Matt Stalker & Fables

Matt Stalker is an indie/folk singer-songwriter, with a love of the Great English Language, an eye for the minutiae of things, and a penchant for juxtaposing the tongue-in-cheek with the geeky and the sentimental; lyrical themes range from unspoken intimacy through to the misuse of punctuation. Matt plays fingerstyle acoustic guitar (mostly), frequently in resonant altered tunings (and therefore retunes a lot...) with a style harking of Fionn Regan and Kings of Convenience; on a good day he draws vocal comparisons to Jeff Buckley. He also 'plays' harmonica (in the way Alanis Morrissette 'plays' it), and on recordings he'll play a bit of banjo, piano, glockenspiel, omnichord, and whatever else is lying around.
Fables is a changing collective of musicians whose varied instruments (including double bass, cello, omnichord, kalimba, piano, flute, drums, and vocals) add a richness to Matt's songs both live and in the studio, lifting them high above the average bedroom troubadour output.
In their live incarnation Fables is usually Jenny & Laura.
Jenny Nendick accompanied Maximo Park at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena in 2008 and features on their recent DVD release. She is a classically-trained cellist and member of the wonderful Armstrong Quartet (www.myspace.com/thearmstrongquartet). She has a secret desire to usurp Damien Rice's cellist of her position. At a 2009 gig Jenny's playing and Matt's vocals were described as going together, "like strawberries and cream".
Laura Jobson sings lovely harmonies, and plays percussion, Suzuki omnichord, and a bit of kalimba.
Welded to me, barnacle to bow (live)

Matt Stalker & Fables | MySpace Music Videos
On record Fables tends to expand, and variously includes:
Jayne Lewis is a grade 8 pianist, professional singing teacher, and self-taught flautist. She is also a singer-songwriter with two albums under her belt, 'Orange Sky' (Authentic Media), and 'Exactly Where I Am', a 2009 self-release. With Fables she plays piano, flute and sings.
Joss Elliott is a vastly experienced musician, and double bass prodigy, heavily-inspired by John Martyn's bassist Danny Thompson. In the 80s he was singed to a major label with Well Well Well, and now has involvement in several projects aside from his main band, Capote, including Robot Elvis with Baz Warne from The Stranglers. He also does live and studio session work and played with fiddle legend, Tom McConville, at the Sage, Gateshead last Summer.
Kenny Jobson is a fantastic musician, playing electric bass, acoustic guitar, ukulele and singing. He has a natural ability to pick out what a song needs and then the skill and restraint to know when to add and when to hold back.
Baz Crosby is that rare thing, a sensitive drummer - he seemingly knows instinctively when to back off or pick things up. He recently contributed beautiful brushed snare to a tribute recording of When I'm 64 for Matt's dad's birthday. He regularly plays drums with blues-rockers Snake Oil and folksters Capote. Baz also produces ambient electro/IDM under the pseudonym 'Comscan'. He is currently studying a music course at The Sage.
Sleeve design Lele (..www.leledesign.co.uk..).
In 2008 Matt Stalker & Fables sneaked into the studio at The Sage, Gateshead, and produced a sampler/EP of live takes with Richard Halling and Olly Nendick at the ProTools helm. It features four folk songs about adults fighting like petty children, being ignored, non-verbal communication of love, and accidental alcoholism. It's called 'Press Your Ear To My Chest, Listen EP' . It is now sold out in physical format, but is available to buy digitally at the band's label's website, www.dollyswashrecordings.co.uk.
If you're reading this and you're interested in joining the Fables ranks and/or collaborating on something lovely, please do get in touch.
For bookings, and if you're planning folk or acoustic line-ups, please contact us here .
Check out more Myspace layouts at pYzam .