Matt Stevens (musician)

Last updated
Matt Stevens
Matt Stevens in 2024.jpg
Background information
Born (1975-08-02) August 2, 1975 (age 50) [1]
OriginRushden, Northamptonshire, England
Genres Progressive rock, Post-rock, Instrumental rock
Occupation(s)Musician, composer
InstrumentGuitar
Years active2008–present
Labels Acid Jazz Records, Bad Elephant Music, Burning Shed, Cherry Red Records, Esoteric Recordings, Spencer Park Music
Member of The Fierce and the Dead
Website fierceandthedead.com

Matt Stevens 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]

Contents

Early life

Stevens grew up in Rushden, Northamptonshire, England. [11] [12] He began playing guitar as a teenager, inspired by Guns N’ Roses [13] and Iron Maiden, later influences include King Crimson, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Bad Brains, Radiohead, Portishead and Johnny Marr. [14] He moved to London in the early 2000s and began performing instrumental solo gigs, using a loop pedal and an acoustic guitar. [15] [16]

Career

Solo work

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]

His third record Relic was released in 2011, [20] via Burning Shed. [21] It received radio play from Gideon Coe on BBC 6 Music. [22] Guitar Player Magazine profiled Stevens in its December 2011 issue, coinciding with the release of the album. [23]

His 2014 album Lucid, released on Esoteric Recordings, a division of Cherry Red Records, featured guest performances from Pat Mastelotto, Charlie Cawood and Jem Godfrey. [24] It was described by All About Jazz as "a wholesome progressive-rock soup". [25] Prog Magazine compared it to Mogwai and Sonic Youth. [3] Stevens appeared in the 2014 Prog Magazine Readers' Poll of top ten best guitarists. [26] He played a solo set at Cambridge Rock Festival, the headliners were Wishbone Ash, Jorn and Mostly Autumn. [27] In the same year Stevens wrote a regular column on live looping techniques for Acoustic Magazine. [28] [29]

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]

The Fierce and the Dead

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]

The Fierce and the Dead have appeared at festivals including ArcTanGent [47] and Ramblin' Man Fair. [48] The band have supported Hawkwind, [49] and have been nominated for the Progressive Music Awards in 2013 [50] and twice in 2018. [51] They have played in the USA, [52] Germany, [53] The Netherlands, [54] Italy [55] and regularly in the UK. [56] [57]

Collaborations

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]

Between 2014 and 2017 Stevens played on Cosmograf's albums The Man Left In Space (with Gregory Spawton and Nick D'Virgilio), [61] Capacitor(with Nick Beggs). [62] and The Hay-Man Dreams. [63] [64]

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]

Since 2022 Stevens has been the guitarist in Tim Bowness's live band, initially working with Peter Chilvers. [6] Later line ups of the band have featured Theo Travis, [67] Andy Edwards, John Jowitt and Rob Groucott, playing a range of material including Bowness's work with Steven Wilson [68] in No-Man. [69] [70] [71] Andrew Booker replaced Edwards in the Tim Bowness band for the Prog The Forest Festival in 2024. [72]

He has performed as the live guitarist for comic book artist Mark Buckingham, [73] and with Andy Tillison and Theo Travis. [74]

Discography

Solo albums

Live Solo album

With The Fierce and the Dead

Guest appearances

Awards and nominations (as a solo artist)

Personal life

In 2018, Stevens underwent cancer treatment, which he discussed publicly in 2023 in an interview in Prog Magazine. [80]

Notable fans of Stevens' music include the actor Mark Benton, [81] and comic book artist Mark Buckingham. [82]

References

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  2. "Matt Stevens - Reality Tunnels". Innerviews: Music Without Borders. Retrieved 2025-07-24.
  3. 1 2 "Matt Stevens – Lucid review". Louder Sound.
  4. 1 2 Prog Magazine 100 Prog Icons Matt Stevens, 2019-07-12, retrieved 2025-07-24
  5. 1 2 Prog Magazine 2020-09-25, 2020-09-25, retrieved 2025-07-24
  6. 1 2 "Matt Stevens joins Tim Bowness for live shows". Louder Sound. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  7. 1 2 3 "Judy Dyble – Earth Is Sleeping". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  8. "Review: Judy Dyble – Earth Is Sleeping". The Progressive Aspect. 21 July 2018. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  9. "BBC Radio 6 Music - Gideon Coe, 15/10/2011". BBC. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
  10. 1 2 "Progressive Music Awards 2014 are go – nominees announced". Louder Sound. Future plc. 27 June 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  11. Munro, Scott (20 October 2021). "Matt Stevens: 'I like the idea of ambitious rock music'". LouderSound. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  12. Stevens, Matt (March 2014). "Interview: Matt Stevens". Echoes and Dust. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  13. "Prog date? Very much no!". Louder Sound. Future plc. 27 February 2024. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
  14. Prasad, Anil (2014). "Matt Stevens: Reality Tunnels". Innerviews.
  15. Rowden, Jez (16 March 2014). "Matt Stevens". The Progressive Aspect. Interview. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Acoustic Magazine UK". October 2010. Retrieved 2025-07-05.
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  19. Schmitt, Mike (2021-03-23). "British guitarist Matt Stevens talks about 'Ghost' stories". Goldmine Magazine. Retrieved 2025-07-08.
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