Matt Stevens (born 1975) is an English rock guitarist and composer, co-founder of the band The Fierce and the Dead,[2] and solo artist who has made 4 instrumental albums up to 2014's Lucid, released on Esoteric Recordings via Cherry Red Records.[3]Prog Magazine included him in their 100 Prog Icons[4] and their 200 Greatest Prog Musicians.[5]
Since 2022, he has been the guitarist in Tim Bowness's live band.[6] He has also recorded and written with Judy Dyble for an album on Acid Jazz Records which featured in the UK Official Independent Album Breakers and Progressive Albums Charts.[7][8] His solo music has been played on BBC 6 Music[9] and he was nominated for Breakthrough Artist at the 2014 Progressive Music Awards for his solo work.[10]
Stevens began releasing instrumental solo material in 2008, with his debut album Echo.[17] He was profiled about the live looping technique he used to create the album in Acoustic Magazine.[16] His second album, Ghost, was described by Prog Magazine in a 2011 article as “one of the unexpected highlights of last year”.[18] Stevens performed a series of online concerts to promote the album, as noted in a feature in Goldmine Magazine.[19]
In 2015 he completed a run of solo live looping UK gigs and toured with Steve Rothery,[30] and supported Jon Gomm,[31] alongside his work with The Fierce and the Dead.[32]
He announced his retirement from solo live looping performance in 2016 to focus on work with The Fierce and the Dead and other collaborations after the release of the Archive live album via Bad Elephant Music.[33][34]
Stevens continued to appear in the Prog magazine readers poll, placing in the Top Ten Best Guitarists in 2019[35] and 2023.[36]
In 2010, Stevens co-founded The Fierce and the Dead (TFATD), who play what Prog Magazine describe as a "fluid blend of post-, math- and prog rock".[37] The band originated from a jam session for Stevens' Ghost album.[38] The lineup features Stevens, alongside bassist Kevin Feazey, guitarist Steve Cleaton, and drummer Stuart Marshall.[39] They have released 4 albums If It Carries on Like This We Are Moving to Morecambe (2011),[40]Spooky Action (2013),[41]The Euphoric (2018),[42] and 2023's News from the Invisible World, their first to feature vocals.[43]Guitar.com noted they had "cultivated a large following by using both traditional and modern means".[44] Keyboard player Tom Hunt joined the band in 2024.[45]
In 2018, MusicRadar published a profile of Stevens focusing on his work with the band and the equipment he used.[46]
Stevens was a guest on Shineback's Rise Up Forgotten, Return Destroyed album in 2013.[58] He contributed to Gandalf’s Fist's 2014 concept album A Forest of Fey[59] and their 2016 album A Clockwork Fable.[60]
In 2018 he recorded guitar parts for Judy Dyble's album Earth Is Sleeping, on Acid Jazz Records and co-wrote “She Now Owns a Heart of Stone" on the record.[65][66] The album got into the Official UK Independent Album Breakers Chart and Progressive Albums Chart.[7]
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