Matt Harrison : Stunning Warm Sounds From This Singer/Songwriter

I've got a great one for all you readers out there today. Earlier this evening I was sitting on the couch and decided to tune my guitar into open C, when I started strumming the chords to "Skinny Love" (Bon Iver). I made a mistake while doing so and found myself playing "Devil On My Shoulder" (Orla Gartland). I sort of got lost messing around with that open C tuning but finally got up and started looking around Youtube for great "Skinny Love" covers. There seem to be endless, stunning covers out there, including versions by previously featured artists such as Orla Gartland and Kina Grannis. Fortunately, I came across an incredibly unique take on the song, by Matt Harrison and Ruby Whiting. I don't want to give anything away, but I've gotta say that the song really works this way. Have a listen. I'm curious what you'll think of this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_skPBwRwG4s

Stunning! The reverb and delay layered on that smooth Stratocaster sound are reminiscent of some U2 tracks. And Matt's very particular sound gives the song a whole different edge. Of course, not enough can be said about Ruby's soulful vocals that match up perfectly with Matt's overall sound. Additionally, doing the song as a duet gives the song a different meaning, which I really appreciated. Nevertheless, I have a feeling that "Skinny Love" is the sort of song that would work in so many ways. Here's to Justin Vernon for writing it! Anyways, let's get back to Matt.

Unfortunately, that seemed to be the only cover that featured Ruby, but I'll definitely have a search with her name later on. Maybe she's got a couple covers out there to. However, Matt's got a bunch of stunning videos available on his Youtube. One cover that really took me by surprise was of the Rapture's "How Deep Is Your Love?" Despite the title, it has nothing to do with the Bee Gees' masterpiece. The Rapture is indie rock band from New York City. I'm not sure where I first heard "How Deep Is Your Love?" but it's been featured quite a bit on TV apparently. I probably came across it while surfing across the Youtube waves though. Anyways, enough with me. Check out this brilliant cover!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZupZBzA1gM

Beautiful, right? This song gave Matt a chance to fiddle around with the guitar a bit more. He's definitely got some funk and soul ringing through his guitar style, but his overall style screams "indie". And the whole video/audio production is amazing. Something about the "ooh" backing vocals toward the end remind me a little of "Home" by Phillip Phillips. But it worked fantastically well for the song.

And aside from those great covers, Matt's got a bunch of incredible originals. With his very indie, folkish approach, Matt's got a warm sound on his originals, and once again gives some very well produced songs to his audience. A song called "Running Shoes" oozes with warmth and depth. Not the kind of thing you can describe, but definitely the kind of thing you can get caught up in the moment to. Have a listen and don't forget to subscribe to Matt's channel and "like" his Facebook page, if you love his stuff as much as I do. Check back tomorrow for another fantastic artist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3DKALtchQU

Alex Hamel