Keys by Matt Owens

Composer and bassist Matt Owens returns with Keys — a deeply expressive and genre-defying album that threads memory, friendship and reinvention through an evocative palette of sound. Set for release on 22nd May 2025 on All Made Up Records, the project reunites Owens with two of his closest musical collaborators and long-time mentors, pianists David Muñoz and John Ellis, in a unique exploration of dual keyboard textures.

Now based in the Peak District, Owens cut his teeth as a bassist on Manchester’s fertile music scene playing everything from jazz to salsa, from hip-hop to folk. This led him to work with artists such as The Herbaliser, Aim and Ríoghnach Connelly as well as Latin luminaries such as Larry Harlow (Fania All-Stars), Jimmy Bosch and Ray de la Paz.

His 2015 debut album The Aviators' Ball combined classical wind quintet with jazz quartet and was hailed as “one of the most gorgeous albums you’ll hear this year.” (Echoes Magazine)

Commissioned by the Manchester Jazz Festival, Keys offered Owens the chance to create something entirely new — a meeting point between two keyboards and two decades of collaboration.

Owens and Chilean pianist David Muñoz worked closely together on the UK's vibrant salsa scene in the early 2000s. Their shared Latin influence can be heard as they dance their way through the South American inspired waltz Valsesito.

In the same period Owens started performing live and recording with pianist John Ellis, known for his work with The Cinematic Orchestra, Lily Allen and Tom Jones. Ellis’ playing brings a sophisticated unpredictability that pushes the compositions into cinematic territory.

The trio’s synergy is evident throughout the record, perhaps most notably on the album’s opener, Lacuna, where the musicians’ deft playing allows both Muñoz’s and Ellis' personalities to shine on the piano and keyboard respectively.

The album’s emotional heart pulses strongest in the two songs co-written with and performed by acclaimed singer-songwriter Kirsty Almeida, who brings her own transformative story to the record.

“Flow was about the birth of my child and the surrender required to trust that the healing would come,” says Almeida. “It was written in a time of deep listening, of transition, when I had to dive deep to believe. It was about imagination - a way to travel to beautiful inner worlds and play again.”

In contrast, Restless explores a darker, more fragile space.

“It came from the depths of postnatal depression - the cracking open of everything I had ever known and the unseen. It was the death before the rebirth — the moment inside the chrysalis before the girl becomes a mother.”

These two pieces, along with Almeida’s subtle yet soul-rich contributions on other tracks, bring rare intimacy and emotional layering to Keys.
Introduced by pianist Muñoz, Owens and Almeida began their creative journey writing the music for the theatre production Cubanite, which toured the UK for three years.

Almeida signed with Decca Records in 2009 and the duo worked with renowned producer Youth (The Verve) on her album Pure Blue Green.
Owens and Almeida continued working together on projects, including Almeida’s albums Wintersongs and Moonbird, as well as contributing music to acclaimed films such as the four-time BAFTA winning Patagonia, the BIFA double-nominated Albatross and Netflix’s Best Christmas Ever (2024).
Throughout Keys we get glimpses into Owens' wide ranging influences. Folk influences roll gently beneath a sense of oceanic expanse on Sea Green and there is a gospel feel in Ray of Light (inspired by the birth of Almeida and Ellis’ child).

South American influence is also present on La Boca, inspired by Owens’ trip to Buenos Aires. Here Muñoz's rootsy, tango-influenced solo is vividly contrasted with Ellis' quirky Theremin-inspired solo.

The album closes with the contemplative Reverence. Influenced by sacred minimalist composers such as Arvo Pärt, it was written to be performed live on Manchester’s mighty St. Ann’s Church organ.

At this same venue on 22nd May, Owens will reunite with Ellis, Muñoz and Almeida to perform Keys in its entirety, as part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of this year’s Manchester Jazz Festival.

Matt Owens is a composer and bassist whose music has featured in films such Patagonia, Albatross and Best Christmas Ever and TV programmes including Top Gear, EastEnders and Arrow. His bass playing and arranging provides the foundation for artists’ recordings and live projects including Kirsty Almeida, La Gran Descarga, Baked A La Ska, The Wagon Train, Ríoghnach Connolly and The Magic Beans.

mattowens.co.uk