| Matt Walker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 |
| Origin | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Genres | Blues |
Matt Walker is an ARIA Award-winning Australian blues musician.
Career
Walker began playing music in public at the age of 14 at the Selby Folk Club. He played at Port Fairy Folk Festival, National Folk Festival, Bridgetown Blues Festival, East Coast Blues and Roots Festival until the age of 18. Walker joined The Broderick Smith Band playing dobro, guitar and lap steel and toured extensively around Australia. Walker played on and wrote music for Broderick Smith albums My Shiralee, Songster and Crayon Angels from 1994 to 1996.
In 1995, Walker recorded Live at the Rainbow with Ashley Davies on drums, Andrew Entsch on double bass and Jerry Hale on fiddle and guitar before recording There's Life in 1996.
In 1997, Walker released I Listen to the Night with Ashley Davies. At the ARIA Music Awards of 1998, I Listen to the Night was nominated for two ARIA Awards. In 1998 and 1999, Walker toured across Europe and North America.
In 2000, Walker recorded Soul Witness with Ashley Davies on drums, Chris Abrahams on piano and Ken Gormley on bass and toured with this line up. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2000, Soul Witness won the ARIA Award for Best Blues and Roots Album. Live performances included tours with Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Dirty Three, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, tony Joe White, Cat Power, The Black Keys, Joe Cocker and more. In 2003, Walker formed the electric trio The Necessary Few with Grant Cummerford on bass and Roger Bergodaz on drums and recorded the album Navigational Skills.
Walker and Davies contributed songs for the soundtrack Australian Rules, which won the ARIA Award for Best Original Soundtrack, Cast or Show Album at the 2003 awards. Walker and Davies also contributed two original songs for the Australian film Somersault in 2004.
On 5 September 2005, Walker and Davis released the self-titled album on Walker's label Stovepipe Records.
After some time performing and recording with various acts on the Australian scene, Walker returned with a powerful solo album. The 2012 critically acclaimed, In Echoes Of Dawn'. This album saw Walker return to the stage more regularly and led to the formation of Lost Ragas. The group he formed with pedal steel player, Shane Reilly.
Since 2013, Walker has been releasing music under Lost Ragas' who are Matt Walker, Shane Reilly, Roger Bergodaz and Simon Burke. They have released three albums Phantom Ride (2013), Trans Atlantic Highway (2015) and This Is Not A Dream (2019) with Haydn Meggitt replacing original drummer Simon Burke.
Matt Walker released his first instrumental album, United States Of Alpho in 2022. Recorded live, the album simply featuring electric guitar and double bass (Ben Franz). It displayed Walker's ability to write deep melodic motifs in composition while retaining a largely improvised aesthetic.
For the last decade Walker has also worked extensively playing guitar, songwriting and producing albums with Australian rock n Roll icon Tex Perkins. This has included international touring as well as countless national tours with The Fat Rubber Band, The Man in Black (theater show) and duo performances. In 2023 Matt was recruited to join The Cruel Sea who completed a national tour of large theaters round the country and also joined Cold Chisel on the road for their Australian tour in Oct - Nov 2024
While predominantly known as a musician and singer-songwriter, Matt Walker is also an accomplished and in-demand music producer whose credits include Broderick Smith,(Unknown Country) Mick Daley, Liz Stringer's Pendulum and the Ben Mitchell AKA Benjamin Grant Mitchell 2019 release, Slow Is The New Fast.
Discography
| Title | album details |
|---|---|
| Welcome Me Home |
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| Live At The Rainbow |
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| I Listen to the Night (with Ashley Davies) |
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| Soul Witness (with Ashley Davies) |
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| Live At The Continental |
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| Navigational Skills (with The Necessary Few) |
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| Matt Walker & Ashley Davies (with Ashley Davies) |
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| In Echoes of Dawn |
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| Phantom Ride |
|
Awards
ARIA Music Awards
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. Walker has won 1 awards from 3 nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | I Listen to the Night | Best Blues and Roots Album | Nominated |
| Best World Music Album | Nominated | ||
| 2000 | Soul Witness | Best Blues and Roots Album | Won |
References
- Guilliatt, Richard (November 2012), "Down from the Hills", The Monthly
- Purcell, Charles (23 March 2001), "Hart's On Fire", Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ "Bio". Matt Walker. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- "ARIA Awards. Best World Music Album". Australian Recording Industry Association.
- Eliezer, Christie (11 November 2000), "Debut Acts Dominate ARIA Awards", Billboard
- Nu Country, September 2009 Retrieved 21 October 2019
- Northern Daily Leader, 16 December 2015 Retrieved 21 October 2019
- Michael Dwyer, The Age (31 July 2009) Retrieved 21 October 2019
- AIRIT Retrieved 21 October 2019
- Shedden, Iain (26 November 1997), "NEW MUSIC.", The Australian
- Carney, Shaun (18 December 1997), "I Listen to the Night", The Age
- Baker, Glenn A. (24 February 2001), "Sounds", The Australian Financial Review
- Donovan, Patrick (7 July 2000), "Soul Witness", The Age
- Lobley, Katrina (26 June 2003), "Critics' picks.", Sydney Morning Herald
- Mengel, Noel (30 May 2003), "Matt Walker Navigational Skills Spaghetti Records", Courier-Mail
- Moffatt, Steve (17 January 2014), "Album review: Lost Ragas Phantom Ride shows Matt Walker is a force to be reckoned with", Manly Daily
- "ARIA Awards Search Results – Jeff Lang". ARIA Awards. Retrieved 11 May 2020.