Matt Henshaw Recommends ... 2013 (Ones to Watch for 2014)

A quick summary of the recommendations I made in the latter quarter of 2013 ... keep your eye on there chaps and chapesses !

Charlotte Carpenter

Leah Sinead

The Simpletones

Matt Zara

Mattayoux

Savanna Bones

The Bobcats

Stay tuned for more !!!

Tippy The Cat ...

With his growing fanbase on Facebook and Twitter, in recent interview I was asked how I would if my cat became more famous than me?? Well, I said I wouldn't mind, and of course I wouldn't, he's great, funny, cute, pretty much like Ryan Gosling if he didn't have such an ugly little face, I Love Him !

If you love him too then go like and follow him ... then I might share my short stories with you ... right now, he's currently plotting to pull down the Christmas tree !

MERRY ROCKIN' CHRISTMAS - In The Presence Of The Lord - Matt Henshaw

Here's a little song I wrote ...



Merry Christmas !

Matt Henshaw 'In The Presence Of The Lord'

Recorded, Produced, Mixed & Mastered by Tristan Ivemy.

Recorded at Miloco Islington, Metropolis and Battery Studios, London, England, United Kingdom.

Vocals, Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitar & Lead Guitar by Matt Henshaw.
Backing Vocals by Christopher Owen.
Bass & Backing Vocals by Nathan Clarke.
Drums, Percussion & Backing Vocals by Chris Goring.
Horn Arrangements, Percussion & Backing Vocals by Tristan Ivemy.

Well, he don't want to stay here
Not another day here
Because just like me he can't stand the weather

We all know that planet earth is blue
And we all know that love is true
If only it could last forever

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love

You want to go out and kiss the son
From the moment your life had begun
But first my children you must learn to kiss the sky

From the moment you walk through the door
It's the moment you had to be sure
That things they ain't never going to get any better

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love

Om Om Om

In the passing of time
Well I've looked and I've but I still couldn't
Someone quite like you
Somebody who would die for love

In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord
All you hold in your hands is all that you need
For the sake of your brothers and sisters you'd die for love
You would die for love
You would die for love
You would die die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord
You'd die for love
In The Presence Of The Lord

http://www.matthenshaw.com
http://www.facebook.com/matthenshaw

Matt Henshaw Autumn 2013 ...

Matt Henshaw Biography 2013

Matt Henshaw’s biography is already complex at the age of 26, which gives his song-writing a depth and maturity that could only have come with experience; suffering for his art and travelling a journey that has shaped and honed his skills – and it shows. Having paid his dues, he is still on his way up…and the best is yet to come.

This soul-loving, tea-drinking gardener is a singer/songwriter of some repute from Ilkeston, between Nottingham and Derby, who is now living in Leicester and taking the local music scene there by storm. His penchant for acoustic sets and original songs showcases his love of guitar and vocal – based soul & blues, demonstrating his influences of Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Steve Marriott and Sam Cooke, and earning him the description of ‘an old soul in a young body’. He has named his unique sound Acoustic Rhythm and Gospel, creating a new music genre and inspiring his audiences to follow the man and his music. Widely respected by his peers and well known to the gig-going audiences in the Midlands, he is now travelling the length and breadth of the UK looking to broaden his appeal, continue the journey that has taken him this far, make his mark on the national music scene, and see where the ride takes him.

His recent decision to perform as a solo artist, stripping back his unique sound to just an acoustic guitar and his superbly mellifluous voice, has already generated much interest and he can be found most evenings on a stage doing what he was born to do, guitar in hand, working his particular brand of magic; his beautiful soulful voice and ethereal guitar weaving a spell over a gathering with self-penned songs so resonant with emotion and meaning they would cause an angel to weep, leaving his audience spellbound and wanting more. This rapidly growing interest has strengthened his resolve to make himself prominent on the UK music scene, and his web-based activities on popular social networking sites such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter growing his following to promote himself and his music are now paying dividends, with fans across the globe wanting more.

His superlative voice and stage presence has already won him critical acclaim from respected publications such as the NME and The Guardian; he has been featured on BBC Introducing numerous times, appears regularly on independent radio stations throughout the Midlands, and opened the main stage for Dizzy Rascal at Lovebox Festival in London after winning the NME Breakthrough Act in 2010. He was previously a founder member of Censored, a band who garnered much critical acclaim and fame throughout the Midlands, and who supported Snow Patrol, Ocean Colour Scene and We Are Scientists, also playing the Isle Of Wight & Reading and Leeds Festivals. More recently, he has collaborated with numerous artists in and around his home patch to create a unique sound with the Derby-based MC Reggiimental, which has been dubbed B-Boy Soul and which generated the widely-acclaimed album ‘Coming Around’- the most under-rated album release of this year. He has also teamed up with a former bandmate, under the name of Satsuma Elephants, to generate psychedelic rock with soulful undertones; an eclectic mix which demonstrates how successfully he can slip from genre to genre, and even create new ones, without losing integrity and which showcases his appeal to his many appreciative fans.

Matt Henshaw @ The Oxjam Leicester Takeover 2013 ...

Afternoon Tea to all,

Yesterday I played three sets in total at three wonderful venues for Oxjam 2013 ... met loads of great people, made plenty of new friends and caught up with some old ones as well. Spending a day doing what Sundays are for ... home-made banana bread, apple crumble, carrot and coriander soup and a nice hearty garlic & celery broth ! The compost is absolutely buzzing !!

Here's me at the start of the day at The Curve Theatre in Leicester ...



Here's what I played:-

Your Eyes Are Made Of Gold
Always In The Way
Not In Nottingham
Play The Game
707
My Life
It Ain't Easy

And here's me at Hansom Hall, beautiful yet underused venue in Leicester city ...



And here's what I played there:-

It Ain't Easy
It's A Wonderful Night
Always in the Way
Stop Me Girl
Me & You
You Send Me

An absolute pleasure it was to hear my voice ringing out singing Sam Cooke ie. The Greatest's first smash hit in Leicester own mini Royal Albert Hall. Made me think about the future and what is and what could be. My dreams as a teenage were always to sing in the Albert Hall and the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool ... help me out, help me get there.

And then I played a pretty impromptu set at The Basement, top place, and some top blues bands on later on ... I was playing away from the guitar and sat a piano and jammed through a few songs ...

Stop Me Girl
That's Life
Goodnight

Yeah, that's right, in true lounge piano stylee I played a bit of Frank Sinatra for the locals, they loved it. They wanted more anyways, I was only supposed to play two, and whilst my piano skills are little lacking, plonking and pedestrian to say the least, I was asked to do one more. Good times all in all and all the great acts I managed to see I fancy doing a blog on each, so I'll be bring back 'Matt Henshaw Recommends ...' ASAP.

Peace, Love & Tea,
Matt Henshaw.
MattHenshaw.com

My Life - Matt Henshaw

Alright there?!

October 2013, where does the time go?

Now seems like an appropriate time to look back on a highly creative year, let you know what I'm up to now and hopefully where I'm going next.  I've released an album, started a whole new band and finally bitten the bullet and gone out as a proper solo artist, no-one to blame but myself from this point onwards, eh?

First off, Matt Henshaw and the Rhythm'n'Gospel Cavalcade is coming together nicely, I've written hundreds of songs and carving out a nice little setlist or two to play here, there and wherever you want me.  Get in touch, sort me out with some food, drink and petrol money and I'm yours.  My initial releases have been warmly received, a few thousands views on YouTube with no real promotion is nothing to be sniffed at I don't think ...
It Ain't Easy / My Life
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RATS_6IuN2A&list=PL7UCvjRIeiY9bHc8S5B10vDleLSXwSIdf&index=1

There's an ever growing number of you on the mailing list, so for that I am thankful, and numbers on facebook, twitter and, now, instagram keep going up so I must be doing something right, right?  I'm also blogging fairly frequently and I might start adding to my YouTube channel a little more often, just little treats, we'll see.

Currently in the midst of doing a bunch of radio sessions interviews and podcasts in the East Midlands, some nice shows in my adopted hometown of Leicester, it seems they've taken to me and adopted me, just lovely.  In all honesty, I don't really know what I'm doing, I've never been a solo artist before, and contemplating my next move without any kind of collaborator is  little daunting, I'm sure i'll figure it out and I hope you'll stick with me.  I guess the message is, stay tuned and see where we go from here, it's going to be exciting !



B-Boy Soul
The second episode from myself and ReggiiMental came earlier this year.  Coming Around is availablefor download from all your favourite outlets, physical copies are long gone.  Jimmy B-Boy is now concentrating on working with the youths of Derbyshire for his MPR Derby project and it may be some time before the next slice of B-Boy Soul comes your way, hopefully not another 3 years, and hopefully the time in between is fruitful and creative !
http://www.facebook.com/ReggiiMental

Satsuma Elephants
Started out as just me and my best mate jamming in his garage and we've done festivals, been on the radio and packed rooms out, demand for the Elephants; or the Satsumas, however has far exceeded the supply.  I wish I could be a Satsuma Elephants; or my personal preferences, a Suma, everyday but right now we're on holiday, looking to hit the studio sometime soon to mix and master the batch of songs we have, and hopefully we'll be with you to provide your much needed dose of Vitamin C sometime soon.

So, in summary ...
Who knows where?  Who knows when??  But, someday soon we'll meet again.

For sure, we'll meet again,
Spread The Love !
Matt Henshaw
http://www.matthenshaw.com

PS.  be sure you've 'Liked' me on facebook, 'follow' me on twitter and instagram, subscribe to the blog and the YouTube channel and you can't go wrong.  Updates as they happen, and you'll make me happy, that's all I really want to be.
 

Matt Henshaw on instagram !

Good Day,

Rainy day here in the East Midlands. And as I feel like my blog is my much neglected favourite child I'm going to start writing more, that is my Autumn promise to myself. I'm a fan of the extended written word and the epistolary exchange, my last blog mentioned my success in growing my mailing list, facebook and twitter following, and my considering joining instagram, well I have, but snapshots and 140 characters just don't satisfy my need to mass communication. So here we go ...

I have joined instagram ... here's my first picture ...



An artistic assembly of torn beer mats by me, live from the Cookie Jar, Leicester. Don't worry though, the beer mats were already torn and on table I found myself sitting with a moment to spare ... I'm not one of these sexual frustrated people who go around tearing up beer mats and ripping the labels off their bottles !

In the meantime since the last blog I have been plotting and planning and writing and thinking. I played a radio session at Hermitage FM this week which will go out on Saturday night and be repeated again in the week. I played a brand new song entitled 'No Matter How' that is me embracing my new hobbies, life of living with being me and coming to terms with how I am. Sure you'll hear it live at some point or maybe on a grainy youtube video.

My plan is to write more blogs, keep it interesting, let you in on my new hobbies, or things I have always done but don't mind sharing, it's 2013 afterall, and I'm on facebook, instagram and twitter ! And I'm slowly but surely adding to The Matt Henshaw Archive, essentially a place for backing up all my things, just in case technology lets me down, as it almost always does !!

Goodbye for now, stay tuned, stay beautiful, and don't forget to keep listening to my stuff,
MHx
Matt Henshaw
Matthew Henshaw
Satsuma Elephant

Hello Again ... sorry for the delay ...

Y-Not Festival & solo shows ! + Birthday Reminder ...

Wow, what a busy weekend and days filled with new and familiar faces. Thanks everyone and anyone who makes these things possible.

I'll be brief, I'm doingan acoustic show @ the Vic Inn in Derby on Sunday, then a private festival on Monday, then back in Leicester for a couple of shows later next week ... in between I'll be taking a road trip to Swansea ... wherever I lay my hat ... that's my home ... just as a heads up, if anyone wants to provide me with tea bags and a sofa bed to come and play a show (petrol money helps too) I'm There !

Here's me before last night's show @ The Exchange in Leicester, great crowd, building it up a little on the acoustic scene round here, it feels good, meeting a lot of great people, I hope everyone stays with me on this journey to wherever it is we're going :)



And heaven forbid you should forget my birthday party coming up ...

August ! One month 'till Birthday celebrations ...

Apologies for the lack of blogs through July. Hopefully I can step it up a gear through August.

I've been very busy of late, even to the point that I've been bed-ridden for the first 3 days of this week, exhausted ! 7 months of the year down and three musical projects up and running ...
Matt Henshaw
The B-Boy Soul Experience from Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental
& Satsuma Elephants
don't forget to 'Like' up everything on facebook ...

Speaking of which, I've just joined that monolith of the cyber world myself, I don't really know what I'm getting myself in for but I'd appreciate your friendship over there, warms the cockles does that tiny little 'Like' button ... but I've promised myself not to get toooooo engrossed in it ... that is very much a possibility ... and it's an easy way to share pics ...

Like this one ... my new Page profile pic ... Live @ The London Palladium ... hope you 'Like' it ... don't worry I'll get bored of that soon enough ...



And don't forget BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS - Friday 6th September @ The Venue, Derby - Be there or be extremely right angled !!

Oh, and if you've missed the setlist posts, I always put mine up on here SetList.fm/Matt-Henshaw-13d00551.html ... check what songs I'm playing, it's different everytime I hit the stage, planning is for chumps ... although, I think that's why I failed a lot of my Art GCSE bits ... nevermind !

The Brown Lion, Birmingham setlist ...

Greetings web dwellers,

A pleasant night in Birmingham was had by all, by all means. So much so that I'm going to make the trip over the Brum twice more this week. Tonight I'll be at the Actress & Bishop with Muthafunk in the Funk Realm. It's gonna be funkay ... and Thursday night on Hockley Street. I am a child of the East but all the West Midlands love I am receiving at the moment is certainly warming the cockles. The week will be capped by Party in the Park in Birmingham again and then Godiva Festival in Coventry net week ... trailing the Warwickshire Festival circuit and Satsuma Elephants all over the Staffordshire airwaves ! Woop !

Here's the tunes I did last night, great little hootenany at the Brown Lion, some excellent musicians joining me for impromptu jams ...
It Ain't Easy
707
Dutch Courage
I've Had Tears
Naughty Girls
25 Miles
Gimme Some More
Tin Soldier
... cracking stuff. Thanks Andy, Lukasz, Andy, Sam, Sam, Chris, Ste, Sean, Tim, Kalik, Lisa, Andy and everyone that was down, jamming and/or otherwise.

Here's a poster for Sunday's shindig, if you're a Brummie, a Black Country rambler or just nearby then make sure you come down for some funkaliscious good times ...



And some videos for your listening and viewing pleasure ...

E:Merge Festival setlist and my day ...

Evening music lovers,

Today has been quite nice, and last night too. Caught up with ReggiiMental aka. Jimmy B-Boy and went to see Leah Sinead Sanderson, the best new artist in Nottingham. Watch this space. She'll be big !

Anyways, today, I went to E:Merge Festival, again not scheduled to play I found myself filling a gap between a poet and a choir doing a couple of acoustic numbers ...
It Ain't Easy
Always in the Way

Short and sweet and right up everybody's street, so I was told.

Then on to catch up with some family in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, mother, father, brother and grandparents ... earned myself a "history of football" book from 1979 ... an interesting read.

All my lovin',
Matt Henshaw.
http://www.MattHenshaw.com
http://www.SatsumaElephants.com

New Matt Henshaw YouTube Channel ...

Saturday ! Saturday ! Saturday, Saturday !

Sorry, went all a bit Elton John there for a second ... just writing to let you know about my new YouTube Channel design ... you can find looooooooooads of vids on there, Matt Henshaw, ReggiiMental, MuthaFunk, Satsuma Elephants, Censored ... it's all gravy, and it's all mighty fine good gravy !

On the right hand side you can see a bunch of links to YouTube channels I'd highly recommend, including Khan Academy, The Zeitgeist Movement, W3schools, Lee Camp, Satsuma Elephants and more ... I'm sure you'll be hooked up to the world wide web for hours, and who knows you might learn a thing or two ...

Thanks to Charlie Evans Design for all the artwork on there and across my social networks, you can find links to all of them in the About section on the YouTube profile ...

Subscribe, comment, favourite and Like everything you watch, it's all for a good cause ... you wouldn't want me to stop doing what I love now would you?

Here's the latest video from my channel ... have yourself a psychedelic rock out ...

Busy week for Matt Henshaw, MuthaFunk, ReggiiMental & Satsuma Elephants ...

Evening/Morning All,

Wow, it's been tooooo long since I posted you a lovely little blog to read, I might even need to do multiple blogs to cover everything that's been happening over this last week !

The main event I suppose I should tell you about is my trip to BBC Nottingham to record an interview that went out on Saturday night all over the East Midlands and online. You can listen again ... I come in on around 50 minutes ... a quick update on all things Matt Henshaw, MuthaFunk, ReggiiMental and Satsuma Elephants ... Enjoy !

Here I am in the world's best city ...



I'll fill you in setlists for the shows at the Actress & Bishop in Birmingham, jamming with Ocean Colour Scene and Satsuma Elephants live @ The Foxlowe Arts Centre in Leek ... when I get a minute or two to sit down and type ...

In the meantime, here's the full series of "Cooking With Satsuma Elephants" ... Chris Goring is one funny mother chuffer ...



And keep listening to Coming Around ...

Dot-to-Dot Festival setlist ...

So here it is, the set I played for my impromptu set @ The Jam Cafe in Nottingham on Sunday at Dot-to-Dot Festival in Nottingham. Thanks for watching if you were there, thanks for caring if you wasn't, and there was loooooads of cameras there so I'm sure videos and photographs will emerge soon ... keep 'em peeled !

Matt Henshaw @ Dot-to-Dot Festival, The Jam Cafe, Nottingham, Sunday 26th May, 2013
It Ain't Easy
Always In The Way
707
Can't Hold Back

More Coming Around videos coming around soon ...



And keep on listening ...


And Keep Fighting !

My Bank Holiday Weekend ...

As the rain clouds set in midweek it's definitely time to reflect on my sunny Bank Holiday weekend and return my blog, neglected for a whole week can you believe!??! I hope forgiveness can be found within you all ...

Been all over the place. In the Midlands of course, cruising like a character from the imagination of Shane Meadows. Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire ... done 'em all.

Bumped into Bill Bailey !


Working with a few comedians of late ... stay tuned !

Making a move into book publishing, watch this space. Been helping out a friend who is an antiques dealer. Got a whole bunch of great vinyl records and some books. Plus, working on a podcast wih special guests and music history debate.

On Sunday I visited Nottingham for the annual Dot-to-Dot Festival ... caught up with some old friends and great new bands ... Kappa Gamma, Kagoule, Virginia Moon, Leah Sanderson, Dog Is Dead, Late of the Pier, Whispering Dolls, Fletcher, Hector, Joy Mumford and loads more ... and I got roped into doing an impromptu acoustic set at the Jam Cafe in Hockley ... I'll post more about that soon !

Oh, and notched up my 7th BBQ of the year with some great friends, Ilkeston's finest ... always nice to visit my home town. My mum is there, and her cooking is great !!!

Keep on the tunes ducks and duckies ...



And keep on listening ...


And Keep Fighting !

The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham Setlist ...

Monday Morning here again!

And I'm guessing all over the midlands and everywhere else in the UK it's pretty wet. What happened to the summer?? It's seemed to come and go with the release of Coming Around, right?

Anyways, where were we? Nottingham. Saturday night. You were beautiful. Especially if you was there. And if you wasn't I hope you was thinking of me, Reggii and the MuthaFunkers ! A spectacular show put on by the chaps, sax man Lukasz going into the crowd even. I was holding all that jazz together out front no doubt. Here's a list of them there songs what we done ... sure photos, videos and recordings will surface if you keep your eyes peeled, it was a rather good show.

Save The World
Loving You
Pick Up The Pieces
Think Twice
Gimme Some More
Can't Hold Back
Space Cowboy

Keep watching the skies ...



And keep on listening ...

Tonight Sounddhism @ The Bodega, Nottingham will feel the funk ...

Coming Around on tour, well and truly Coming Around ... this is a little video sampler from the rehearsal sessions ... plenty more to come ... maybe a little documatary ... see you tonight Nottingham !!!!



And keep on listening ...

The Roadhouse, Birmingham Setlist ...

So good evening/good morning Birmingham; or should I say Derby, as now I'm down in The Deepest Cellar doing what myself and ReggiiMental call "blapping" !

Anyways, where was I ? Oh yeah, setlist; or should I say, setlist(s) ...

So, arrived at the venue, the Roadhouse in Birmingham ready to soundcheck, and that's what we did, but, next door I noticed there was an open mic night, so I did two sets. An impromptu bit of acoustic love, featuring ReggiiMental who walked through the door, late of course, to see me about to play my final song, so I got him on.

Acoustic set ...
It Ain't Easy
Always In The Way
In The Presence Of The Lord
Can't Hold Back

And then onto the evening set with the MuthaFunk ...
Save The World
Sunrise
Think Twice
Can't Hold Back
Pick Up The Pieces
Gimme Some More
Loving You
Space Cowboy

So, there it is ... the first bit of Coming Around on tour ... see you in Nottingham on Saturday !



And keep on listening ...