Mat Hook

“Shades of Richard Ashcroft I reckon. After being away for 10 years, Mat's returning and sounding excellent!” - John Kennedy (Radio X)

 

Mat Hook may be familiar to Sheffield music fans as the former frontman of indie rockers Kartica. He has spent a decade away from the spotlight since the band disintegrated. just as they were on the cusp of ‘making it big’ in 2014.

 

As his band split, Mat entered a tumultuous period that involved family bereavement, breakups, and job losses, and stepped back from music to focus on resetting his life. In the years that followed Mat put his energies into building a hugely successful grass-roots, seven-a-side football league in Sheffield which he runs to this day.

 

By 2023 Mat was at peace with his life once more and returned songwriting and then the recording studio. A return to the live circuit followed, and he is once again treading the boards across Sheffield and beyond. Finishing the summer of 2024 with a triumphant set supporting Milburn, Jake Bugg and Pete Doherty at Sheffield’s Don Valley Bowl, Mat is heading into 2025 in the musical form of his life.

 

The music is a mixture of rock and roll swagger, shot through with a mature, rich vocal style, and heart wrenching lyrics.

 

These are the anthems that you didn’t know you needed in your life.

 

Mat will be releasing his debut 7” single in early 2025 on ForgeMaster Records.

​

(Main image: Tom Marshall)