Born the middle child of two semi-professional folk singers, in Plymouth on October 10th 1978, Matthew Jay, along with his equally musically gifted siblings Eddy and Pete, had an early baptism into the world of music. "There were always a lot of musical instruments lying around the house when I was young," he recalls, "so I think it was inevitable really."

By the age of 8 he was drafted into the family band, enthusiastically plucking a bass accompaniment to the popular songs he and his parents applied an 'Irish Cajun' treatment to. Whilst performing at folk clubs, weddings and Butlins camps during the next two years, Matthew refined his playing technique, but his taste in music had yet to mature. Whilst his parents' record collection revolved around Led Zeppelin, Queen and The Beatles, their fledgling rock star son was insisting that Shakin' Stevens numbers be included in the live set!

In 1988 Matthew's father's day job as, a civil engineer in the coal mining industry, necessitated a family relocation to Abergavenny in South Wales, where Matthew quickly fitted into local school life, enjoying an especially active role in the football team. In fact, Matthew's ambition at that time was to be a professional footballer and play for Liverpool, and his only apparent musical interest was learning to play the violin. However, a few years down the road, an ankle injury and bad knees forced Matthew to rethink his career.

As if Fate was consistently watching over the youngster, a double-edged stroke of luck helped to define Matthew's future, when his father was made redundant from his job with the Coal Board. Offered a chance by the local job centre to attend a government retraining scheme, he chose a course in the production of hand-crafted guitars. From the moment Jay Senior handed one of his prototypes to his son, everything changed. Tutored by his father, and using the guitar he continued to play all his life, Matthew took his first steps along the road to his destiny.

Matthew continued performing music with his family, but became increasingly involved in finding his own sound. Inevitably, his listening tastes had evolved too. By now he had abandoned Shaky and turned to his parents' predominantly 60s and 70s vinyl collection for inspiration: immersing himself in a golden age of beautifully crafted harmonies, intelligent lyrics and ground-breaking instrumentation. Daydreaming within this river of classics, Matthew was caught up in a whirlpool of creativity and began experimenting with composition, and at 15 wrote his first song, which featured in his live repertoire in his early gigs.

By the age of 16 it was time for Matthew to go it alone. He ceased playing with the family band and set about finding others with whom to share his enthusiasm and vision, but quickly discovered that Abergavenny was not a shining example of Wales' blossoming music scene. "You have to remember," says Matthew, "that Abergavenny is a place where the music scene amounts to one room with sawdust on the floor, where they play 'Wonderwall' at the end of every night." He found that his classmates were great for a game of footie, but their musical interests didn't extend beyond accompanying him on some of his many record-buying trips to Woolworths. "At school no-one was into music the same way I was," Matthew remembers. "They wanted other things. I just wanted music. Nobody played guitar or drums, or anything that I could form a band from and play gigs, which is why I started playing in a different way, sitting in my bedroom, writing and recording songs. It was for practical reasons. I thought 'fuck it, I'll do it on my own.'" So he did; retreating into the solitude of his bedroom, where he worked hard perfecting his craft. Alone with his acoustic guitar and an eight track recorder, he set about doing it his own way. "I wrote because I wanted to," he says, "It's the source of my happiness. I like to see how well I can express what's in my head."

Time moved on, and Matthew's classmates and friends busied themselves with college applications, planned careers and mapped out lives. Matthew, although still immersed in music, was aware that he was at a decisive point in his life. He applied to university, ostensibly to study optometry, but openly admits that he had an ulterior motive: "I only applied because I thought that was the only way I'd get a band together," he confesses. "Not a great attitude, but I was desperate!"

Back to top

By the summer of 1998, Matthew stood at a fork in the road: academia and secure convention to the right, and to the left: The Road Less Travelled: an uncertain adventure in music. Maybe with the words of his own song 'Become yourself' echoing through in his mind, he decided to give the scarier route a shot and try to attract the attention of a record label or two. "You've got to start somewhere," says Matthew. "I didn't know anyone in the business, [but] I thought 'Why wouldn't they like this?' I figured some tapes might end up in the bin, and some might end up in the lap of someone who has a modicum of integrity." So, armed with a notebook and pen, he headed down to the reference section of Abergavenny library. "I got out all the Yellow Pages to look for record companies," Matthew remembers. "I stuck a pin in about twelve of them and sent my tape off." After whisking off the demos, Matthew waited a short while to see who would get back to him, then, (never one to let grass grow under his feet), he decided to do a quick follow-up. "I phoned them up to see what they thought," he says "but most of them had turned into Chinese takeaways when the record companies had closed down years before!" Some of the companies (the ones which hadn't turned into fast food establishments) were intrigued initially, but there was an obstacle Matthew hadn't anticipated. "A lot of record companies called up and asked where they could see me play," says Matthew. "I explained I didn't have a band, and they weren't interested."

As luck would have it, however, his demo landed on the desk of manager and producer Martyn Watson. On hearing the songs, which included 'Licence' and 'Four Minute Rebellion,' Martyn instantly saw something which he describes as 'genius.' "The demo was easily the most original thing that had landed on my desk," states Martyn. "I called him, expecting him to be thirty five because it sounded so mature. When I found out he was nineteen, a light went on in my head." He immediately contacted Matthew with orders to get on the first available train to London and was impressed with the singer's 'quiet confidence.' The wheels began turning, and in 1999, despite never having played a live solo gig in his life, and only being 20 years old, Matthew secured a deal, and was signed to Food Records, a subsidiary of Parlophone.

At this turning point in his life Matthew made the decision to move to Nottingham. Despite the sensitivity of his lyrics which caused the majority of the music press to liken him to a multitude of tortured introspective souls, Matthew was anything but. At 20 years of age he craved new experiences and an environment which would stimulate him creatively, and maybe provide him with a bit of fun along the way. "There's a great dance scene in Nottingham," stated Matthew. I like dancing, not sitting on my own playing guitar. I'm into beats and moving around. Once I moved to Nottingham I met lots of DJs and really got into the club scene there."

Once relocated, Matthew started looking for a way to diversify his overall sound. He had a collection of guitar-based songs which he felt needed a little extra something. Previously denied the chance to work with a band, and therefore coming from a primarily acoustic background, he had yet to experiment with a more three dimensional approach to his work. He drew upon talent based in his new home. Said Matthew: "Everyone knows everyone else in Nottingham so it was easy to form the band instead of just moving down to London and roping in some generic session musicians."

Getting into a recording studio later that year finally provided Matthew with the opportunity for expansion he had longed for whilst cloistered away in his bedroom four years previously. Collaborating with a group of experienced musicians who had different areas of expertise and influence, enabled him to make considerable changes to the feel of his songs. A significant part of the equation was the surreal undercurrent contributed by the dynamic duo of Martyn Watson himself, and sound recording engineer Ric Peet who, together, equalled the major portion of 'collective consciousness' trance artists International Peoples Gang (IPG). Their influence is strongly in evidence on many of Matthew's releases, particularly on tracks like 'Molasses.' Another notable contribution was that of Matthew's brother Eddy, who joined his younger sibling in the studio, playing electric piano, accordion and organ. Listening to 'Sunday', in particular ('Friendly Fire' and 'Four Minute Rebellion' EPs) you can hear that 'Irish Cajun' vibe that Matthew says was the trademark of his family's band.
Ex Six By Seven guitarist Sam Hempton was also drafted in for just a brief snippet of drumstick slide-guitar on one track 'Remember This Feeling.' His contribution, though small, won him a great deal of favour with Matthew: "It's a mad bit of noise that lasts for about five seconds," enthused Matthew. "It's my favourite bit of the album."

The first recording to become available was an EP 'Four Songs,' which included one of the songs ('Four Minute Rebellion') from Matthew's demo tape . It was released on 31 January 2000 to wide critical acclaim, and was shortly followed by the 'Friendly Fire' EP on 8 May 2000. The releases were complemented by a number of live appearances, on a semi-acoustic level.

Work on the debut album then commenced. With a team of gifted artists and a free and open approach, the album, 'Draw', steadily evolved into a collection of richly layered and diverse pieces, with no two really alike. Said Matthew: "We wanted to get a different feel for each track, so we recorded some standing in a room playing live and looking at each other in the face, and some started electronically, with loops and samples."

Upon its release in April 2001, the album was critically acclaimed, and the three singles taken from the album were championed by many radio presenters ('Let Your Shoulder Fall' was Mark and Lard's Single of the Week on their Radio One show). A combination of airplay, and a number of tours in the UK, Canada and the US followed, supporting artsists who included The Divine Comedy, Lowgold and Starsailor, earning Matthew even wider recognition.

At the end of 2001, following a triumphant tour of Europe, Matthew started work on the songs which would form his second album and which would undoubtedly showcase his continued exploration of new directions in music. "I'm very conscious of approaching everything I do differently from the last thing I did," he explained at the time. "There are artists who will find something good and just do that, maybe because they'll make money that way or something. I don't get off on that. I've located the source of my happiness fairly early, and that's making music that challenges my abilities as a songwriter and a guitar player, and challenges what I know."

With the second album, EMI thought that a collaboration with another artist or two might be in order, so the label spent several months in 2002 searching for likely candiates. None were found, and, sadly Matthew and his record company parted company at the tail end of the year.
Manager Martyn Watson was saddened by the events of that year. Speaking in spring of 2003 he said: "Actually the stuff that we did was really cool...one track 'Bad Thing' sounded like a hit...quite electronic, and 'All This Time,' which had a distinctive, wintery feel in the verse and then erupted into full on rifferama would have become a stage fave I'm sure."

Matthew continued to write songs, and until the autumn of 2003, he was working on new material. However, to the shock and heartbreak of those around the world who loved this gifted musician, Matthew died suddenly in the small hours of the 25th of September, in a fall from his apartment block. For links to current news coverage online, please see the NEWS section of this site.

It's a shattering end to what was a life full of promise, and one built upon an shining foundation of accomplishment for one so young.

Crooked Smile would like to express sincere condolences to Matthew's family and friends.

To Matthew's fans: keep playing his music, it's what keeps him alive in all of us, and will make his name live forever.

Please fee free to leave messages at either the IN MEMORIUM or PERCEPTIONS pages of this site.

Copyright © 2001 Rachael Magowan and Crooked Smile.com

Please Note: Crooked Smile is the official site of Matthew Jay.
All material contained herein is the copyrighted property of www.crookedsmile.com, and/or other individuals
or parties who are credited here.
No part of this site may be reproduced or used for commercial purposes without prior permission.