DRINKING SONGS LIVE 20 YEARS ON (2 vinyls)

Description

Twenty years ago, Matt Elliott released 'Drinking Songs,' the first installment of a landmark trilogy, a magnificent seven-track dark folk album that remains to this day the most streamed on platforms and a favorite among fans of the Bristol native. Today, to celebrate the anniversary of the most iconic work of his discography, Matt Elliott presents 'Drinking Songs Live 20 Years On,' a collection of alternative versions recorded live as a trio.Matt Elliott, who had already made a name for himself in the indie electronic scene under the moniker The Third Eye Foundation, ventured into folk territory in the early 2000s. Released in 2004, 'Drinking Songs' is the Englishman's second album under his own name, following 'The Mess We Made' released in 2003 on Domino. Matt Elliott's unique quality lies in his ability to fuse different styles, blending chamber folk with Eastern European cabaret music, while simultaneously utilizing his background in electronic music, particularly his mastery of sampling and effects, to serve his songs.A profound exploration of the human condition, 'Drinking Songs' is a journey through the most inaccessible corners of the soul. Each track on this album is a story in itself, a window into moments of pain, nostalgia, and reflection. 'C.F. Bundy,' with its nocturnal guitar notes and mournful cello, immerses us in an atmosphere both unsettling and familiar, setting the tone for the album from the outset. 'Trying to Explain' and 'The Guilty Party' explore incommunicability and loss, with arrangements that seem to float like specters in the night. Concluding the original album, 'The Maid We Messed' offered twenty minutes of a jungle where time seemed to stretch: undoubtedly the most enigmatic and accomplished conclusion for a slowcore album...Several hundred concerts across Europe and seven albums later, Matt Elliott now presents 'Drinking Songs Live 20 Years On,' revisiting this seminal album. Recorded at L'Autre Canal in Nancy, where the Englishman has lived for several years now, this album features new trio versions, with musicians who regularly accompany him on stage: Anne-Elisabeth de Cologne (double bass) and Barbara Dang (piano). Anyone who has seen him live, solo or with this accompaniment, knows how much Matt Elliott has continually drawn from tracks on 'Drinking Songs,' like the emblematic and poignant 'The Kursk.' The painful notes of the tortured young man, barely softened by the gaze of a now more serene Matt Elliott, also benefit from the choice of a live recording. The presence of the double bass, piano, and saxophone (which Matt Elliott seems to have definitively adopted since his last album 'The End of Days') indeed add a new dimension and textures to the compositions. The trio's virtuosity and sensitivity enhance every note, every silence, bringing an even more intimate and captivating power to each track. This collaboration transcends the studio version, capturing the raw emotion of a Matt Elliott who, at 50, seems to be at the peak of his art. Whether or not one knows the studio versions, one must let oneself be captivated from the very first track, an intertwining, a superposition of the first two tracks of the original album: 'CF Bundy / Trying to Explain'. Seventeen minutes, largely instrumental, heartbreakingly beautiful, oozing with melancholy and absinthe.While Matt Elliott is touring to revisit his flagship tracks, 'Drinking Songs Live 20 Years On' is not just a celebration of two decades of an internationally recognized work. It is, above all, an illuminating work of exploration and reinterpretation. By bringing his 'drinking songs' back to life twenty years later, Matt Elliott offers us a precious gift: the opportunity to listen to 'Drinking Songs' again for the first time.