Matt Elliott of The Third Eye Foundation is back with stunning new material. Interview by Susanna Glaser
May 1st, 2003 by susanna
Matt Elliott started out in Bristol, an occasional member of Flying Saucer Attack and Amp in the early ’90s. But he was to stray far from the ‘Bristol sound’ treading his own lonely path. In ’96 he branched out on his own with The Third Eye Foundation – whose beguiling mash of scuzzy guitar feeds glued onto hyperactive drum’n'bass signalled him as one to watch.
Once his second album ‘Little Lost Soul’ came out a couple of years ago, there was no doubt that here was a guy who possessed a unique ear – enabling him to conjure up some of the most stunningly fresh music you’ll ever hear – being at once complex and intellectually stimulating while at once heart piercingly emotional and yet there was also another edge, a ghostly, fevered side to the music which meant it could never be pinned down. He modestly puts his diverse filigree sound down to hearing such a rich variety of music when he was working in a record shop. But if that were true every record shop assistant would be a musical genius, right?
Now – going under his own name, his new album ‘The Mess We Made’ evokes the sounds of desperately sad old sea shanties echoing in a storm, dusty melancholy piano solitude vibrating through the ages and cinematic fairytale dreaming bursting with hope. Moving fluidly from Radiohead-like heartbreak to corrosive drum’n'noise (always kept away from any harsh edge by layers of vocal-led soulful balladry), ‘The Mess We Made’ is in Matt Elliott’s opinion his most personal so far – and reveals the most tantalising twist in this magician’s ongoing musical journey…
You played London recently – for the first time in a long while. How did it go?
‘Brillant. It could have gone either way. I must admit I was a bit nervous about it all. The last time I played live was ages ago. And now I’m playing instruments. Like guitar. So it’s a bit more acoustic. And a bit more nervewracking!’
What made you want to go under your own name? Did you feel it was time to go ‘public’?
‘I wanted to get away from the Third Eye Foundation. Best way was to change my name. Thought people would be a bit more open to the new music. There might be a side of wanting to go ‘public’ as well. I knew it was going to be different.’
What have you been up to since your last albums?
‘I had a kid and then I moved to France. It’s cheaper for one thing. And there’s more peace and quiet where we live. We live in the Dordogne. It’s definitely had an effect on the music. I wouldn’t have ended up with half of the music – I can make as much noise as I want here. Plus in Brighton I was working in a record shop. Not always such a good thing to be faced with other people’s music all the time. You know, you might get this great garage track come in and next thing you’re thinking mmm, yeah, maybe I’ll do some garage next’.’
Was this album a natural progression after ‘Little Lost Soul’ – which was pretty personal?
‘I feel like the last album came from me – but that this one is even more personal. I’m not hiding behind anything.’
‘The Mess We Made’ – are you referring to anything specific here?
‘It’s quite easy to look at the world and see it as a bloody mess. The album also sounds a bit of a mess.’
Does the current world situation affect your work – can the horror or the sadness inspire or freeze your creativity?
‘Music is the one thing that’s good about mankind. It makes me want to do it a bit more. I wouldn’t want to be working in politics right now, though. More than anything what I feel is that we’re living in the 21st century and we should’ve sorted it all out in other ways’
Why call your recent single ‘Borderline Schizophrenic’ – are you going mad?
‘I was actually going to call it St Vitus Dance – it’s what they used to call epilepsy in the 19th century. There’s no big symbolism.’
You say on your website that most of your ideas/lyrics came from ‘hypnogogic/pompic states’ – what do you mean by this?
‘It’s when you go off to sleep – that point when you’re between being awake and asleep. I’d wake up in the morning and stuff would pop into my head. And I’d just go and do it.’
What did you want to or find yourself doing on the new album that you haven’t before?
‘It kind of unfolded. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. At first I wanted to do an R’n'B style album – D’Angelo style. But I haven’t got it in me. I tried to find different directions. It was when I stopped doing that, that it came out. I’m stuck with that. But it seems to have gone down quite well. I was sh*tting myself that people would say ‘what is this?’ But they loved it. What I do is chuck out anything I hear in my music which I think sounds cliched or that I’ve heard somewhere before. And then I keep whatever’s left.’
You’ve been to the other musical extreme on some of your earlier stuff – looking back do you feel it was a necessary journey you had to take?
‘There has to be that journey. Compared to the earlier stuff, I didn’t know what I was doing. With Third Eye Foundation I would arse around. But with this I definitely had a real vision. It would come to me while I was mowing the lawn. I have a massive garden, which I have to mow twice a week.’
You’re not a 2 minute pop song composer are you – what drives you to make the lengthy musical journeys you make?
‘Most of the songs are really two minute bits which go into other two minute bits. I can’t really do pop music though. I’d love to be a one hit wonder and then just disappear.’
How did you get into music first of all? Have you always been into music or did somebody introduce you or…
‘From hanging around record shops when I was young. I was into Throbbing Gristle at first. Started off making bits of noise with a tape machine, then bought lots of equipment. I had a fascination with music – I think from a reasonably young age I knew I wanted to be a musician.’
What’s been the most interesting unforeseen perk of becoming a musician?
‘Everything. The whole thing, from the early days to playing with Sonic Youth… Ever since the first album came out – the feeling of seeing your own recording, you’ve got it there in your hand, it’s a special moment. Nice reviews, seeing half of America, most of Europe – and I’ve met some really lovely people…’
And the most rubbish unforeseen downer about it?
‘Not many really. Although I’m never entirely happy with what I’ve done. Having said that, I have probably listened to this album some 5000 times from start to finish and I don’t tire of it, but the older ones I don’t, I couldn’t…’
Could you ever imagine not making music?
‘Not now. It would be heartbreaking. If this album doesn’t do well… I’ll be back to the record shop in Britain! Now I’m living in France and I’ve been managing to do music for 7/8 years – to then face working in a recod shop for rest of my life…’
Apart from the solo album, what else have you got planned in the coming months etc?
‘I’m talking to this French guy about doing some extended remixes of his stuff. And I’d like to do more ‘sinking ship’ songs. Drinking songs – oompah oompah Russian folky stuff – I’ve definitely got visions for it.’
What’s your hope for your future?
‘I hope to carry on doing what I’m doing. no big expectations.’
Finally – even your website doesn’t seem to know that much about you… are you elusive on purpose?
‘Oh it’s bad communication really. Nothing’s sure until it happens. Most people think I’m a miserable sod. but I’m not. I get it out in my music. And the rest of the time I’m laughing heartily…!’
Matt Elliott’s ‘The Mess We Made’ is out now on Domino
Matt Elliott is now on tour starting May 9th throughout Europe and the UK:
9th may cheinlit festival nancy france (with encre)
11th may guingette piratages, paris
12th may la lune des pirates, amiens france (with smog)
21st may sanctuary cellar bar, brighton, uk
22nd may portland arms cambridge uk
24th may stereo glasgow scotland
25th may barfly, liverpool, uk
26th may tmesis bar manchester, uk
27th may the rescue rooms, nottingham, uk
28th may barfly cardiff, wales
29th may cube cinema, bristol, uk
30th may the wheatsheaf, oxford, uk
3rd june barfly/play louder singles club, london
6th june scheune, dresden, germany
9th june paradiso, amsterdam, holland
