucked bass.

Does it all work?

It does, largely. Part of this will depend on your approach to Herbert, for if you started listening to him because of his house music ventures you will definitely warm to this. It has an urban and soulful charm, with its beautifully layered textures, and its songs are constantly shifting, never too repetitive.

Is it recommended?

Very much so – for Musca is an album that is at turns relaxing, hypnotic, moving and subtly inspiring. Herbert’s command of the beats ensures there is never a moment wasted.

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