Matthew Elliott Barber (born January 10, 1977) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. His music has been classified as
indie pop
Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...
and
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
with
folk
Folk or Folks may refer to:
Sociology
*Nation
*People
* Folklore
** Folk art
** Folk dance
** Folk hero
** Folk horror
** Folk music
*** Folk metal
*** Folk punk
*** Folk rock
** Folk religion
* Folk taxonomy
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Fo ...
and
alternative country
Alternative country (commonly abbreviated to alt-country; also known as alternative country rock, insurgent country, Americana, or y'allternative) is a loosely defined subgenre of country music and/or country rock that includes acts that diffe ...
influences.
Barber was born and grew up in
Port Credit
Port Credit is a neighbourhood in the south-central part of the City of Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, located at the mouth of the Credit River on the north shore of Lake Ontario. Its main intersection is Hurontario Street and Lakeshore Road, a ...
, which is part of
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...
, just west of
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, attending
Lorne Park Secondary School
Lorne Park Secondary School (often abbreviated as LP or LPSS) is a public high school located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. It serves the Lorne Park neighbourhood, as well as a larger catchment area for the Extended French program for all of ...
before moving to
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...
campus radio
Campus radio (also known as college radio, university radio or student radio) is a type of radio station that is run by the students of a college, university or other educational institution. Programming may be exclusively created or produced ...
station
CFRC-FM
CFRC-FM (101.9 MHz) is the non-commercial campus radio station at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The station has one of the longest radio histories in Canada, with experimental broadcasts dating back to 1922 and serves Queen's ...
and performed at campus pubs. While at Queen's, he released his debut album '' A Thousand Smiles An Hour...'' independently in 1999.
After graduating from Queen's, he went to
McMaster University
McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...
in
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...
for his master's degree in philosophy, and here he began to take his performing more seriously. Gaining support from the small but committed Hamilton music community, he released his breakthrough album ''
Means and Ends
In moral philosophy, instrumental and intrinsic value are the distinction between what is a ''means to an end'' and what is as an ''end in itself''. Things are deemed to have instrumental value (or extrinsic value) if they help one achieve a part ...
'' independently in 2002.
The album soon caught the attention of
Paper Bag Records
Paper Bag Records is a Canadian independent record label, artist management company, and music publishing company founded in 2002 and based in Toronto.
History
The label was created to focus on the Toronto-area indie rock music scene. Initial si ...
, who re-released it to a wider audience in 2003. After two years in Hamilton, Barber moved to Toronto.
Barber has been a featured guest on '' >play'', '' Go'' and ''
Open Mike with Mike Bullard
''Open Mike with Mike Bullard'' is a Canadian late-night talk show which was broadcast on The Comedy Network 1997 to 2003 and also aired on the full CTV Television Network beginning in 1998. For a time it overtook ''The Tonight Show with Jay Le ...
''. He has toured extensively with artists including
Buck 65
Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop rapper. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country ...
,
BOY
A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man.
Definition, etymology, and use
According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...
,
Joel Plaskett
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of gen ...
,
Emm Gryner
Emm Gryner (born in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, recording artist, and author. She has released 20 albums as a solo performer, and has collaborated with artists including David Bowie and Chris Hadfield.
Early life
Gryn ...
and
Matt Mays and El Torpedo
Matt Mays (born August 10, 1979) is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter and was the lead singer of Matt Mays & El Torpedo, a rock music group based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and New York City. Previously, Mays was a member of a Canadian in ...
.
Barber's sister,
Jill Barber
Jill Barber (born Gillian Grace Barber; February 6, 1980) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Originally associated with the folk-pop genre, she has performed vocal jazz and pop music on her more recent albums.Warner Music Canada
Warner Music Canada is the Canadian division of Warner Music Group. The label previously operated as WEA Music of Canada, Ltd. (French: ''WEA Musique du Canada, Ltée''), often shortened to WEA Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of WEA Internationa ...
, he released the EP title ''The Story of Your Life'' in 2004 and the full-length album ''Sweet Nothing'' on September 27, 2005.
''Sweet Nothings debut single and music video, "Soft One," became a major hit in Canada, reaching number one among most-added tracks and the top 20 tracks overall at
hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
radio in Canada, and receiving regular play on music video channels including
MuchMusic
Much is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary that airs programming aimed at teenagers and young adults. It is headquartered at 299 Queen Street West in what was o ...
,
MuchMoreMusic
CTV Life Channel is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. through its Bell Media subsidiary. The channel primarily broadcasts factual and reality programming on lifestyle topics such as cooking, home impr ...
and MusiMax.
On March 4, 2008, Barber released his fourth album on
Outside Music
Outside Music is a Canadian record label and distributor founded by Lloyd Nishimura in 2001. In 2007, it expanded to include an artist management division which includes Jill Barber, Matthew Barber, Aidan Knight, Justin Rutledge as manageme ...
, ''Ghost Notes''. Numerous guest musicians are featured on the 10-track album, including
Sarah Harmer
Sarah Lois Harmer (born November 12, 1970) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and environmental activist.
Early life
Born and raised in Burlington, Ontario, Harmer gained her first exposure to the musical lifestyle as a teenager, when her older s ...
and Barber's sister
Jill
Jill is an English feminine given name, a short form of the name Gillian, which in turn originated as a Middle English variant of Juliana. Jill was such a common name that it had an everygirl quality, as in the 15th century English nursery rhyme ...
. His fifth album, ''True Believer'', was released on February 23, 2010. The self-titled album ''Matthew Barber'' was released June 7, 2011, on Outside Music. In the same year, Jill and Matthew Barber collaborated on a cover of
The Hardship Post
The Hardship Post was a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in St. John’s, Newfoundland in 1992. The band moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia, during the Halifax Pop Explosion of the early 1990s.
The band originally consisted of vocalist and ...
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'', November 14, 2011.
In 2014, he released ''Big Romance''. Barber returned to work in 2018 with ''Phase of the Moon'', his first solo LP in four years.
In 2025 Jill and Matthew Barber contributed a cover of
Joel Plaskett
William Joel MacDonald Plaskett (born April 18, 1975) is a Canadian rock musician and songwriter based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was a member of Halifax alternative rock band Thrush Hermit in the 1990s. Plaskett performs in a number of gen ...
's "Light of the Moon" to the Plaskett tribute album ''
Songs from the Gang
''Songs from the Gang'' is a compilation album, released on April 11, 2025, as a tribute to Canadian singer-songwriter Joel Plaskett.
Released one week before Plaskett's 50th birthday on April 18, 2025, the album was in production for a year prev ...
Exclaim!
''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly ''Exclaim!'' print magazine publishes seven ...
'', April 11, 2025.
Discography
*''A Thousand Smiles An Hour'' (1999)
*''Means & Ends'' (2003)
*''The Story of Your Life'' (2004) (EP) (Released as "Matthew Barber & The Union Dues")
*''Sweet Nothing'' (2005)
*''Ghost Notes'' (2008)
*''True Believer'' (2010)
*''Matthew Barber'' (2011)
*''Songs for the Haunted Hillbilly'' (2012)
*''Big Romance'' (2014)
*''The Family Album'' (2016), with