Biography of Matt Tolfrey | |
Matt Tolfrey Biography
July 2012
Matt Tolfrey is heading into the most challenging chapter of his career so far with his head held high and his stock never greater. His debut artist album is in the bag and ready to go, the output from his labels never stronger, with an Ibiza residency safely secured and global recognition for his DJ ability bestowed upon him.
Undoubtedly, one can recognise that Matt’s tireless devotion and relentless energy have taken him to a point where he is beginning to shape the musical world around him.
A production career which launched in 2005 on Crosstown Rebels, and bloomed via the creation of his own Leftroom label, has since taken him to Get Physical, Cocoon, Rekids, Saved and Culprit but unsurprisingly his debut album ‘Word of Mouth’ will bring him back home and arrive on Leftroom in late September.
Matt explains the concept of the album - ‘I cannot play the piano and I am not professionally trained in any way musically, but through years of DJing I know exactly what I like, and I have great tracks in my head that need to get out. While searching the Internet for alternate ideas of making music, I came across some amazing software that enables you to simply sing or hum into a mic, which then translates into midi notes, which you then use as the basis of your tracks. In essence, it means that while I am walking the streets, or away travelling, and I come up with an idea for a bassline, or a melody, I can simply record it into my phone, return home, and sing it into the computer. In other words, ‘in theory’ the album is mainly going to be written with my mouth, not my fingers, and then fully realised with the help of engineers and guest vocalists - hence the name ‘Word Of Mouth’.
Teaser tracks from the album are starting to drop as we write (late June) with ‘Turn Me Out’ receiving Pete Tong radio play on Radio 1. Expect further tasters as summer elapses. With the album completed, Matt is out on the road testing the material. The afore-mentioned residency sees him perform 6 dates at Sankeys Ibiza, inclusive of parties for his Leftroom collective – the likes of Laura Jones, Jay Haze, Gavin Herlihy, Kate Simko, Craig Richards and Simon Baker - who will also join up with Matt at Watergate, Moscow’s new Gipsy club, The Rainbow in Birmingham, Chicago’s Spybar, The Standard Hotel in LA, Fabric and U Street Music Hall in Washington, D.C, all in the run up to the album’s release.
With a placing secured in Resident Advisor’s top 100 DJs poll for 2011, demand for Matt as a DJ has never been greater with 2012 containing his busiest touring schedule yet – and festival appearances confirmed at Seattle’s Decibel, Piknic Electronik in Montreal and RideFest, Hungary.
As summer draws to a close the ‘Word of Mouth’ tour kicks off in earnest in September with a 13-date North American tour, and continues across Europe in early autumn before reaching Australia and Asia in November and Latin America in December.
| 
