Twenty years ago, Matt Elliott (also Third Eye Foundation) released Drinking Songs, the first part of a significant trilogy of dark folk albums showing eight songs that remain to this day the most listened to on streaming platforms and highly praised by fans of the Bristol native.

A deep exploration of the human condition, Drinking Songs is a journey through the most inaccessible corners of the soul.

Today, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the most iconic work in his discography, Matt Elliott presents Drinking Songs Live 20 Years On, a collection of alternative versions recorded live as a trio.

What sets Matt Elliott apart is his ability to fuse different styles, blending chamber folk with Eastern European cabaret music, while simultaneously drawing on his electronic music background, particularly his mastery of sampling and effects, to serve the song.

Several hundred concerts across Europe and seven albums later, Matt Elliott now presents Drinking Songs Live 20 Years On, revisiting this landmark album.

Recorded at L'Autre Canal in Nancy, where the Englishman has been living for several years now, this album features previously unreleased trio versions, with musicians who regularly accompany him on stage: Anne-Elisabeth de Cologne (double bass) and Barbara Dang (piano).

Anyone who has seen him perform solo or with this trio knows how much Matt Elliott has enjoyed drawing on the tracks of Drinking Songs.

This collaboration transcends the studio version, capturing the raw emotion of a Matt Elliott who, at 50, seems to be at the peak of his art.

Whether you're familiar with the studio versions or not, you have to be hooked from the first track, an interweaving, a superimposition of the first two tracks of the original album: "CF Bundy / Trying to Explain." Seventeen minutes, mostly instrumental, beautifully tear-jerking, oozing spleen and absinthe.

By breathing new life into his Drinking Songs twenty years later, Matt Elliott has given us a precious gift: the opportunity to listen to Drinking Songs again for the first time.

Double vinyl or digisleeve CD!