MG Boulter
Friday
Matthew Boulter is a songwriter and musician who fronts The Lucky Strikes. He is also a solo artist who has released records under his own name as well as those of Blue Vinyl Island and The Whispering Pines. He regularly lends his musical talents to many other musical groups, most notably Emily Portman, Simone Felice and The Duke and the King.
After being forced into hibernation by the long winter, Lucky Strikes frontman Matthew Boulter emerges with his second album of glorious, gentle, life-affirming songs to take us into Summer. The Water Or The Wave features eleven original songs, conceived on the road at various folk club and festival shows throughout the past year and given life beside the grassy marshland and mudflats of his South Essex home on the Thames Delta.
Ably assisted by engineer Rees Broomfield at The Broom Cupboard Studio in Rayleigh, Matthew recruited various friends and colleagues for the album sessions, including Lucky Strikes compatriots Paul Ambrose and Jim Wilson, Bryony Afferson and Lizzy O’Connor from fast-rising London folk and bluegrass band Troubadour Rose and, by no means least, legendary Dire Straits and Bob Dylan drummer Pick Withers. This impressive cast have helped Matthew create a work of considerable warmth and subtlety.
Releasing his debut album in Spring 2012 under the name The Whispering Pines, Matthew has been an integral member of The Lucky Strikes since 2007, starting out on bass before switching to guitar and vocals, as well as penning much of their material. A highly proficient pedal- and lap-steel player, he’s much sought after on the UK Americana circuit; something that led to him being invited to play with New York songwriter Simone Felice. Since accompanying Felice on various dates including a prestigious Green Man Festival headline set in 2011, Matthew has become a full member of The Simone Felice Band, touring the US and UK, also opening shows as solo performer. Despite this impressive workload, Matthew has continued to lend his many skills to shows and recordings by the likes of Cusack, Deer Park, Dead flowers, Neil McSweeney, Rosalie Deighton, Conor Oberst and members of Mumford & Sons. On The Water Or The Wave, M G Boulter turns another page…