ThereAEs Me and ThereAEs You

Matthew Herbert's dazzling 'There's Me and There's You' album is the most seductive, sophisticated and subversive collection of protest songs ever recorded! Blending lush jazz instrumentation, soulful vocals, fascinating rhythms and a secret underground arsenal of outlandish samples, it marks Herbert's second collaboration with his big band.

Featuring the cream of British jazz musicians, 'There's Me and There's You' is a sequel of sorts to Herbert's 2001 project 'Goodbye Swingtime'. It was largely recorded at London's fabled Abbey Road studios, although Herbert also incorporates sounds specially orchestrated at significant sites including the sound of 70 condoms being scraped along the floor of the British Museum, a match (amongst other things) being struck in the Houses of Parliament, one of a 100 nails being hammered into a coffin, vocals recorded at a Kent landfill site, a Kensington branch of McDonalds, and 100 credit cards being cut up. This is an album, in many senses, of extraordinary renditions.

Effortlessly wrapping deluxe avant-jazz arrangements around polemical lyrics and artfully selected noises, the album's dominant theme is power and its abuses in the 21st century. The war in Iraq is a key rallying point, informing several tracks including "One Life" and "Waiting". The power of monarchy is addressed in "Regina", religion in "Pontificate", media in "The Story", wealth inequalities in "The Rich Man's Prayer", and state-sponsored torture in "Battery". The hypocrisy of climate change politics and the evils of rampant consumerism are also recurring motifs.

An electronic innovator, sonic explorer and prolific collaborator, Herbert has released a huge catalogue of critically acclaimed music. He has also produced and remixed artists as diverse as Björk, REM, Quincy Jones, John Cale, Yoko Ono, Dizzee Rascal and Roisin Murphy.