Thoughts:
"The main thing about Gobi is that it's
music for everyone. It's upbeat and fun
but at the same time it's substantial. I have
never known such great reactions from
audiences as the ones we receive in
this band, the music speaks for itself,
it's organic, I love it".
Matt.

MATT ELLIS:
Having picked up the trumpet aged six,
the first bands that Matt got into were
acts such as Metallica, Iron Maiden and
Guns'n'Roses. His first CD purchase
was 'Nevermind' by Nirvana in his early
years at secondary school, but he soon
realised that the sounds he was making
on his trumpet did not make sense with
the music he most liked to hear. A
revelation came upon his discovery of
ska punk. “I started listening to bands
like Mad Caddies, Capdown,
Less Than Jake and Reel Big Fish”.
He had found a genre that infused the
heavy guitar sound that he loved with
the sound of brass.

At the age of 16 Matt passed his grade 8
in classical trumpet and that was that:
"That was enough of classical for me and
I turned to jazz". Whilst still at school
Matt joined Sussex Jazz Orchestra and
after his A-levels began attending
Middlesex University, where he read a
degree in Jazz music. He has been
influenced massively by Jazz trumpeters
such as Woody Shaw, Clifford Brown,
Dizzy Gillespie and Wynton Marsalis
but mostly he says: "By the great
musicians who I am privileged enough to
play with both at university and in the
bands I am involved with". Matt heard
that Two Spot Gobi were looking for a
new trumpeter through a fellow Brighton
musician and after the first audition he
was on board and he hasn’t looked back
since.