Matt Deighton

The subject of the critically acclaimed Sky Arts documentary 'Overshadowed', Matt Deighton is widely regarded as being one of the UK's great buried treasures - or at least he was until people finally started digging up his two decades of audio treasure thanks to the film: 2021 finally saw the reemergence of British folk’s most enigmatic lost son. You may recognize Matt from his time fronting Acid Jazz heroes Mother Earth; you may remember him as Paul Weller’s guitarist in the late 90’s, or Noel Gallagher’s recommendation for who should replace him when he quit the European tour in 2000. Or maybe you don’t. For almost two decades, the man they kept calling the natural successor to Nick Drake, Davey Graham and John Martyn has been himself more of a rumour – a murmur among musicians, songwriters and diehard music lovers who proudly display his rare vinyl releases like trophies. The list of articles in the press and online over two decades continued quietly, forever asking the same question: Where is Matt Deighton? As the Huffington Post discovered in their recent piece ‘The Resurrection of Matt Deighton’: He’s back. For those prospectors looking to pan the stream for a British Sugar Man, Matt’s discography shines like a diamond among the silt. ‘Villager’ was the subject a few years back of a Mojo ‘Buried Treasure’ feature and is oft hailed as a British folk classic; The Common Good is strewn with British music glitterati such as Paul Weller, Steve White, Mick Talbot and Marco Nelson; and the stunning You Are The Healer features a similarly stellar lineup of players who’d played with acts like John Martyn and Steeleye Span. Matt is one of those rare artists that musicians simply want to be associated with. Tom Cox, who reviewed Wake Up The Moths for the Observer Music Monthly remarked in the sleeve notes for the vinyl reissue that his only regret when reviewing the album was that he felt his ‘measly four out of five star rating did it a disservice’. His new album, Today Become Forever is the first since the documentary and is produced in part by the great Ken Scott whose CV includes Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, All Things Must Pass among many other greats. Good company knows good company. Matt’s is a story of genuinely great musicianship and songwriting; but most of all, of the beauty and fragility of one of Britain’s greatest lost talents and how life around and within him has shaped a fate beyond his control; but who has come back with something more beautiful every time the storm abated. “He’s hugely respected and hugely liked, but remained this underground secret…. despite Matt’s considerable talent…” - Matt Everitt BBC 6Music "One of this country’s best kept secrets… (who) with no small amount of brilliance wrote a little-known chapter of British musical history…" The Huffington Post "His true spiritual ancestor is Nick Drake… Matt has an uncanny knack of writing songs that sound like they’ve been constructed just before dusk on a riverbank…" Observer Music Monthly 4/5 “It is impossible to imagine fans of Nick Drake and John Martyn not falling in love with him…" - The Sunday Times "The influences are out front, primarily John Martyn, with Nick Drake and David Crosby thrown in... although the overall feeling is Scritti Politi stripped of the electronics. The word melliflous seeps over you as you listen..." - The Guardian 4/5 "Wake Up The Moths is the sound of a craftsman at work, as intricate as a room full of carriage clocks. Beautiful, really." Record Collector 4/5 "A modest guitar legend" 4/5 Daily Mail "One of the most respected artists in British Music today. Inspiring" - The Sun "The real time for Matt Deighton is now, when singer-songwriters are freely re-editing the stoned sound of the early’70’s in their own way... (Matt) would appeal to anyone who felt horizontal and golden while listening to Jonathan Wilson’s ‘Gentle Spirit" – Mojo "Sparkles like a cool sweet cider sipped in a gentle summer breeze" - NME “You could prefix every song with descriptions such as dreamy, bucolic, beautiful, tender. His songs are without exception mellow, exquisite and sublime. That’s a given from this guy…." Pop Junkie "Part Nick Drake, part Wild Wood era Weller, and all the while a purely English version of soulful folk… Matt Deighton is one of the most criminally overlooked artists in the UK" The Free Thinking Movement “(Doubtless Dauntless) One of the albums of the year" 5/5 - Louder Than War See Mother Earth; you may remember him as Paul Weller’s guitarist in the late 90’s, or Noel Gallagher’s recommendation for who should replace him when he quit the European tour in 2000. Or maybe you don’t. For almost two decades, the man they kept calling the natural successor to Nick Drake, Davey Graham and John Martyn has been himself more of a rumour – a murmur among musicians, songwriters and diehard music lovers who proudly display his rare vinyl releases like trophies. The list of articles in the press and online over two decades continued quietly, forever asking the same question: Where is Matt Deighton? As the Huffington Post discovered in their recent piece ‘The Resurrection of Matt Deighton’: He’s back. For those prospectors looking to pan the stream for a British Sugar Man, Matt’s discography shines like a diamond among the silt. ‘Villager’ was the subject a few years back of a Mojo ‘Buried Treasure’ feature and is oft hailed as a British folk classic; The Common Good is strewn with British music glitterati such as Paul Weller, Steve White, Mick Talbot and Marco Nelson; and the stunning You Are The Healer features a similarly stellar lineup of players who’d played with acts like John Martyn and Steeleye Span. Matt is one of those rare artists that musicians simply want to be associated with. Tom Cox, who reviewed Wake Up The Moths for the Observer Music Monthly remarked in the sleeve notes for the vinyl reissue that his only regret when reviewing the album was that he felt his ‘measly four out of five star rating did it a disservice’. His new album, Today Become Forever is the first since the documentary and is produced in part by the great Ken Scott whose CV includes Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, All Things Must Pass among many other greats. Good company knows good company. Matt’s is a story of genuinely great musicianship and songwriting; but most of all, of the beauty and fragility of one of Britain’s greatest lost talents and how life around and within him has shaped a fate beyond his control; but who has come back with something more beautiful every time the storm abated. “He’s hugely respected and hugely liked, but remained this underground secret…. despite Matt’s considerable talent…” - Matt Everitt BBC 6Music "One of this country’s best kept secrets… (who) with no small amount of brilliance wrote a little-known chapter of British musical history…" The Huffington Post "His true spiritual ancestor is Nick Drake… Matt has an uncanny knack of writing songs that sound like they’ve been constructed just before dusk on a riverbank…" Observer Music Monthly 4/5 “It is impossible to imagine fans of Nick Drake and John Martyn not falling in love with him…" - The Sunday Times "The influences are out front, primarily John Martyn, with Nick Drake and David Crosby thrown in... although the overall feeling is Scritti Politi stripped of the electronics. The word melliflous seeps over you as you listen..." - The Guardian 4/5 "Wake Up The Moths is the sound of a craftsman at work, as intricate as a room full of carriage clocks. Beautiful, really." Record Collector 4/5 "A modest guitar legend" 4/5 Daily Mail "One of the most respected artists in British Music today. Inspiring" - The Sun "The real time for Matt Deighton is now, when singer-songwriters are freely re-editing the stoned sound of the early’70’s in their own way... (Matt) would appeal to anyone who felt horizontal and golden while listening to Jonathan Wilson’s ‘Gentle Spirit" – Mojo "Sparkles like a cool sweet cider sipped in a gentle summer breeze" - NME “You could prefix every song with descriptions such as dreamy, bucolic, beautiful, tender. His songs are without exception mellow, exquisite and sublime. That’s a given from this guy…." Pop Junkie "Part Nick Drake, part Wild Wood era Weller, and all the while a purely English version of soulful folk… Matt Deighton is one of the most criminally overlooked artists in the UK" The Free Thinking Movement “(Doubtless Dauntless) One of the albums of the year" 5/5 - Louder Than War