Matthew Herbert is an electronic music producer known for breaking the boun… Read Full Bio ↴Matthew Herbert is an electronic music producer known for breaking the boundaries and conventions of the genre. Since 1996 he has released music on a variety of record labels under many aliases including Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain, Radioboy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, under his own name and with his Big Band. He has played at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, Paris' Pompidou Centre, Tokyo's Blue Note, Sonar and Glastonbury, and supported Bjork at the Hollywood Bowl. Along with over ten albums of self-written, produced and performed music, he has produced albums by Róisín Murphy, Dani Siciliano and Barbara Panther, worked with Björk and remixed Moloko, R.E.M., Perry Farrell, Serge Gainsbourg, Yoko Ono, John Cale, The Avalanches and Cornelius. He also runs his own label, Accidental Records.

Herbert began creating music with found objects whilst at Exeter University (UK) in the 1990s, where he studied Drama. From bottles, books, and pepper pots he progressed to recording places and experiences, effectively using the sampler as an instrument on many of his Doctor Rockit and Herbert releases. This style evolved into the overtly political when he began sampling objects from McDonald's and The Gap as a protest against corporate globalism on the The Mechanics Of Destruction album. The CD was distributed free at concerts and available as a free download and has never been available in stores.

His 2003 Big Band album, Goodbye Swingtime combined the political commentary of Radioboy with the song structure of his Herbert albums. Recorded with sixteen musicians from the British jazz world, including saxophonists Dave O'Higgins and Nigel Hitchcock and bassist Dave Green, the band is complemented on stage by long-term vocal partner Dani Siciliano and occasionally Arto Lindsay and Warp recording artist, Jamie Lidell. Recently he has provided music for a number of films, including Dogme director Kristian Levring's The Intended along with original music for TV. Herbert's newest album Plat du Jour addresses world famine.

The Last Beat
Herbert Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Are you dreaming me?
Is this feeling you?
Are you thinking similar things
Or must I think for two?
Are we on our side?
Has our case been tried?
Has the thought of leaving ever left you?
(Like a tide)

Should we carry on?
Or has it all been done now?

Is this what you heard?

Has the end occurred?
Is the last beat heard?

Overall Meaning

In Herbert's song "The Last Beat," the lyrics explore the complexities of a relationship that may be coming to an end. The opening lines, "Are you dreaming me? Is this feeling you? Are you thinking similar things or must I think for two?" reveal a sense of uncertainty and the need for communication within the relationship. The lyrical questions continue with "Are we on our side? Has our case been tried?" questioning the strength of the relationship and whether or not both parties are working towards the same goal.

The chorus of the song raises the question, "Should we carry on? Or has it all been done now?" This highlights the struggle that many couples face when trying to decide whether or not they should push forward or walk away. The final lines of the song then ask, "Is this what you heard? Has the end occurred? Is the last beat heard?" conveying an essence of finality.

Line by Line Meaning

Are you dreaming me?
Are you thinking of me as much as I am thinking of you in my dreams?

Is this feeling you?
Do you share the same sentiments and emotions as me?

Are you thinking similar things
Are our thoughts and feelings in harmony?

Or must I think for two?
Am I the only one who is putting effort into this relationship?

Are we on our side?
Are we standing together on this journey, no matter what?

Has our case been tried?
Have we exhausted all our efforts in trying to figure this out?

Has the thought of leaving ever left you?
Have you ever considered leaving me, like the ebb of the tide?

Should we carry on?
Is it worth it to continue this relationship?

Or has it all been done now?
Is it time to close this chapter and move on?

Is this what you heard?
Is this what you understood from our conversations and interactions?

Has the end occurred?
Have we come to the end of our journey together?