The video was styled by Rowdy Superstar, choreographed by Barbara Panther and directed by Margaret Salmon. 

And it reveals a side to Herbert which you may not have seen. And that's before he starts singing...

Leipzig is released on 29 March.

ONE ONE, the first part of Matthew Herbert's ONE Trilogy, is out on 12 April. 

Watch the video on nme.com now

Read the rest of the Matthew Herbert interview and article.

This week's show at the Barbican, to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of The British Council, has already been described as 'spine-tingling' by The Evening Standard. We'll share other reviews as they come in. 

We'd like to thank The British Council for hosting us, Serious for all their work in making the show happen and the other performers on the night. 

Reprising last year's landmark performance at the London Jazz Festival, the band will be joined onstage by the 75-strong Goldsmiths Vocal Ensemble, to perform material from the album There's Me And There's You.

The show has completely sold out, but there are likely to be just a few tickets available at the last minute for those who fancy taking their chances.

For an insight into the Ensemble's preparations for the performance, check out this piece in The Times. Journalist Ed Potton has joined the Ensemble and written about the experience of working with this amazing group.

featuring The Matthew Herbert Big Band

Tickets will be available at the points listed below.

Recorded at Abbey Road Studios in 2002, Big Band’s first album, “Goodbye Swingtime” attempted not to distance itself from the political environment in which it was created. The big band set up of 4 trumpets, 4 trombones, 4 saxophones, piano, bass and drums were always considered a set of parameters to work with, rather than a staple of convention. Consequently, working with arranger Pete Wraight, much of what was written ended up more as a jazz orchestral work rather than a Big Band. Herbert took the original Abbey Road recordings, then deconstructed and reconstructed them in an electronic environment.

All pieces were written according to the rules of PCCOM, a series of constraints Herbert imposed on himself to prevent him from re-treading the path of the familiar. Sounds that were added were either taken from recordings at Abbey Road during the session, including forty people banging anything they could find in Studio 2, or noises relating to reading. Artists contributing to the album included Arto Lindsay, Dani Sicliano, Jamie Lidell, Mara Carlyle, Shingai Shoniwa, Plaid and Mouse on Mars.

Now, in 2009, the Matthew Herbert Big Band returns with new album, “There’s Me And There’s You”. Effortlessly wrapping deluxe avant-jazz arrangements around polemical lyrics and artfully selected noises, the album’s dominant theme is power and its abuses in the 21st century. Herbert’s albums always closely interweave medium with message, surface beauty with political subtext. Fans of Goodbye Swingtime, the last MHBB outing, won’t be disappointed: it’s another explicitly political album that combines the cream of London’s session musicians with Herbert’s beautifully infectious songwriting, all underpinned by his deft sampledelica.

Tickets available from: www.synch.gr

"Restless innvoator, sampling wizard, classically trained pianist and prolific collaborator Matthew Herbert will launch this year’s Loop Brighton Festival".

£18.50 / £65 including all other Loop Festival events.

about politics and music and There's Me And There's You

Currently receiving rapturous reviews around the world, the album has been described as "an intriguing, thoughtful album that's both engrossing and entertaining" (by The Independent), and is being presented in the band's trademark style to audiences around the globe over the next few months (details on the 'gigs' page).

Released on Accidental Records in the UK and Japan, and on !K7 in the rest of the world, the album is available on iTunes and on every other good digital platform, as well as in all good record shops. You can buy it from Amazon here.

This explanation is taken from bjork.com:

"The single was composed specifically to encourage active support for the Nattura campaign, which aims at collating and providing sustainable and eco-friendly options suitable for Iceland, and generating alternative ways to utilize it’s natural resources. People will be able to submit their ideas on the website for sustainable green workplaces for Icelanders. According to Björk, “It is now more important than ever before to emphasize a respect for nature…I believe that profits, technological advances and working together with nature can all go hand in hand. None need to be sacrificed at the expense of the others.”

The new single is written and produced by Björk and features Radiohead’s Thom Yorke on backing vocals, Brian Chippendale (Lighting Bolt) on drums, Matthew Herbert on synth/bass, and Mark Bell on additional electronic beats. Opening with a huge elemental swirl, “Nattura” then fires up an incendiary and fierce tribal rhythm. The song sees Björk firmly on the march in celebration of her homeland, in hopes that Icelanders harness its energy in a sustainable way.
For more information on the single and the Nattura Environmental Campaign please visit www.nattura.info or www.bjork.com."
 

Check it out here

You can also pre-order your copy here.

On top of all of that, Matthew also DJ'ed at The Climate Camp in Kent recently, a camp set up to house protestors preparing for a day of mass action at Kingsnorth Power Station. You can read more about the protest here.

And, on top of all of that, Matthew has been working on a piece with Chris Watson and Antony Gormley that will be performed as part of Liverpool's European City of Culture celebrations on Saturday 13th September. More info here.