The Matthew Herbert Big Band

The Matthew Herbert Big Band

The Matthew Herbert Big Band is a group led by British electronic musician Matthew Herbert, who works across electronic, experimental and jazz-related forms. The project begins in 2003 and forms part of Herbert’s wider output, which spans releases under a range of aliases as well as work under his own name.

Background and line-up

The group includes Matthew Herbert alongside Nigel Hitchcock, Yann Seznec, Shingai and Dani Siciliano. Herbert has long worked with found sounds and sampling, developing music from everyday objects and recorded environments before extending that approach into more overtly political material. His Big Band work continues that interest while also drawing on song-based structures and large-ensemble performance.

Recordings and style

The project’s 2003 album Goodbye Swingtime combines the political concerns associated with Herbert’s Radio Boy work with the structure of his Herbert releases. It is recorded with sixteen musicians from the British jazz scene, including saxophonists Dave O’Higgins and Nigel Hitchcock and bassist Dave Green. A second album by the project, there’s Me And There’s You, follows with vocalist Eska Mtungwazi fronting the recording.

Matthew Herbert’s wider work

Herbert releases music on a variety of labels and runs Accidental Records. Since 1996 he has issued work under names including Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain, Radio Boy, Mr. Vertigo and Transformer, as well as under his own name. He also produces and remixes a wide range of artists, including Bjork, Roisin Murphy, Moloko, R.E.M., Perry Farrell, Serge Gainsbourg, Yoko Ono, John Cale, The Avalanches and Cornelius.

Live work and other projects

Herbert appears at major venues and festivals including Montreux, North Sea Jazz, Paris’ Pompidou Centre, Tokyo’s Blue Note, Sonar and Glastonbury, and he supports Bjork at the Hollywood Bowl. He also provides music for film and television, including work for Kristian Levring’s The Intended. The Big Band’s stage performances sometimes include long-term vocal partner Dani Siciliano, and occasionally Arto Lindsay and Jamie Lidell.