Matt Stevens announces ‘retirement from solo performance’ with Archive album

The Fierce And The Dead guitarist Matt Stevens has described upcoming solo album Archive as “a good time to announce my retirement from solo performance.”

He believes he’s taken standalone shows to their natural conclusion over the past decade, and plans to focus on band work for the foreseeable future.

Archive includes a live performance from 2014 that features tracks from his four solo albums, alongside rare studio recordings. It’s to be released in a limited-edition format via Bad Elephant Music in the coming weeks.

Stevens tells Prog: “I feel like I have to put a full-stop to the body of solo work, and now’s a good time to announce my retirement from solo performance.

“I ultimately found the guitar-and-loop-pedal thing a little limiting, and I think I’ve taken that as far as I can for now.

“The last gigs were so good, in terms of the audience and the bands I was supporting, that I can’t see it going beyond that. You need to move on, to keep challenging yourself.”

He says of Archive: “I wanted to use the best quality live recordings that captured the energy of the performance. I’m really proud of the studio tracks – they’re of the same standard as the ones on the albums, but they just didn’t really work in that context.

“The ambient tracks tie in with The Fierce And The Dead album Spooky Action in a funny sort of way.”

Stevens continues work on TFATD’s next record, and he’ll perform in a duo with Andy Tillison later this year. He adds: “I’ve written a track with Judy Dyble on her forthcoming album. There’s lots of other stuff going on that may or may not happen. I feel very lucky.”

BEM will reveal full details of Archive in due course.

The Fierce And The Dead: Four Go Wild In The Country

Artists

Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.