Matt Berry

When not fashioning memorable figures across numerous British and American television programs, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Matt Berry devotes energy to meticulously replicating the textures of rare records from his collection, threading together understated British folk, dreamy psychedelia, and expansive prog rock. Partnering with the established Acid Jazz imprint, he issued a series of recordings that examined pastoral folk-rock on 2013’s Kill the Wolf, synthesizer-driven new age on 2014’s Music for Insomniacs, country-rock on 2020’s Phantom Birds, precise psychedelia on 2021’s Blue Elephant, retro library music on 2023’s Simplicity, and space rock on 2025’s Heard Noises. Across every chosen path, Berry approaches the material earnestly; his notably gentle voice, adept handling of assorted instruments, and ear for melody underscore that music is more than a casual pursuit for the actor.

Berry entered the world in Bromham, Bedfordshire in 1974 and earned a contemporary arts degree from Nottingham Trent University, where he frequently appeared with multiple ensembles. He launched his professional path as a runner, later serving as presenter on a video-game magazine program before shifting focus to comedy and securing parts in the cult series Garth Marenghi’s Dark Place, The Mighty Boosh, and, most prominently, as Douglas Reynholm in The I.T. Crowd. Following the creation and lead role in his own comedy vehicle Snuff Box, he guested on episodes of The Sarah Silverman Show, appeared in the promotional clip for Super Furry Animals’ “Runaway,” and fronted Adult Swim’s satirical Save the Workers charity drive.

Balancing ongoing musical goals with screen commitments, Berry authored the musical-theater parody AD/BC: A Rock Opera for Channel 4, supplied scores for Saxondale, The Peter Serafinowicz Show, and the sketch program Blunder, and offered his independently financed debut album Opium as a free download via his site in 2008. After roles in the films Moon and The Devil’s Chair plus a hosting slot on Absolute Radio, he joined Acid Jazz Records and performed every instrument on the 1970s prog- and folk-rock-informed follow-up Witchazel. Issued in 2011 after a U.K. tour alongside his Brighton-based experimental group Jonas 3, the album featured a collaboration with Bluetones frontman Mark Morriss performing as the Swedish Twins. Berry continued in 2013 with the lush, autumnal Kill the Wolf, which included appearances by Morriss, Eric Johnson of the Shins, and James Robert Shaw of Everything Everything.

While maintaining his television series Toast of London, he found occasion to deliver the vintage-synthesizer new-age set Music for Insomniacs in 2014. The subsequent year he toured with his ensemble, now known as the Maypoles, and preserved the dates on the live album Matt Berry & the Maypoles Live that November. For the follow-up The Small Hours in 2016, Berry worked at Rimshot Studio in Kent on its hand-built sixty-year-old console, supplemented sessions at his home studio, and, for the first time, captured basic tracks live with the band before adding vocals and overdubs alone. Additional contributors comprised horn players Ben Castle and Steve Jourdonas together with longtime backing vocalist Cecilia Fage. In 2017 he supplied a remix of Saint Etienne’s “Dive” and issued the companion EP Night Terrors, containing Clark’s atmospheric title-track rework, Saint Etienne’s interpretation of the same piece, a Pugwash-assisted reading of “Lord Above,” library- and African-jazz-inflected instrumentals, and two unconventional pop songs.

His acting profile expanded through lead parts in What We Do in the Shadows and Year of the Rabbit, while his recording activity persisted. In 2018 he released the collection Television Themes devoted to 1970s and 1980s small-screen music; the following year he contributed to Desert Sessions, Vols. 11 & 12. Berry delivered his eighth album, Phantom Birds, in 2020, incorporating country-rock accents and added sincerity with assistance from drummer Craig Blundell and pedal-steel specialist B.J. Cole. With filming of What We Do in the Shadows suspended in Canada that year, he retreated to his attic studio and assembled a heavily psychedelic statement using keyboards, guitars, and period effects units, again handling most instruments and vocals himself while enlisting Blundell for percussion. Acid Jazz issued Blue Elephant in May 2021, by which point Berry had resumed work on set in Canada. Later that year arrived Gather Up, an Acid Jazz anthology assembling rare cuts, demos, live recordings, and selected highlights. Amid continued acting projects, he returned in 2023 with Simplicity, recorded alongside Blundell on drums and Berry on all remaining instruments; issued jointly by Acid Jazz and the historic KPM library label, the album evoked late-1960s British library music across an array of instrumental approaches. Maintaining his customary pace, Berry completed 2025’s Heard Noises with Blundell, fellow actor Natasha Lyonne, guitarist Eric D. Johnson, vocalist Kitty Liv of Kitty, Daisy and Lewis, pedal-steel player Phil Skraggs, and a choir that includes Berry’s mother. The album traverses psychedelic pop, space rock, and retro soul, all executed with Berry’s characteristic precision and vitality.