Tuesday 29 April 2014

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Samuel Idwal

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Recommends ... Samuel Idwal: Ladies, gents and everyone else surfing the cyberweb. Here's Samuel Idwal. Playing here at Charlotte Carpenter's Tea Party and ...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Henshaw's Horticultural Blog: Strawberry Flowers &...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Henshaw's Horticultural Blog: Strawberry Flowers &...: Good day mateys ! I've just had a wonderful morning and afternoon tea in the garden. Strawberry flowers everywhere, tulips blooming...

Monday 28 April 2014

Friday 25 April 2014

Thursday 24 April 2014

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Things I Like ...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Things I Like ...: And simply, sometimes, I like to share with you Things I Like ... and I hope some of you like them too ... here are the things that have mad...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Sings ...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Sings ...: A recent addition to Matt Henshaw's Adventures in Wonderland is Matt Henshaw Sings ... at the request of my wonderful followers, some of...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Henshaw's Horticultural Blog

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Henshaw's Horticultural Blog: I started writing about my garden in October and right now in the Spring/Summer it's bloomin' lovely ... here's my little journe...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Recommends ...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Recommends ...: Just whilst we're having a pause, here you can flick through my recommendations, I started in November and this feature has quickly beco...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: It Ain't Easy / My Life Available to Download & St...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: It Ain't Easy / My Life Available to Download & St...: Before the madness of Summer and the Festival season starts I'm going to take a little time to sit back and think about all I have done ...

Monday 21 April 2014

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: London This Wednesday !

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: London This Wednesday !: My first adventure down in the big smoke as a fully fledged singer songwriter solo artist ... I hope you'll come and join me at The Hoot...

Friday 18 April 2014

Coming Around

One year on from it's release I'm going to jot down some notes about the writing and recording of this record with Mr Jimmy B-Boy ReggiiMental himself, more for my own personal diary and memory bank benefit, but if you enjoy reading along too then I Love You More !

The Deepest Cellar
Can't Hold Back
The Fire Pit - EP

January 2013 and James Batchelor had be released from her majesty's pleasure and I was floundering in a job at the University of Leicester. Already considering jumping ship and pursuing a musical endeavour with Satsuma Elephants, long before I'd thought about or even wanted to be a solo singer-songwriter, Jimmy's new found freedom pushed us together and collaborate on something with such an urgency, freedom and freshness that I've never known before, it was a very positive time and I thank Jimmy B enormously for it !

We even recorded a song called Freedom that I quite liked, but it didn't make it onto the album, maybe you'll hear it sometime.

So we got together and hatched a plan of songs to sample, beats to loop, rappers to speak and got Joe Rizzle behind the desk making it sound fresh. We ended up writing and recording loads more tracks than we intended, again, you might hear some more someday.

And we hit the road, originally as a two piece and then blossomed during festival season with full 7 piece soul funk band !

Loads of stories to tell and loads of Love to share, but I'll save that for another day,, another blog, another tale.

Let's go through each track one by one and see what I can remember ...

Wade in the Water by The Ramsey Lewis Trio. Thank You !

Thinking Of You

A pleasant poppy Northern Soul number. For everybody.

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Nitty Gritty

ReggiiMental's favourite from the record. Soulful soulful nitty gritty.

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

I Know How it Feels

ReggiiMental's prison lament. There had to be one on the record. And I know it's a few people's favourite too.

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Down

Satsuma Elephants recorded a quick round for this one, and if you didn't know, that myself and Chris Goring, formerly of Censored.

Good times, shooting a quick video at Godiva Festival, and from the theme of the abandoned Fire Pit album, fits nicely on the record though following the bluesey I Know How It Feels.

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Gimme Some More

The single of the record. The video in the bowlerama in Matlock and Tamworth. Loads of fun, and check me beating Jimmy B-Boy on the punch bag machine.

This song, along with The Deepest Cellar and Everybody Clap You Hands is the epitome of what B-Boy Soul is all about, I think we smashed it with 2 records. Soul music, hip-hop and loads of Love for music.

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Keep It Low

ReggiiMental and Saynt Luke were left alone in the Deepest Cellar when I though the album was complete, and they came up with this gem to slot in the middle in my absence, I floated in and sprinkled myself over the top. But they'd already done enough reminiscing about Amsterdam and crate digging. Good Boys !

Fire ! Fire !! Fire !!!

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Alright

Possibly my favourite song on the record, the funniest one to do. It was a nursery rhyme type this I used to sing, and it slotted nicely over the beat. A fan in the US said it was her favourite because it was "naughty like Madonna" !!

The sex noises were added at the mix and mastering phase because a couple of rappers who were lined up didn't come through, I like the orgasmic second verse personally !

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Concrete Jungle

Channeling The Specials with a rumbling 2013 bassy undercurrent. Joey Gzus brings some grimey vibrations and I feel as urban as I'm ever gonna be in these 3 minutes or so ...

Coming Around song notes ...
https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw's Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade Tonight i...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw's Rhythm & Gospel Cavalcade Tonight i...: SEE YOU ALL THERE !!! Peace, Love & Tea, MHx

Thursday 17 April 2014

Everybody Clap Your Hands

Perhaps the most successful song from the Coming Around album, certainly the most downloaded, most played on the radio and the biggest crowd pleaser, very easy to sing along with and join in. Always love joiner inners me.

Just imagine yourself at a funkinest soulenest swingenest party, we were trying to have some continuity with The Deepest Cellar and I think we carried the vibe of a few of the tracks from that record, and maybe we outsouled them !

Great to play live with MuthaFunk, and segue into Dance To The Music by Sly & The Family Stone, a definite winner !

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Killing Time

Written on an old vintage guitar I bought from an antiques place in Heanor in Derbyshire, the only song on the record where I play a little guitar, and layered it up with some bass, and Rizzle made it sound great.

Joey Gzus adds a little something to this one, besides the expletives, it's a darker haunting, more ethereal number compared to the rest of the record, I wrote it after watching the first four or five seasons of Dexter back to back and imagined some strings on there, maybe I'll do it again someday as a solo artist, but I'm quite happy with the stripped back trip hop cocktail we concocted.

Splendid !

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Never Know

A bit more meaning with this one, and some effort on the production, slowing up and speeding down the beats, now that's a typo, but I like it, so I'm gonna leave it.

Me and Jimmy were discussing how things change and the place where you grew up changes and you really stay the same small town boy as you ever was, even though you never know what might happen in life. I'm a big believer that your outlook on the world is constructed in your early years, aside from a few minor alterations at around age 4, 5 or 6 you're pretty much set for being the same loveable rogue for the rest of your life, unless something really drastic happens.

You never know though ...

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Solid Gold

Rappin' over the theme from Bottom, or Last Night by The MAr-Keys as the more soulfully inclined might know it. But a favourite amongst vinyl fans, soul overs and funky big choruses. D-Bo Daley Williams does a stirling job dropping Jack Sparrow and Mo Farah into the mix and Reggii as ever.

Again, not much to it other than singing a chorus, very enjoyable and loads of fun though !

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

It's Gettin' Late

Does anybody know what it is?

Exactly what it says on the tin really. Spinning out late into the evening with John Murtaugh and simply asking the question of time, when you're lost in the vortex of the Deepest Cellar is only going to inspire ReggiiMental's creativity.

Instantly a sing-a-long favourite of Reggii's young daughter, Jasmina. I wish I could say there was more thought went into the song but, there wasn't, bloody good fun though.

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Changes

The final track on the album and ReggiiMental's opus, I didn't really have much to sing by this time as we recorded pretty much in order, with the exception of Keep It Low, which unsurprisingly has even less lyrical content from myself.

Scatting along to the fantastic Nostalgia 77, the winds of change are very much in the air and Jimmy B flexes his poetic muscles over something a little more jazzy than usual, let the rhythms and melodies of the musicians dictate his rhyming patterns, very skillful and soulful stuff. Me? I'm just trying to channel Ella Fitzgerald, and hopefully getting somewhere, even if it's just a third of the way !

https://matthenshaw.bandcamp.com/album/coming-around

Coming Around album (2013)

One year on from it's release I'm going to jot down some notes about the writing and recording of this record with Mr Jimmy B-Boy ReggiiMental himself, more for my own personal diary and memory bank benefit, but if you enjoy reading along too then I Love You More !

The Deepest Cellar
Can't Hold Back
The Fire Pit - EP

January 2013 and James Batchelor had be released from her majesty's pleasure and I was floundering in a job at the University of Leicester. Already considering jumping ship and pursuing a musical endeavour with Satsuma Elephants, long before I'd thought about or even wanted to be a solo singer-songwriter, Jimmy's new found freedom pushed us together and collaborate on something with such an urgency, freedom and freshness that I've never known before, it was a very positive time and I thank Jimmy B enormously for it !

We even recorded a song called Freedom that I quite liked, but it didn't make it onto the album, maybe you'll hear it sometime.

So we got together and hatched a plan of songs to sample, beats to loop, rappers to speak and got Joe Rizzle behind the desk making it sound fresh. We ended up writing and recording loads more tracks than we intended, again, you might hear some more someday.

And we hit the road, originally as a two piece and then blossomed during festival season with full 7 piece soul funk band !

Loads of stories to tell and loads of Love to share, but I'll save that for another day,, another blog, another tale.

Let's go through each track one by one and see what I can remember ...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Sings ... 'The Mighty Quinn' by Manfr...

Matt Henshaw's Adventures In Wonderland: Matt Henshaw Sings ... 'The Mighty Quinn' by Manfr...: A second instalment of Matt Henshaw Sings now, and it's a little different from the first, and the usual kind of cover versions you see ...

Wednesday 16 April 2014

Monday 14 April 2014

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Calling You Out (Lyrics) - Matt Henshaw

For corrupt politicians, corporations and football chairmen everywhere

I don't know what I have been sold
The games tha you play and the lies you have told
The snakes and the ladders the twists they unfurl
Who's to know what the future might hold?

But we made you what you are
Now you're leaving us permanent scar
Yes you've taken it all too far
Now we're Calling You Out
We are Calling You Out
Calling You Out

Your celebrations of war
Now we know what you truly stand for
Carving up lines between rich and of poor
I knew all along it was you keeping score

But we made you what you are
Now you're leaving us permanent scar
Yes you've taken it all too far
Now we're Calling You Out
We are Calling You Out
Calling You Out
Calling You Out

Whether you're red or you're blue
makes no difference to you
You've got nothing to prove
All I want is the truth

But we made you what you are
Now you're leaving us permanent scar
Yes you've taken it all too far
Now we're Calling You Out
We are Calling You Out
Calling You Out
Calling You Out
Calling You Out
Calling You Out



http://matthenshaw11.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/anti-tesco-protest-video-public-debate.html

http://matthenshaw11.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/anti-tesco-activism-protest-poetry-more.html

As A Matter Of Fact (Lyrics) - Matt Henshaw

The world is wide 'cos you exist
Well, I love you and that is that
The world is kind, if you insist
Well, I love you As A Matter Of Fact

And, oh my soul is restless ever since you went away
Thank God you're here to stay
And blowing in the wind is
A thousand little things
To say that you're OK

Well, I love you and that is that
Well, I love you As A Matter Of Fact

When you are near I have no fear
Well, I love you and that is that
It all seems clear, when you are here
Yeah, I love you As A Matter Of Fact

And all my nights are endless ever since you went away
Thank God you're here to stay
And floating up the stream is
A million little dreams
To say that you're OK

Well, I love you and that is that
Well, I love you As A Matter Of Fact
Well, I love you and that is that
Well, I love you As A Matter Of Fact