Before I get downright to the album by Matt Stevens, entitled “Ghosts”, I would like to give those a little known background about Matt Stevens.

Matt Stevens is considered by:

“Matt Stevens, looping guitar specialist and “One man wall of sound” .Prepare to be blasted away by incredible Spanish, Jazz and Rock rhythms with leads that are out of this world” by Spratton Folk Festival

“Even though that record is a must-buy for anyone with an interest in acoustic Guitar music, his regular online concerts or live performances are just as intoxicating. Let there be no doubt about it, after all: Matt Stevens may have some delicious studio cuts on offer, but the stage is still the best place to appreciate this both experimental and deadly catchy music.” by Tokafi.com

Matt Stevens lives in North London and composes and plays music using just merely a cheap acoustic guitar and a sampler. Usually compared to post rock artists like Sigur Ros and musician John Mclaughlin and plays live all over the UK.

Matt Stevens has received success with his debut solo album due to “word of mouth” and gives his thanks to the support of bloggers, podcasters, and listeners from across the internet.

By the sound of his music you can tell he has a great talent for composing music for films, which he does. One of the films is an award winner entitled “Daddys Little Helper” and aside from also being considered a one man guitar orchestra, he also plays in a band known as The Fierce And The Dead.

Utilizing technology and the internet is something that impresses me so much about musicians like Matt Stevens. Most artists think the music business is dead, but its merely just a reflection of the change when it comes to the record industry and the music industry in itself. Something about technology and the accessibility to them now is what helps artists like Matt make interesting and innovative music. Which is another great thing to point out, he technically plays live to people from all over the world by performing to those using Ustream.TV

Listening to Ghost on my iPod while doing my daily grind made me feel like I was in a 42.6 minute film. The music features enough repetition to hypnotize you the same way ambient music would put you in a trance, but will eventually break that and transform it into an element of surprise with pounding drums. You almost forget or find hard to believe this is all coming from a cheap guitar, a sampler, and a shit load of effects.

The music is entirely instrumental with a modern feel. If I need to clarify something to you indie film freaks out there, just listen to the instrumental stuff you hear in some intense scenes. You will get all those different moods from watching the indie films solely just listening to the music. A lot of people call this genre of music. “Post-Rock”.

For those of you that never heard of the term, I’ll let wikipedia explain it to you all:

“Post-rock is a musical genre characterized by the use of instruments commonly associated with rock music, but using rhythms, harmonies, melodies, timbres, and chord progressions not traditionally found in rock. Post-rock musicians typically produce instrumental music.”

Don’t be fooled though. There’s a lot more variety of genres mixed, but I’m showing you what I hear through my ears. Speaking of indie films and post rock, it’s usually a common trait for post rock bands to compose for film as well.

The use of the sampler on this album was very wise. Just as explained on the background of Matt Stevens, it layered everything great adding a full sound to every track while the guitar is being played in human form per say. The airy background sound provides a great ghostly feel (I guess it relates to the name of the album).

Overall, for those that are fans of instrumental music, ambient, and post rock should give this album a shot. For those with an appreciation for sampled atmospheres being accompanied by live instruments, or overall enthusiastic about innovative ways music is performed/recorded should consider this album as well.

Matt Stevens also being a very intelligent musician keeping up with the current times of the music business has offered a “pay what you want” price base for this album, Ghost. This paying model was originally pioneered by Radiohead which has ever since lead a great idea for many artists out there to get their music out there. Radiohead also began this paying model once they dropped their old label and went independent, marking new grounds for other indie DIY musicians out there. Matt Stevens is another great example of that movement.

Buy Ghost by Matt Stevens by clicking the link below:
http://mattstevens.bandcamp.com

The album is also available on iTunes and Emusic, so be sure to comment and rate his music there.

You can also find his YOUTube channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mattstevensguitar