Matt Cranstoun

www.myspace.com/mattcranstoun
www.mattcranstoun.com












BIOGRAPHY

With a voice familiar to the classic soul and R&B singers he loves so much Matt Cranstoun's words are a mixture of light and dark, and mostly autobiographical. His songs mix an eclectic array of simple feels in soul, funk, and even folk. His hope is that the emotion that inspired the music comes across to the listener, leaving something to relate to.

“Playing is my only real therapy. Even if one person is listening, then for that little bit -everything seems to make sense and feel good…” he says.

Matt formed his original band, Stonewater Groove in late 2001. After a few years of touring throughout the tri-state area of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York, he parted ways with the group and moved to New York City in early 2005. It’s here where his writing matured and he found redirection.

Although there’s been an abundance of collections of sporadic recordings, Matt is and has always been self-supportive. This, in other words, means broke. Recording is expensive and unfortunately a full-length record hasn’t been affordable yet. There was Stonewater Groove’s EP release entitled Wouldn’t We All, in 2002 which included live versions of “Left Again (Good as Dead)”, “Daylight”, and “Fire” and sold pretty well during the band’s history. In early 2006 Matt released his own EP, Somebody Save Me, complete with a newly formed band of talented players. It featured “Front Porch Swing”, the ballad “Cry No More” and “Still in Search” and has received good feedback.

“Matt Cranstoun has one of the most soulful voices I have ever heard. He is a one take kind of a singer which is rare in this protocols era we live in…” Walt MeCleary, owner of the Ground Hog Studio, where Matt began recording. Matt recently began work on a new project to be titled Three Years, only time will tell how many tracks it will have, etc, etc…but new music is always on the way.

Currently, Matt books shows with and without his band which consists of Eric Haltmeier on keys and sax, Matt Fitz-Henry on Bass, Eric Lindbergh on lead & auxiliary guitars, and Cliff Ramsay on drums. The intimate acoustic shows and full band shows differ in impact, so whether it’s your mood to listen closely or dance along, one thing is for certain, the music is genuine and won’t disappoint.