Tour & EP Release Details ...

A happy new year indeed !

We're barely into 2014 and yet it's already shaping up to be quite a year ... and to celebrate such niceness I'm going to release an EP, and you're the first to know about it ... It Ain't Easy / My Life will be released on March 5th !  And it will feauture 4 songs, original artwork and will travel around the country with me in its physical format whilst being available from all good digital outlets and some rubbish ones as well.



You can listen to what I've put out there for free on YouTube, there's plenty more videos to come too !
Also, SoundCloud seems to be becoming a busier place ...
 

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Mini-Tour of the East Midlands
Halfway through this too, and I've added a few new dates ...

January
Saturday 11th - Twenty Ten, Matlock
Tuesday 14th - Pepper Rocks, Nottingham
Friday 17th - The Musician, Leicester
Saturday 18th - The Donkey, Leicester
Sunday 19th - Brew Dog, Nottingham
Saturday 25th - The Cookie Jar, Leicester
Friday 31st - The Old Bell, Derby
February
Saturday 1st - The Apiary, Castle Donington
Friday 7th - The Musician, Leicester
Saturday 8th - The Bella Jar, Sheffield
Thursday 13th - The Dog & Gun, Syston
Saturday 15th - The Shed, Leicester
 

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More Press Features ...
I did an interview with a lovely fella from Sound Cavern ...
And Now Tune In did a little feature and an interview ...
My shows in Nottingham have been reviewed by Nottingham Live and LeftLion ...
Plus you might want to have a gander at these ...
The Monograph Interview
Subba Culture Feature
Leicestershire Music Interview
Demon FM Interview
 

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Other Stuff ...
My cat has gone a bit viral, I don't really know why but people have joked about him becoming more popular than me, and now I'm started to believe it ... check the furry little Tippy The Cat for yourself.

More blogs to come, including a brand new feature 'Things I Like' which is all about, you guessed it, Things I Like!
Remember keep clicking Follow, Like, Share, ReTweet and Share again, just for good measure.

And we've put a video diary together encapsualting Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental's B-Boy Soul Adventures in 2013 to celebrate 1 year of Coming Around ... Enjoy !



Peace, Love & Tea !
MHx
http://www.MattHenshaw.com 
 

July July July ... #GoodTimes #GayTimes #MoreGoodTimes

Hello Hello Hello and good welcome(?),

So I've had a pretty busy loooooong weekend. 2 shows Friday, down in Gloucestershire on Saturday and then Party In The Park in Birmingham on Sunday ... I won't tell you the setlist because we've tried some new stuff and want it to be a surprise. Especially for Godiva Festival @ War Memorial Park in Coventry this Saturday. We're on in the Rhythm Tent at half past 5 after Lee from Madness and his Ska Orchestra and Neville Staples from The Specials, and it's all for FREE so if you're in the Midlands and you're not there I want a seriously good reason for missing out on this one.

And then over the last two days I've been moving house in Leicester, no internet, and NO KETTLE for the last few hours ... whose idea was it to pack that up and put it in the car so soon ?!?! Before I had one last tea in the old place. Anyways, just murdered a lovely cup of the warm stuff in the new place and it feels so right. Good Times ... or as the kids say #GoodTimes ...

Anyways, the rest of the week? Heading down to London for the next two days, important meetings to be had and heading over to the New Designers Exhibition in Islington to take a peek at the best new art students in the UK. I'm sure i'll tell you a thing or two about it ... art galleries are a new pleasure ... just spread good feelings through great imagery ... and creativity makes me tingle ...

Then, Scorpios in High Wycombe on Friday night for me and ReggiiMental, it'll be nice to be back in High Wycombe, and so soon (they love us down there) as we kicked off the Coming Around Tour down there at the start of May. #GoodTimes #MoreGoodTimes

As this is quite a text heavy blog I'll leave you with a little picture of me from the last couple of months ... Enjoy !



... hanging out at Helsinki, Leicester's Premier Gay Club, with flowers in my hair for a friend's birthday ! #GayTimes

The Actress & Bishop, Birmingham setlist ... Introducing BuBill ...

Afternoon, and what a beauty,

Moving house, same postcode, all the fun of the fair ! New cat in town and some stories from the West Midlands to tell ... let's get that out the way first shall we ...

Here's the songs I played last night in Brum with MuthaFunk ...
We Want The Funk
I've Had Tears
(If You Think You're) Groovy
It Ain't Easy
25 Miles
... and Phil the King Funk King did some fantastic vocals on Stevie Wonder's Higher Ground ! Love it ! Love him ! Love you all !!!

And so now for the biggest news of all ... wanna see a pic of the new member of the Henshaw clan, of the feline variety ... his name is BuBill, after Bill Hicks' bit about smokers and non-smokers, and he already has a cut behind his ear from scrapping with the Leicestershire Alley Cat Alliance (I think that's what they're calling themselves!) ...



... please excuse my pajimjams and messy hairdo ... I'm just chilling with the cat gulping down some leche ...

And here's a remix of Never Know from the Coming Around album ... try it yourself ... here's all you'll need ... http://www.sendspace.com/file/7ouv6s



... thanks Many Elephants soundsystem of Nottinghamshire !

Peace & Love children and men,
Matt Henshaw x

The Actress & Bishop setlists ...

Evening chaps and chapesses,

Here's the songs I played at the Actress & Bishop in Birmingham last Wednesday 6th June. We were booked in with MuthaFunk and ReggiiMental to play upstairs at our soon to be regular club night The Funk Realm, and then surprisingly downstairs after hours was an open mic night run by none other than Andy Bennett of Ocean Colour Scene, so we did the gig upstairs and then I hung around until 3am jamming with Brimingham's finest.

Upstairs @ the Actress & Bishop, Birmingham ...
What's Going On
The Funky Chicken
Think Twice
Gimme Some More
Coming Around
Nitty Gritty
It's Gettin' Late
Can't Hold Back

And downstairs at the open mic acoustically, accompanied by Lukasz of MuthaFunk on saxophone ...
It Ain't Easy
Always In The Way
Donkey Rides, A Penny A Glass
707
Not In Nottingham
Your Eyes Are Made Of Gold

How jolly pleasant and spiffing it all was. Plenty of Birmingham/Nottingham "banter" and good times had by all.

Here's me playing 'Let Everything Go' acoustically, a new addition to the Satsuma Elephants set ... a sing-a-long ... learn the words !!!

Coming Around again ...

Good Morning,

Found myself waking up at 7am this morning, so I thought I'd do as Gary Neville says and attack the day ... his autobiography is pretty good by the way, it's no Alice in Wonderland but for a footballer from Bury/Salford it ain't half bad grammar wise n that ...

It's been over a week since my last blog believe it or not ! The reasons for this are three, four, maybe five or six fold. I've been away for a while at my "country retreat" taking a well earned break from heavily promoting Coming Around, writing new songs for Satsuma Elephants (tour and festival dates Coming Around soon, and some videos to share with you this month!), writing some diaries about working with ReggiiMental back in 2010, I've had no internets or phone signal and my blog last Monday had more views than anything I've ever written on here before ... the message must be getting through. Everyone who enjoyed the entertainment at Sounddhism @ the Bodega, Nottingham last Saturday must have gotten into the office on Monday morning with nothing better to do ... thank goodness for that ! Thanks for reading, viewing, listening and, hopefully, enjoying !

Anyways, what to tell ? I suppose a quick next phase album update before I get into anything too heavy Satsuma-wise or feed you more tales of Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental Coming Around ... if there are any MCs, DJs, producers, singers, bands or beatmakers out there who want to be involved in a Creative Commons remix, refix and rework project of the new album, entire album and more then download this Coming Around Remix Pack and share it with as many people as you like, as you can and as you will ...
http://www.sendspace.com/file/7ouv6s

The aim is to collect as many different version of the record, the songs and ideas as possible, release it all for free on your SoundCloud, YouTube, wherever you stick your stuff online and possibly there'll be an official Matt Henshaw release at the end and, basically, through the beauty of music and the internet we'll all have so much more to share, revel and roll around in !!! I Love You All .... Get To Work ... Tell A Friend !!!

In the meantime, keep watching the vids ...



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 ...

Coming Around on the road again ...

Afternoon folks,

Been giving you Twitter & facebook updates. Hope you've been enjoying them and not been aggrieved or annoyed by my online presence. My apologies. Just excited about the record, the sun and Sheffield Wednesday getting another year in the most exciting football league in the world.

The big news this week ... Matt Henshaw & MuthaFunk on tour ! Rehearsals have been a pleasure and a blessing, the band are sounding so good. Can't wait to let you in on my, until now, secret little funk soul world. Starting in Birmingham this Thursday then Sounddhism @ the Bodega Social Club in Nottingham on Saturday. Then we'll be in Sheffield, Coventry, London, Leicester and all over the bloomin' shop in the months that follow this one ...

Here's a poster for the Nottingham show ... tell a friend, tell and facebook friend and tweet till your fingers go sore ...

Coming Around more press & features ...

Happy Bank Holiday Monday folks !

Taking a quick break from the Leicester sunshiiiiiiine to let you all know that you can still download, stream & buy my record, Coming Around to add a soundtrack to your Bank Holiday week ! Get it on ...



Check out my facebook page for more press articles, reviews and updates about mine and ReggiiMental's gloriously sunny record over on my facebook page ...

And one for you local East Midland hip-hop cats you can get a free mixtape from the good people at RhymeSquare clothing and Great Scott, great Derby music ... I Know How It Feels from Coming Around is featured on there ! Everyone loves a freebie !!!

Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental @ RAF High Wycombe ...

Good morning folks. Good to be on the road with ReggiiMental AKA. Jimmy B-Boy !

Played last night @ RAF High Wycombe, still here. So surreal, singing, sleeping and standing in a UK military base. Good fun, good night. Well excited about getting out and about with MuthaFunk next week. Album out this week, doing shows and singing my songs. All good.

Here's the setlist that we did ...
It Ain't Easy
What A Wonderful World
Sittin' On The Dock of the Bay
Stand By Me
Town Called Malice
Bonne Nuit Madame
Stand By The Window
Coming Around
When I Close My Eyes
Get Me Some
Gimme Some More
Nitty Gritty
The Deepest Cellar
Everybody Clap Your Hands
Can't Hold Back
Adidas Trainers (Stan Smith Remix)
Changes

And still ... buy, download, stream this ...

Coming Around OUT NOW !!!

Also available on iTunes, Spotify, MySpace, GrooveShark, CDBaby et al.

Coming Around Reviews ...

Goooood Morning on Coming Around Eve,

So, the day before the big release and you can hear all 15 tracks, purchase and download Coming Around, and I'll link you up to some nice things people have been writing about me and Reggii or should I say, Reggii and I.



Head over to Facebook now to read all the reviews as they come in ...

Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental Coming Around on tour ...

Here's a few posters from shows we have coming up ... more to follow ... and keep your eyes and ears out for myself and Reggii coming to your town, your abode. And with the grand ship MuthaFunk also !!



We'll be playing tracks from the history of B-Boy Soul, songs from Coming Around and even some new stuff ...



COMING AROUND - MATT HENSHAW & REGGIIMENTAL - OUT THIS WEEK !

Been up on a all night promo session, you have to work over night to get those cats in America ... laptop only overheated and switched itself off three times, so, not bad ...

Love & see you around,
Matt H.

Football Football Football ...

As you may well, probably do, should know if you follow me, my music or my Twitter feed, I'm a Sheffield Wednesday fan, and enjoy airing my view about the football. Currently I sit watching the Football League Show on the BBC, featuring Col... Neil Warnock ... and I'll leave it there ...

Thought I'd share a couple of pics whilst sat here doing midnight promo for Coming Around ... first off there's Eric Cantona taking part in a trial for Sheffield Wednesday ... oh, what could have been ... and Pele playing at Hillsborough in 1962 ... Legends !



Here's the previews for the record ...

Matt Henshaw in the press ...

Bonjourno ma ducks,

Just thought I'd quickly tell you this afternoon about some press bits the new album has been getting ... when I get round to it I'll post them all up here and over at The Matt Henshaw Archive so you can read until your heart's content. The Ilkeston Advertiser, my home town for the first 21 years of my life has done an article about Coming Around today ... UPTWN magazine have kindly posted it to their tumblr. And there's plenty more where that came from. Keep reading, keep listening and tell a friend, especially those who write blogs or lovely newspaper / magazine articles ... you know that's the best way to get a free copy of my album and other people's ... start a blog ... support starving artists everywhere !!

And here's some pictures from The Tamworth Herald's coverage of Stand By the Window winning Best Music Video at the St Albans Film Festival ... thought I'd blog about it before the news becomes wildly out of date, if it's not already ...



Oh my goodness, the front page story is about the snow ... can you believe that was just a few weeks ago???

And here's a link to the Ilkeston Advertiser piece online ...

Thanks for reading!

And keep watching ...

Coming Around the Artwork ...

Here's a picture of the Coming Around album artwork by IllustrationDesignLife. Doing a grand job of making all my social networks look pretty snazzy ... I'm sure you've checked this blog, the twitter, bandcamp, YouTube and all of them ... nice, yeah?

And here's the back cover ... you better learn all them there track names, you'll be listening to them and talking about them with all your friends for the next 12-24 months ...



PS. furthermore, and as aside from this blog post ... IllustrationDesignLife has challenged me to a tumblr. race ... I'm not to avec tumblr. so you might have to go over there and follow me and throw me a few pointers ... Matt Henshaw on tumblr.

PPS. Thanks Charlie, Kelly, Abbie, Dani, Deppy, Mary and Charlotte ... Happy Tumbling ... thanks for the artistic inspiration, sorry for being a burden and cheers for the hot beverages !

PPPS. don't forget to watch the new video for Gimme Some More on a loop ...

Gimme Some More - Matt Henshaw & ReggiiMental

Coming Around on the radio ...

Morning/Afternoon/Evening little world wide web gang of mine,

News to tell you, just over a week before the official release of Coming Around, we've been getting some radio play in the build up. Three tracks have been featured on the waves, online and digital. Coming Around, Concrete Jungle and Everybody Clap Your Hands featuring myself, ReggiiMental, Joey Gzus and Sharlene Gordon. The BBC, Nusic, IceBreaker Radio and more have been playing my stuff, it makes me happy to think people might be listening in the bath, putting up some shelves or doing whatever else people might do with the radio on.

Got some radio sessions, interviews and podcast features coming up; or Coming Around should I say? But I'll tell you about them when they happen, no doubt.

Now have a listen to the THREE tracks previewed over on bandcamp ... why not pre-order?! These three have been featured on the radio around the world, so that's why I'm sharing ... hope you enjoy Joey Gzus bringing the heaviest verse of the album. Special AKA influenced dub-ska right there !



Here's Joey Gzus ... Jesus he's fresh !!!

Mixing Coming Around ...

So, in my last blog I told you about the recording of Coming Around by myself and ReggiiMental fresh from the box ... well, the next step was to get in a mix master general to master the sounds and make them fresh.

Joe Rizzle @ PukkaMix fitted the bill perfectly and trips to Tamworth were on the cards, and the album, I must honestly admit sounds as crisp as I ever wanted it to and thought it could be. 15 track Coming Around and coming soon, so very soon, May 1st in fact. I hope you're following the build up to the album on all the social networks, radio outlets and wherever else they're featuring mine and Reggii' faces. It's all good. Sit tight !

Again, for now have a listen to the two tracks previewed over on bandcamp ... why not pre-order?!



And here's the mix master himself at the desk (virtual desk - come on it's 2013) mastering the album in March ...