Bio

“...one of the smaller but brightest lights on the musical landscape...” - Graham Reid, www.elsewhere.co.nz

Matt Langley is a Silver scroll nominee and APRA award winning New Zealand song-writer based in Japan.

He has toured and worked with Riki Gooch, Tom Callwood, Andrew Bain, Tom Watson, Bond Street Bridge, Luckless, Brett Stanton, Adam Page, Darren Watson, Lindon Puffin, The Eastern, Caitlin Harnett, Jordie Lane and many others.
Supports for Martin Phillipps, Damien Dempsey, Sir Dave Dobbyn, Head Like Hole, Tiny Ruins and Jeff Lang.

Matt's music has always resisted easy categorisation but has drawn comparisons to Elliot Smith, Jeff Tweedy, Chris Isaak, Grant Lee Phillips, Jeff Buckley, the Beatles, Nick Drake and Neil Finn among others.

Langley’s song writing draws on a wide range of influences from the singer-songwriter, folk, pop, rock, balladry and country traditions to create songs that have unexpected mood shifts and a lyrical sense that is both personal and poetic. He has also collaborated on a suite of songs with renowned New Zealand Poet Laureate and author Brian Turner called Ladders of Rain.

In 2024 he will release his first full-length album since 2017's acoustic gem Winterdust. The new album is titled As Real As You Want It To Be, and it sees Matt evolving even further from his folk/troubadour roots into a heady amalgam of baroque pop and pop/rock with electronic flourishes and melodic hooks all set against beautifully orchestrated backdrops and heavenly harmonies.

Press for previous releases:

Lost Companions EP 2007
“Something rare and unpretentious” - Rip It Up magazine.

Featherbones LP 2010
“A genuine minimal masterpiece” - Trevor Reekie, Radio New Zealand National.

Virginia Avenue LP 2012
“Great songs, there are few better lyricists in the country right now” - James Belfield, Stuff.co.nz

Winterdust LP 2017
“As blue and beautiful a record as any I Have heard” - Nick Bollinger, Radio New Zealand.

Awards:

Winner 2010 APRA Best New Zealand Country Song Award for 7:13 (Featherbones)
Nominee 2013 Silver Scroll Award (top twenty) for Sad Sound Good (Virginia Avenue)
Nominee 2017 Silver Scroll award for Winterdust (Winterdust)

Press & highlights:

“It is one of life’s simple pleasures to hear a voice like this” - Grant Smithies, Sunday Star Times.

“This is the music we should be show-casing” - Simon Sweetman, Dominion Post.

“As good a singer-songwriter debut album as you could expect” - Graham Reid, New Zealand Herald.

“Singer-songwriters...seem at times to be rewriting the same song...but here’s one who has songs of his own” - Nick Bollinger, Radio New Zealand.

Links

• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Youtube Page
• Bandcamp Page
• SoundCloud Page
• Spotify Page
• Apple Music Page