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Wednesday, 23 July 2008
Elliot Matsu grew up in Chicago before moving to New York to pursue his music. At the age of five, he began classical training at the Suzuki School of Music. At age 13 Elliot studied guitar under George Bellas, one of the greatest technical players of our time. New York City has provided Elliot with his greatest education- composing, producing, performing and learning with some of the finest talent on the planet.

In his time with producer/engineer Jonathon Appell (Bette Midler, Carol King), Elliot received a close and personal education in music production. Elliot's early demos included such talent as Shawn Pelton (David Byrne, Sheryl Crow), Steve Wolf (Annie Lennox), Vinnie Zumo (Joe Jackson), Mark Shulman (Jewel), Rick Skatore (24/7 Spyz) and Mark Slutsky (Gavin DeGraw, PINK).

Elliot Matsu is a pop/rock artist. His style as a lyricist/poet has developed over a fifteen year period, and is as distinctive as his immediately recognizable voice.

He speaks to a generation facing urban isolation, extreme commercialism, a general sense of purposelessness and long-distance relationships with their roots and homes. Elliot's music combines moving melodies with mood-inducing chord progressions and current pop textures.

His Debut record, "2nd Avenue," is our first taste of Elliot's world. Each song was written, produced and performed by Elliot. As you will hear, there is a wealth of musical lyrical ideas beneath the surface, which will continue to develop in the years to come.

In this climate of huge numbers and bogus image it's hard to imagine that a life-long artist like Elliot Matsu will be shoved down your throat by MTV and Pepsi. However, listen to his music and you will find that it isn't hard to imagine Elliot's songs gracing the airwaves for decades to come.

Review:
"Chicago native and Suzuki School of Music graduate, Elliot Matsu played all the instruments and produced 2nd Avenue, a promising mix of sounds and moods. In New York City, Matsu has worked with producers with ties to such luminaries as Carol King, Sheryl Crow, Jewel and David Byrne, so he appears to be in it for the long haul, and with an eye on commercial radio. On this lively, electronic pastiche, he switches gears seamlessly within tightly crafted love songs. On "Something Wrong," the first line of the first verse is distorted, then it clears up -- going from Pet Shop Boys style electronica to slightly dirty rock and then back, then mixing the two at once. Sure it's calculated, but it works, and it's the strongest track. His clear voice, just rough enough, sincere but not cloying, is expressive but not too mannered, lending his compositions certain realism. Matsu has a talent for finding and then juxtaposing the right ratio of organic and synthetic sounds, crowding them together and then stripping them down to create interesting textures.

Throughout 2nd Avenue, he struggles with identity and homesickness as he searches for love. With his heart on his sleeve, on "Amanda," he pleads, "I want to meet your family... take you out to dinner and make you laugh." Such sincerity and melodic good sense might make one think of him as a shiny, streamlined (and more maudlin) Elliott Smith for the VH1 set. And though it shouldn't matter, unlike Smith, Matsu's looks won't hurt him. This kid could be an American Idol for the slightly more discriminating listener."
-Antonia B. Johnson
 
Press Release: Singer-songwriter Elliot Matsu's much anticipated release, “The Value of Power,” hits the streets in winter 2009. The new album will follow up his highly acclaimed debut release, “2nd Avenue.”

Webpage: http://elliotmatsu.net/
Location: New York, NY, USA
Description: Well Crafted Pop Rock for the Sophisticated Listener
Last Updated ( Monday, 17 August 2009 )
 
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