There are times during our meeting when I'm not sure who is doing the interview and who is being interviewed. "How long have you been doing this?", "What kind of music are you interested in?", "What are your plans for the future?" Hang on a minute. Aren't these questions I'm supposed to be asking him?

Wise Man From the East:

Matthew Macaulay-Lowe is a tall 23 year old, fresh from a trip around Australia, New Zealand and the Far East and he is addicted to guitar playing. "I looked at all the addictions and I thought, "Drinking? Nah. Drugs? Nah? Guitar? Yeah. Ok."

Please Release Me:

For Matthew, guitar playing is a way of offering a release. It is one of the first things he says to me. "It's an alternative to martial arts," he says, smiling.

For someone whose lyrics seem to concentrate on the misery of splitting up or, at least, being in "complicated situations", Matthew seems like a fairly happy, well adjusted chap. Perhaps that is thanks to his "release" of guitar playing.

Waiting for Al:

Many of the songs on Matthew Macaulay-Lowe's album, Waiting for Al, were written during his travels. "I spent four months in a camper van," Matthew explains. "There were four of us, including an Irish guy called Al.

"He was the most unreliable person in the world. You would say meet at the pub at seven and he'd turn up at ten. During those times, waiting for him, I would just sit in the camper van, working on my songs. That's where the title came from: Waiting for Al."

Tough Love:

I wonder if, given his song lyrics, he has had a particularly bad time with his love life. "No. I don't think so. Two or three of the songs are about me, but the rest is either about other people or just made up."

The songs were all produced with the aim of them appearing on an album. Matthew had a strong sense of what should go where: quiet songs as an introduction, more rhythmic ones in the middle to keep people's attention.

Born in a Barn:

It started off as an acoustic album, but with a little help from a few friends, it developed into something else entirely. "I went to The Barn Studios in Quedgeley and recorded it all as an acoustic album, just me and my guitar," he say.

"Then Jamie, the sound engineer, told me that there were some people who had heard it who would like to work with me. So we went back into the studio and recorded it with drums and a bass and everything."

But Matthew is fond of his solo origins. That is why his favourite track on the album is "Take it All". "It sounds raw. There's reverb in the background and it isn't superbly edited. Plus it's got personal connections. I just love the way it sits on the album, taking it back to its acoustic roots."

Looking Ahead:

After that, things have gone well for Matthew. He is now looking to do some gigs with the same musicians, and there are plans for another album ("more upbeat with a piano and electric guitar"). Not bad at all for someone who has only just come back to England after trotting round the globe.

How many people have heard the music? "I've sent maybe 150 CDs out. All around the world. I've got a lot of friends in Australia and New Zealand who wanted copies. And friends played it. And their friends wanted copies. I've sold quite a few now."

Matthew the Realist:

As for ambition, Matthew's feet remain firmly on the ground. "I'm realistic," he says. "I'm not going to say that in five years time, I'll be signed and playing in front of thousands of people, because I know it's very difficult. Sending in a CD to BBC Gloucestershire is one thing, but everything else? Well that's different."

In the meantime, Matthew will, no doubt plod on with his music/addiction. "Ultimately, I'm doing it for me. It doesn't matter if no one else likes it," he says. That is something he need not worry about. There are lots of people out there who do like it. And I am one of them. You will be too.

10/06/04 - First published on www.bbc.co.uk/gloucestershire on this link