Matthew Herbert

Matthew Herbert’s distinctive approach to music first crystallized in the closing years of the 1990s, when he issued material under multiple aliases that quickly earned a devoted following; before long he stood among the dance-music world’s most prominent producers, celebrated for turning ordinary noises into offbeat rhythmic elements. His involvement with sound began at four, when violin and piano lessons commenced. By seven he was performing with orchestras, and at sixteen he embarked on European tours with several ensembles. Because his father worked as a BBC sound engineer, Herbert developed an early fascination with the intersection of electronics and composition; this interest deepened through school encounters with Pete Stollery, an electro-acoustic composer. While studying drama at Exeter University he grew absorbed by the connections between performance and music. In January 1995 he started capturing sounds from his surroundings and incorporating them into his pieces, a method then linked with Aphex Twin–style IDM. The following year saw the appearance of three debut releases: the first Wishmountain album, Radio, on Universal Language Productions; the first Doctor Rockit album, Ready to Rockit, on Clear; and the first Herbert album, Part 1, on Phono. Subsequent years brought a steady stream of EPs and full-lengths, among them Parts 1, 2 & 3, 100 Lbs., and Around the House under the Herbert name, plus The Music of Sound and Indoor Fireworks as Doctor Rockit. Alongside his sample-driven house productions as Herbert, his refreshed electro outings as Doctor Rockit, and his experimental techno work as Wishmountain, he also issued material as Radio Boy and operated the Life label. He later turned toward pop, crafting dance-pop albums for Dani Siciliano and Roisin Murphy.