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Every Monday we will be bringing you interviews with unsigned UK or Ireland artists for Independent Music Monday. Recently we caught up with unsigned Leicester based singer Matt Steady to find out more…

Where are you from and how did you first get into music?
I’ve lived in Leicester since going to university there (Physics with Space Science and Technology anyone?). Before that my family moved around a fair bit with my Dad’s job – from Essex to Lancashire. I was lucky enough to have been brought up in a musical family, and I was given violin and piano lessons from a very early age. That, combined with singing regularly in church, gave a solid musical background. In my teens I started playing guitar and quickly discovered a whole new side of music from the classical and gospel I’d experienced. Blues, rock, folk, jazz – all sorts! And more importantly I found that music wasn’t just about slavishly following notes on the page and becoming a clone, but you could improvise and jam and put something far more into what you’re playing than a technical performance. Life-changing!

Who were your musical influences when you were growing up and who are your influences now?
As a kid, along with my classical training, I was exposed to jazz (Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald) and gospel (Andrae Crouch), Then in my teens I discovered the Beatles, Dire Straits, Eric Clapton, Gary Moore, Marillion, Pink Floyd, the Levellers etc. Then there was a wonderful Celtic prog rock band called Iona. Really getting into folk was a lot later, with Show of Hands, Seth Lakeman, Wardruna. Other noteable influences are actually more American – Jeff Black, Gretchen Peters, Dylan, Springsteen.

How would you describe your sound?
It varies – I do make a concerted effort to make a different sound for each album. “Here be Dragons” is what I call Celtic Blues, a kind of fusion of the two different roots. I combine guitars and fiddle and uilleann pipes (Irish bagpipes), and anything else I can get my hands on! It goes from traditional to pretty heavy! I play almost everything, apart from when I require a decent drummer, in which case my Swedish friend Niklas Blixt gets involved.

What is your latest release called and what was the influence behind it?
When I wrote “Here be Dragons”, I’d had some major changes in my life. We’d adopted another 2 children and I was the full-time “Mum” this time around, whilst working as a full-time musician after leaving 20 years in IT. The premise behind the song and the album was that in days of yore, unknown areas of maps were marked with dragons to denote danger and the unknown. There was lots of things going on in our lives that were very scary, but as we sailed towards them, the unknown became clearer and a lot of the scariness dissipated. So it’s an enouragement to face your fears, plot your course and steer through them.

What’s your local music scene like?
Very mixed. There are some exceptional artists and bands at various levels in the city, and there are also a few good venues. And some not-so-good venues. As a solo acoustic artist, it can be tricky to get high quality paid gigs locally, as there are so many acoustic artists around these days willing to play for free. On the other hand, performing as a band is not all that easy from a financial point of view either. Thank goodness for the internet! Because of it my local music scene is actually worldwide. I now have so many lovely friends and listeners from so many different places – particularly from America and Canada. This doesn’t just happen by chance – it involves a lot of work and actually making friends with people one on one. But it means you end up with friends, not just faceless listeners, which is far better in my opinion!

What do you have planned for the next 12 months? Any albums or festivals?
I’ve got another studio album planned for the autumn. It’s a concept album (eek run – it’s proggy!) following the story of one man just before the turn of the last century (990s) caught up in the conflict between Saxons and Vikings. I’ve recorded most of it in demo form, and am looking forward to finishing it off shortly. The sound is quite different this time round. To help drive my creativity and to use a different aural palette, I’m not using any acoustic or electric guitars. The main sound is made from a cittern, fiddle, fretless bass and frame drums. It’s a much bigger sound than you’d expect. Each instrument has it’s own distinct frequency range which means you can really get stuck in without them conflicting with each other. It’s very folky in style, but the instrumentation, along with my big baritone vocals, means it still sounds big, heavy and modern at the same time. I think it’s a little bit different to most stuff that’s out there.

The entire album is being written in full view – every stage from penning lyrics to playing early acoustic versions, recording instruments, writing the song arc, creating the artwork etc. will all be showing on my Patreon channel. I love to show people that there is no magic involved, showing all the steps of how great music can be made by an everyday person. If I can do that, then I hope that I might be able to inspire other musicians to take similar steps and make their own great music!

Is there anyone you’d love to collaborate with?
So many people! There are a few individuals that have impacted me personally (some of them know that, some of them don’t!) that I’d love to return the favour – Gretchen Peters, Jeff Black, Phil Beer and Steve Knightley, Seth Lakeman in particular.

Any funny stories surrounding your live performances?
Where do I start? Every gig has something hilarious in it, although sometimes you have to take a deep breath and look at it from a different angle to find it! I once did a gig in a clothes store in Chorley. It was basically empty until a bunch of pizza-eating 12 year olds invaded the shop and started listening. I geared the performance round to them and involved them. I ate their chips in between verses and got them talking/shouting. The funniest thing was when a bunch of them got up and started doing a cheerleading routine to my folk music. I just wish we’d got it on video. Classic!

What is the one thing that you want readers to know about you?
I’m real. My music is real. My songs are authentic. I play the instruments. I write the songs. This is not plastic music made by committee to satisfy a certain scene, hit a target audience, get played on a certain station or even to sell records. I play from the heart, and the people that connect with me and my music are people that love real music with emotion. I love to talk to anyone and everyone. Get in touch!

You can find out more about Matt on his website or via Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Twitter or YouTube, and you can also email him: mattsteady@mattsteady.com.