My immeasurable heart-felt thank you to Goethes Erben,  Oswald Henke, and Dryland Records for their incredible work putting the X-Tour together. So lovely to be out playing once more, and even more so to meet some of (and see the meetings of) many from the LOCKDOWN SIEBEN  facebook group ? And merch sales meant that 2020 VISION and LOCKDOWN THE COVERS CDs have both now broken even – and Crumbs is one sale away from break-even! ?

This Saturday, 16th October I’m in Bilbao, Spain, as part of the Mareak Jaialdia festival – can’t wait to be playing this!

SIEBEN ONLINE 06 comes live-broadcasting at you Friday 8pm, Oct 22nd via my SIEBEN page on Facebook – no login required, and a free, online concert direct from my studio

After that I have a Sheffield gig! Friday 29th October at The Church House, with the wonderful Hungarian Lanterns.

I’m guessing that will be it for the year with real-world concerts, up until my SIEBEN CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

How amazing a touch of normal feels ?

Matt – Oct 2021

The post Touring! appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

I’m very pleased to confirm my tour support for Goethes Erben on their German x tour!

Very kind of them to ask me along, and I’ll be playing 9 dates with them (see below for details and dates). I’ll also be doing an extra little gig of my own courtesy of Kulturscheune Baiersdorf. This concert will also be live-streamed, so I’ll still be keeping up SIEBEN ONLINE and you can come on tour with me, too!

Live from a barn in the South-East of Germany!
This may well be SO06.

When I’m back from tour in October, I may try and arrange an October online concert – but there will be a November, for sure- and I’ll be coming you live with my Christmas Special from the Dorothy Pax venue, via Bandcamp ?

I know I’ll be catching up/meeting some of you lovely folk on tour in Germany, and can’t wait for that. And to be on the road again finally, gigs in venues with good pas, yum yum! – unbelievable!
Will probably plot my progress across Germany in Bratwurst and Imbis food photos, on social networks, so beware the senf and knodel pics- excited!

Matt – Sept 2021 GOETHES ERBEN & SIEBEN X Tour 2021

• 16.09.2021 Friedrichshafen, Kulturhaus Caserne
• 17.09.2021 Hof (statt Hannover das Abgesagt wurde), Filzfabrik
• 18.09.2021 Berlin, Columbia Theater
• 23.09.2021 Übach-Palenberg, Rockfabrik
• 24.09.2021 Mannheim, MS Connexion
• 25.09.2021 Bayreuth, Das Zentrum / 1. Erbenfestspiele (verlegt v. 2020)

• 28.09.2021 SIEBEN ONLY – Baiersdorf, Kulturscheune SOLD OUT – BUT THERE WILL BE A LIVESTREAM (see their fb page in link above)
• 01.10.2021 Dresden, Reithalle / Straße E
• 02.10.2021 München, Schlachthof
• 03.10.2021 Oberhausen, Kulttempel (Ersatztermin für Bochum)

The post Tour of Germany! appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

July’s is a Friday at 8, Facebook online concert – SIEBEN ONLINE 2 Sprechen You Sieben. And August’s Bandcamp SIEBEN ONLINE 3 livestream sees Kev trying to teach me how to play Neo-folk…

Other than that, there’s my new LOCKDOWN SIEBEN BOXSET- get it while it’s hot!! So happy to see so many arrive safe with you all, and for those who haven’t had it yet, hang on in there – we’re only just getting near the date I estimated they’d arrive with you. Fingers crossed for yours coming soon!

I’ll be adding the event pages and links for these concerts shortly, on Bandcamp and Facebook. Thanks as always to the fabulous Martin Bedford for his incredible poster art for these 3 events.

See you online – Or at the Sheffield gig if you’re local 🙂

Matt – July 2021
 
 
 

The post Gig, gig, gig appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

This one is ticketed (for the first time), as I’d like to see if I can do this ‘out in the field’ at concerts such as my Dorothy Pax Christmas Special, which will require employing someone else to do that end of it. If you’re struggling financially but would really like to come, email me – I have a limited number of ‘guest list’ places available, which I’ll happliy add you to. I’ll still be doing free Facebook livestreams from time to time over the summer, just so you know.

This concert will be available as a live album (via Bandcamp exclusively) the day after, too – once I’ve got up and mix-masterered it 😉

And as you may have seen the LOCKDOWN SIEBEN boxset has arrived, been released, and even arrived at some world-wide destinations already! Brilliant to see 🙂 Available now, exclusively from my site 🙂
 
Matt – June 2021

The post First livestream of Sieben Online appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

It’s officially now in stock, exclusively from my shop 🙂

Matt- June 2021

The post Release of LOCKDOWN SIEBEN BOXSET appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

It’s time to strip the paper mâché facing from the back of my little room and dismantle Lockdown Sieben. I’m not only cleaning forgotten areas, but re-discovering things anew walled off for a year! And setting to work on the next stage…

Before that though, a sacrificed must be given to the Gods of Online Concerts. After a heated meeting, myself, Kev, The Old One and The Upstairs Hoover have nominated Not So Big Kev for the honour of ‘the BBQ sacrifice’. Don’t judge us for slightly misleading NSBK on what (‘who’, more to the point) the BBQ entailed! Video to follow, when the deed is done. It’s for the greater good, Not So Big Kev!

Boxset smockset! They’re in PL, having mistakenly been to FR, coming originally from PL, where they are now loitering with intent. Hoping they’ll see a little UK sun soon, and I will send them straight out to you. Exactly 100 sold as I type, so no more key rings! Luckily my partner in crime Maciek Frett (Job Karma, 7JK) has managed to obtain the very first boxset sighting in the world and has sent us all some pictures:

Mmm, boxset! Officially released as soon as they stop holidaying on their Grand Tour of Europe 😉

I’ve booked a flight for a gig! That was odd. Off to Hradby Samoty Festival in Slovakia in July. Very much looking forward to that, and being back in the real world of concerts. Restrictions permitting, of course, that good old proviso we add on everything we plan, these days.

You’ll see me before that, I hope, with the first two gigs of SIEBEN ONLINE, an intermittent but regular concerts online ‘show’ replacing LS. My Deutchangle Friendschaft Nacht will happen when the boxsets arrive, and possibly at short notice. Of course I’ll let you know with some kind of warning ;). Got some nice things planned for that- and in fact already worked out better decor, camera angles and at least the sound you are used to, if not better still 😉 And keep Sunday 20th June free, for my Sieben Summer Solstice Show (9-11.30pm UK). I’m planning on doing a concert/live album with this show, and broadcasting for the very first time from Bandcamp. Giving it a try, as a dry run for live-streaming the Christmas show 😉

LOCKDOWN SIEBEN was amazing, such a pleasure and privilege for me to do, and something I shall always cherish. As always, I aim to up the ante and improve on whatever I did last, so excuse this slight respite period of slackness where I don’t record a sodding album, boxset, series of gigs or teach George to tap dance! 😉 Before all, the sacrifice of Not So Big Kev must appease the Online Gods. #LS90 THE BBQ OF NSBK

Thank you so much for the amazing support throughout, and particularly with the generous support for the boxset. Apologies again that they are taking the scenic route. rest assured NSBK’s demise will speed their journey to you –  Assuming I’m not ‘Brexited’ at the border (still braced for being so) it might even break even at some point 😉 More than that, I’m just desperate to get my hands on a copy and check it’s as nice as it looks!

Matt  – May 2021

The post Boxset fever… appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

Really excited for tomorrow night, and playing High Broad Desire Field, Right? night for you 🙂

Btw, the digital bonus album (can’t type it without doing it in Kev-voice in my head) is now up to 27 tracks, so should be at least 30 by the time I’m done. You get a code for a free download of this album, with the boxset 🙂

The final concert for now, Concert 55, is called Rug Murder Mystery 😉

See you tomorrow at 8!

Matt – April 2021

The post Boxset pre-order appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

48 weeks, 13 albums, 50 concerts, 82 videos, 122 songs, and an immeasurable pleasure to have made LOCKDOWN SIEBEN for you all.

Friday 2nd April is concert 50, VOLUME 10 Night, and the final concert of LS.
But as always, I aim to give no less than all, so there may be a little extra. And seems a shame to not ‘see the year out’? 😉

“Boxset is coming!” says Kev, menacingly 😉 I’m hoping that I’ll have it up on the site in the next week or so.

See you Friday!

Matt – March 2021

The post LOCKDOWN SIEBEN coming to an end? ;) appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

Volume 10 will happen on the 2nd of April, 11 months after I started online, thanks to all your lovelinesses 🙂

It’s been a glorious Sieben-Boot-Camp workout for me, throughout! I’ve always aimed to push and develop what I do, concert by concert, certainly album by album – but this has been under the microscope of your wonderful gaze, and you’ll have seen the new Sieben sound developing before your eyes more recently live. I feel set up nicely for writing the next Sieben. And it’s nicely the other way round to usual, for me, too: Normally, I’d have the content and ideas and go searching a new sound. Bootcamp training has set me up with a whole new wealth of sounds and sound sources, and new grooves I want to explore with new Sieben music. I can feel a whole new skin shedding. LS has enabled me to meld Pastoral Howden with Angry Howden, now it’s time to push on to Future Howden? That’s my plan, at least – to try and channel this into the last concerts of LS so that there’s still a (hopefully) very special climax to it all 🙂

This Wednesday, 3rd of March, Kev and I make our DJ debut, at 16.32UK time, here: https://beachyheadradio.com/listen/ 

After that I’ll wrangle it on to my Mixcloud I guess some of my song choices may surprise you

The box set is being manufactured. I’ll keep you all updated about its release. Shouldn’t be long, now. I still have Lockdown The Covers and 2020 VISION CDs to sell to break even, too 😉

Keep well, all!

Matt – Feb 2021

The post Lockdown Sieben building to a climax! appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

Must admit there was an extra tension in the air 😉 Not least because I was conscious that my weekly fun moments of ‘nope, no sodding clue how that bit goes’ wouldn’t translate too well to a full-blown two-hour culmination of a year’s work’ album. It’s pretty ‘chunky’ anyway, and Kev caps it off with his own hymn. Then there are a couple of virtual encores. Plus, all the usual inane and bizarre chat, without all the dim pauses and bending down to tweak the looper 😉
 
Thanks all, for your immense support throughout LOCKDOWN SIEBEN.

I’m straight back on it in the New Year, with Concert 38 – Hello Mellow 21? Friday at 8 on my Sieben Facebook LIVE page, each week until you’ve had enough, or we’re allowed to do it in real-life again 😉

Matt – 22nd Dec 2020

The post Winter Solstice Special Live Album appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

Expect the Grateful Dead (Gruntled Dead?) version of Sieben with concert 37 tomorrow night, as I indulge in a two-hour special and bask in the reflection of The Ginger One’s glory.

Culminates with a virtual ‘Who’s Been Digging In The Garden, George?’ and a hymn that Kev’s written for us all as a message of hope for 2021 😉 I finish off the year with this live album concert, Winter Solstice Special, and as always try to top the previous show. This time more so than ever 😉

I can’t thank you all enough for the wonderful journey, the fantastic travels we’ve had whilst at home in socks; for the mental and physical exercise-wheel of joy that has been LOCKDOWN SIEBEN 2020 for me 😀 A chance for me to really develop what I do, push myself, in ideal conditions. With a Kev. With you. With a new there-and-then approach. Re-connected me with my old material, integrated it all with a new sound. The ultimate As They Should Sound for me, with the better half of my back catalogue. With one major exception: No wasteful pursuit of over-cooking, over-working the mixtures making studio albums. It’s taught me a new, simpler more effective way: Pick up Kev, do it live, pedals ready to go, knowing there’s an eager audience, and as always having a real desire to expand the music I make and keep it fresh has driven me like never before. Despite Lockdown’s many downsides this has been an absolute joy, a labour of love for me to undertake, and to offer out to you. Truly a real blessing for an independent artist to have an outlet, a lovely audience that cares, and brings so much to the live concerts, and the LOCKDOWN SIEBEN Facebook group, its interactions, its friendships formed.

More to come in 2021, of course. I’ve still got to get to 100 videos, Volumes 8, 9 and 10 need doing, other albums need their own night. I wouldn’t be surprised if I see it through to a one-year cycle. I’m guessing you won’t be that surprised, either 😉

Thank you all so, so much.

Matt Howden 19 Dec 2020

The post 2020 IN BRIEF… appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.

I’ve also done an ‘offer‘ whereby if you buy this and 2020 VISION CD, you get them a little cheaper.

Guaranteed NOT to get to you before Christmas! 😉
This album launches on Friday, with the online live show, concert 35, Don’t mention The ‘C’ Word.

The post Lockdown the Covers album appeared first on The Mighty Sieben.