Art Theefe are a three piece band from Oxford, England.
Formed around a shared desire to create classic music, Art Theefe share a heritage with many of rock, soul, folk and country’s most illustrious artists: timeless song writing, soulful performances, and artful musicianship.
Art Theefe are singer and guitarist, Matt Sage (“A great artist” – Gilles Peterson; “Seriously gorgeous sounds” – Mike Scott, The Waterboys), Little Brother Eli’s Josh Rigal on bass, and Boston native Joel Bassuk on drums. Joel was deported back to the US for almost a year in the middle of recording, and that was, very nearly, that!
Good artists copy, great artists steal. Art Theefe.
Theirs is a reassuringly familiar and yet refreshingly modern brand of rock n roll music: a quintessential trio of bass, drums and guitar, but one which also belies a rare versatility.
You might discern hints of Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan or Dylan. Tom Waits, Van Morrison or The Stones at their peak. It’s all in the mix, and yet this sound is all their own.
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When his former school band mates went on to form Faithless in the mid 90s, Matt Sage left his home town of London, moved on to boat on the Oxford Canal and founded Oxford’s now-legendary performance space, The Catweazle Club (“Magical” – Radio 4; “An essential cultural interlude” – The GUARDIAN, "Britain's most intimate performance space" - The TIMES).
Over the past 20+ years, The Catweazle Club has established a unique and enduring creative community - locally, nationally and internationally - and has provided a platform for literally thousands of musicians, song writers, singers, poets, story tellers and performance artists of every imaginable hue. In Oxford alone, in addition to innumerable local heroes, both Stornoway and Foals held their very first performances at Catweazle.
While drawing huge rewards from having been at the axis of such a vibrant scene for well over two decades, Sage still uses the Club to keep his own game razor sharp. A relentlessly prolific artist, his songs have been played on Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 and as both a solo artist and song writing mentor, he has appeared at festivals throughout the world, including Glastonbury, WOMAD, Secret Garden Party, Bestival, etc etc.
With Art Theefe’s debut album very nearly in the can, and the next one already written and ready to record he has, he says, forests of songs.
Formed around a shared desire to create classic music, Art Theefe share a heritage with many of rock, soul, folk and country’s most illustrious artists: timeless song writing, soulful performances, and artful musicianship.
Art Theefe are singer and guitarist, Matt Sage (“A great artist” – Gilles Peterson; “Seriously gorgeous sounds” – Mike Scott, The Waterboys), Little Brother Eli’s Josh Rigal on bass, and Boston native Joel Bassuk on drums. Joel was deported back to the US for almost a year in the middle of recording, and that was, very nearly, that!
Good artists copy, great artists steal. Art Theefe.
Theirs is a reassuringly familiar and yet refreshingly modern brand of rock n roll music: a quintessential trio of bass, drums and guitar, but one which also belies a rare versatility.
You might discern hints of Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan or Dylan. Tom Waits, Van Morrison or The Stones at their peak. It’s all in the mix, and yet this sound is all their own.
**********************************************************
When his former school band mates went on to form Faithless in the mid 90s, Matt Sage left his home town of London, moved on to boat on the Oxford Canal and founded Oxford’s now-legendary performance space, The Catweazle Club (“Magical” – Radio 4; “An essential cultural interlude” – The GUARDIAN, "Britain's most intimate performance space" - The TIMES).
Over the past 20+ years, The Catweazle Club has established a unique and enduring creative community - locally, nationally and internationally - and has provided a platform for literally thousands of musicians, song writers, singers, poets, story tellers and performance artists of every imaginable hue. In Oxford alone, in addition to innumerable local heroes, both Stornoway and Foals held their very first performances at Catweazle.
While drawing huge rewards from having been at the axis of such a vibrant scene for well over two decades, Sage still uses the Club to keep his own game razor sharp. A relentlessly prolific artist, his songs have been played on Radio 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 and as both a solo artist and song writing mentor, he has appeared at festivals throughout the world, including Glastonbury, WOMAD, Secret Garden Party, Bestival, etc etc.
With Art Theefe’s debut album very nearly in the can, and the next one already written and ready to record he has, he says, forests of songs.
