Greymatter | |
|---|---|
 Greymatter are (from left to right) Jules Hawthorne, Georgey Payne, Emma Kavanagh, Ju Boyce, Andi Holloway | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Berkshire, England |
| Genres | indie rock, folk rock, pop rock |
| Years active | 2004 - present |
| Members | Georgey Payne, Emma Kavanagh, Ju Boyce, Jules Hawthorne, Andi Holloway |
| Past members | Susan Kempton, Bob Baker, Carys Parfait |
| Website | Greymatter website |
Greymatter are a five piece British indie folk rock band from Berkshire, Brighton, and Bournemouth in the South East of England.
History edit
The band was first established in Berkshire in 2004 when singer-songwriter, guitarist, and pianist Georgey and vocalist Emma were joined by guitarist Susan and bassist Ju. The four girls were joined in 2006 by drummer Bob. Susan left the band in 2007 and was replaced by guitarist and trumpeter Jules. Bob left the band at the end of 2008 and was replaced temporarily by Carys until Andi replaced her in late 2009 to make Greymatter an all lesbian five piece.
Early life edit
All are experienced musicians: Georgey has been playing in bands and performing live since 1987; Emma and Georgey have been singing live together since 2000; Andi has been in various local bands; Jules plays regularly in a brass band in Brighton.
Members edit
- Georgey Payne - songwriter, vocals, acoustic guitar, piano
- Emma Kavanagh - vocals
- Ju Boyce - bass guitar
- Jules Hawthorne - electric guitar, trumpet
- Andi Holloway - drums
Style and influences edit
Their songs are a distinctive blend of richly textured harmonies, sung against layers of skillfully crafted electric and acoustic guitars, piano, and trumpet, and woven through with solid bass and tight drum rhythms.
Their sound is simultaneously unique and familiar, reminding the listener of the Indigo Girls, Melissa Etheridge, and Shawn Colvin. Their enduring and beautiful melodies are interlaced with heart-felt and memorable lyrics about love, heartache, yearning, and passion.
Discography edit
Hands On Fire (album)
- Released: 2006
- Format: CD
- Label: Unsigned
- Writer: Georgey Payne
- Producer: Self-produced
- Sales: 1000+
- Tracks: "It's Not The Same", "Rain", "Not Good Enough", "State 6", "If You Go", "Hands On Fire", "From Ground To Elevation", "Somewhere After Midnight", "Take Me Somewhere", "Maybe Now We Shall Begin"
Caterpillar Tree (album)
- Released: 2008
- Format: CD
- Label: Unsigned
- Writer: Georgey Payne principally, also Jules Hawthorne and Julie Boyce
- Producer: Self-produced
- Tracks: "Crazy Sunshine", "1000 Miles From Home", "Tomorrow..Today", "6.32", "Smile", "In The Eyes Of You", "The Wanting", "Starting Over", "I'll Be Fine", "You Belong With Me"
The Friend Song (EP)
tbc (album)
- Released: 2011 August
- Format: CD
- Label: Unsigned
- Writer: Georgey Payne, Jules Hawthorne, Julie Boyce
- Producer: Self-produced
- Sales: tbc
- Tracks: "This Crazy", "The Friend Song", "Les Filles", "Broken", "Beautiful Blue", "Car Keys", "When I Sleep", "When You Go", "", ""
- Bonus tracks: "Use Somebody (Kings of Leon cover, physical format only)"
Sales of albums are directly from the website and most digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, etc), sales of EP from most digital distributors (iTunes, Amazon, etc), with one in eight copies going to the U.S. and Germany.
Songs and Lyrics edit
Songs and lyrics can be found on the Greymatter website
Live performance edit
The 2008 European promotional tour for Caterpillar Tree started at the international Fete de la Musique in France. UK based dates include Brighton Pride and the York Lesbian Arts Festival (YLAF). The end of summer sees the band perform at the International Women's Festival in Lesbos.
Greymatter have played a variety of venues over the last few years including The Nottingham Playhouse, St David's Hall in Cardiff, Komedia Brighton, Nottingham Pride, Brighton Pride, Reading Pride, LadyFest, and the Isle of Wight Festival.
Fans edit
Greymatter fans number over 1600 MySpace fans, over 1000 newsletter subscribers, and 500 on Facebook.
Media Coverage edit
Magazines and eZines edit
G3 Magazine - August 2008, September 2008 Edizioni Ares, Italy - December 2008 Diva Magazine - 2006, August 2008 crAve Magazine - Issue 3, December 2008 Velvet Magazine - 2008 Women in Music Network - 2006 eurOut - November 2008 L Mag, Germany - 2007
(will do an audit and get them all listed here accurately with page references)
Playing their set of acoustic, mellow music interwoven with sublime harmonies, Britain’s answer to The Indigo Girls have wowed audiences at Brighton Pride, an L of a Night and on their recent French tour. Ooh la la!
— Belinda O'Hooley, YLAF, October 2008
mellow, quiet, well-made and solid ... very accomplished song-writing, with complex structures and themes ... a profoudly earnest album
— Charlotte Cooper, GaydarNation, April 2008
on top of some strong tunes, sound production and musicianship, greymatter have been developing a reputation as a great live band
— Charlotte Cooper, GaydarNation, April 2008
widely renowned for delivering their music with the most passionate performance you may ever see
— Anon, Nottingham Pride, July 2007
The five-piece band are the greatest thing to come out of Reading since … erm … no, they ARE the greatest thing to come out of Reading. They are gaining a growing reputation and a similarly growing support. And you don’t need to use your own grey matter to work out why.
— Julie Gibson, Sapphic Central, February 2007
[Greymatter] with their thoughtful lyrics and sparkling instrumentals were having a ball and their enjoyment was infectious.
— Julie Gibson, Sapphic Central, February 2007
it is refreshing to find a new talent with original material
— Ju & Jo, Women in Music Network, 2007
their set brimmed with luscious and thoughtful melodies, as well as an assured vocal range that mesmerised the audience
— KD, GingerBeer, 2006
TV Coverage edit
RGB TV, Greece, September 2008
Radio Play edit
- Radio Reverb 'Up & Out' July 2008, 'Latest Soup' August 2008
- BBC Radio Berkshire 'The Session' July 27, 2008
- US radio 2008 <will get broadcast date and clip asap - I just need to upload it all!>
- Eagle FM 2006 (clip on Greymatter website)
References edit
Online edit
Magazines edit
- Curve Magazine
- Diva Magazine
- G3 Magazine
- Go Magazine
- Velvet Magazine