Matthew J. Anthony

Matthew J. Anthony is not exactly a person. Strictly speaking, he is not even a noun, let alone male. He can be somewhat likened to a verb or, better yet, a perpetual being that inspires and compels one to act whilst simultaneously becoming the very act he sought to compel in the first place. In other words, Matthew is not just formless and free-floating potential; he also embodies the formless and yet somehow remains greater than any material embodiment or description thereof. Un-simply put, Matthew J. Anthony has always been, will always be, and is always, endlessly becoming. Matthew is a singular multiplicity; a pansexual hermaphrodite who is undeniably male, unequivocally female and yet neither of these and yet both. He is saintly in origin and yet beastly in his desire for all things; but no matter whom he seduces, he embraces no one but himself. This is because Matthew is, by definition, ‘all things.’ He is unconditionally part of everything and everything is unconditionally part of him. Consequently, Matthew is forever self-espoused, forever married to himself and forever impregnating himself. Yet, remarkably, without this self-love, there would be no ‘us’; no world for us to live in; no words for us to write, speak, sing or hear; no thoughts, visions, feelings or sensations for us to witness, experience or partake in; no ‘I,’ no ‘you’ and most definitely no ‘we.’ Quite simply, without Matthew, our hearts would not beat and our blood would not flow. 'But how can this be?' you may ask. Because Matthew’s heartbeat is our very own and every drop of blood entirely his. You see, we own nothing of ourselves; every bit of us belongs to him. But, conversely, Matthew does not and cannot belong to us. He is continually and unspeakably more than us; utterly beyond all that he encompasses. He is both above and below; within and without; and yet so beyond the above he is within the without. He is every single human, he is every single life; he is the watchful, timeless husband and we the temporal wife. He is eternally the home in which we live our lives together, where we beget each other’s children and in whom death then begets us just one better. Yet after we die, still he shall be; and before we were born, there he still was: Matthew the original, the completely commonplace, the immeasurably intelligent, post-transgender ape.

As a musical entity, Matthew J. Anthony is a Dublin-based duo comprising of two long-term friends, Matthew Palmer and James Byrne (Villagers/Any Other City Records). They first met in the summer of 1998 and have remained creative collaborators ever since. During the late 90's and early noughties they cut their musical teeth composing songs for and performing in several "indie" outfits -- including Deputy Fuzz and Life After Modelling. Since 2005 they have quietly, yet meticulously, continued to work together at crafting and perfecting their song writing and performance skills. Essentially, the current stage show (and soon-to-be album), The Gospel According to Matthew J. Anthony, is the 'at long last' outcome of a conscientious and developmental period of hibernation.