Matt Elliott is a singer/songwriter from Bristol, United Kingdom, who plays… Read Full Bio ↴Matt Elliott is a singer/songwriter from Bristol, United Kingdom, who plays folk music with an approach of a dark ambience. He also produced & recorded under the name The Third Eye Foundation.

Elliott was first inspired to investigate & to attempt to understand music at around 7 years old on hearing the mournful tones of a russian orthodox choir & wondering how music alone can move you to tears. This would eventually inspire him to study music un-academically through his own research into sound & music.

He started his musical career in a record shop from the age of 16. A second hand record shop (The legendary Revolver Records who's employees have included Dave Pearce (Flying Saucer Attack), Daddy G, Debbie Manning (Foehn)) owned by a music enthusiast to rival John Peel, Matt considers these years as his basic education in music. He formed along with Kate Wright (Movietone) & Rachel Brook (Movietone/Flying Saucer Attack) the band 'Linda's Strange Vacation' which met on Sundays to rehearse in a shed at Brooks parents with begged borrowed & stolen instruments including rolls of carpets, snooker cues, a broken keyboard then slowly the guitars & drums arrived. Kate Wright & Rachel Brook went on to form Movietone with which Matt played as an occasional member. About the same time Brook & Dave Pearce formed Flying Saucer attack & the first version of The Third Eye Foundation appeared, the idea being a loose collective. Elliott recorded with Flying Saucer attack under this name involving Debbie Manning (Foehn) & Niven Murray on a couple of tracks.

With the royalties earned from Flying Saucer Attack he started his own micro-label called Linda's Strange Vacation who's first release was AMP's 'Get there'/'Remember' 7".

The second release was the first Third Eye Foundation album entitled 'Semtex' released on Linda's Strange Vacation with a lot of help from Domino Records. It was recorded on a borrowed 4 track using anything & everything to try to escape the 4 track sound. Predominated by guitar noise & drum machines with Debbie Manning providing vocals & additional guitar the result is an intense but bleak wash of sound.

'In Version' is the last release for Linda's Strange Vacation Records. It is a collection of remixes of bands Elliott was working with and/or friends with including Hood & Crescent. The Flying saucer Attack remix consists solely of music recorded for FSA by Elliott but rejected by Pearce, reworked, obliterated & re-collaged. Pearce threatens legal action.

The second Third Eye Foundation album proper is 'Ghost' slightly preceded by the 12" Semtex (nothing to do with the album of the same name) Both Ghost & Semtex 12" are more sampler based & twist squeeks, howls, screams & anything & everything into soundscapes backed by fractured, skittering drum beats. The release of 'The Sound of Violence' ends what Elliott described as a bleak & disturbing era both sonically & mentally.

After investing in a new studio set up, 1998 saw the release of 'You Guys Kill Me' the most critically acclaimed of all the Third Eye Foundation releases. With increased recording possibilities the result is a much broader sound with many more ideas realized. It's far more accessible than the harsh tones of Ghost but still has a dark edge, combining more subtle use of depth & darkness within the cinematic sound with the cluttering drum & bass & breakbeats attempting to hold everything together.

Fear of a Wack Planet & In Bristol with a Pistol (a remix of the track on You Guys Kill Me) are released as singles.

The final Third Eye Foundation album proper is released in 2000 'Little Lost Soul' is Elliott's attempt to make a beautiful record. Far more based around acoustic orchestra instruments & choirs, the beats recede slightly taking a back seat almost completely in the song 'Lost' but the darkness is still there just beneath.

'I Poo Poo on your Juju' is released in 2001. It is a collection of Third Eye Foundation remixes of Yann Tiersen, Blonde Redhead, Tarwater, Urchin, The Remote Viewer, & others.

Elliott starts work on the album 'The Mess We Made' released in 2003 under his own name largely to separate himself from his previous working method. The 10" 'Borderline Schizophrenic' is the last gasp of the Third Eye Foundation consisting of tracks recorded for the unfinished next album but released as a Matt Elliott record. 'The Mess We Made' loses the drum breaks almost completely focusing more on atmospheres & vocals. It is a very sombre affair with songs made out of stretched & broken vocals over melancholy instrumentation. Some reviews warn against listening to it when in a fragile state of mind. It is his first collaboration with Chris Cole (Manyfingers) & Sabine Chaouch.

The last ever Third Eye Foundation album is released in 2004. Consisting of a remix project of artists released by the French label 'Ici D'ailleurs'. The idea was that the project was the musical equivalent of OULIPO. A French literary movement from the 60's so a list of rules of engagement were drawn up. It was the first of many in the OUMUPO series including artists: Kid Loco, Rob Swift & many others.

2004 also sees Elliott's first proper release with Ici D'ailleurs. 'Drinking Songs' is a collection of dark faux european folk ballads inspired by the shanty 'The Sinking Ship song' from The Mess We Made. Choirs of Elliott's sombre voice sing over broken guitars & cellos of being left for dead, trying to contact the living, discovering ones own failings, of being resigned to ones fate as in "The Kursk' where the choir portrays the shivering desperate crew of the stricken submarine as she lies at the depths awaiting rescue from an uncaring government.

2006 sees the second of what will end up a trilogy. 'Failing Songs' is a continuation in theme. The voice more resigned, but the overall themes the same, loneliness, frustration. songs about failures as people & as a species & every point in between. Failing Songs features Chris Cole on drums & is the first collaboration with Patricia Arguelles whose violin parts were recorded over a series of nights in the Village Church.

2008 sees the final part of the 'Songs' trilogy. 'Howling Songs' is a first in that it was mainly recorded & mixed in a studio. Features again Patricia Arguelles & Chris Cole (Manyfingers) aswell as Aurelien Potier on various instruments.

2011 sees the release of 'The Dark' under the Third Eye Foundation monika on Ici D'ailleurs Records

2012 sees the release of another Matt Elliott album 'The Broken Man' on Ici D'ailleurs Records. Recorded in Yann Tiersens studio and mixed by Yann Tiersen himself.

Compassion Fatigue
Matt Elliott Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let's just go through this one more time
Can't quite see that look in your eyes
Or hear the cries
I'll feign surprise
Like every time we always
Run through
This shit
Over again

Let's just go through this one more time
I've nothing better to do with this life
Than this endless strife
The endless cries
All contrived
You're talking
Endless
Talking

Saying
Nothing

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Matt Elliott's "Compassion Fatigue" convey a sense of weariness and frustration with the repetition of a situation, suggesting the singer has endured a lot of pain and is now desensitized to it. The first line, "Let's just go through this one more time," seems to refer to an ongoing conversation or argument which is always repeated but never resolved. The singer "can't quite see that look in [the other person's] eyes," suggesting a lack of connection and empathy between them. Alternatively, the other person may be hiding their emotions, or the singer may simply be too numb to recognize them.

The repetition of "endless cries" and "endless talking" paints a picture of two people who are talking past each other, without really listening or understanding. The phrase "all contrived" suggests that the emotions being expressed are manufactured or fake, further emphasizing the singer's disillusionment. Overall, the song evokes a sense of exhaustion and disconnection, with the singer resigned to continuing the cycle of pain and conflict.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's just go through this one more time
I am complacent with this repetitive life and see no other purpose.

Can't quite see that look in your eyes
I am blind to your pain and suffering because of my own selfishness.

Or hear the cries
I ignore your cries for help and continue with my own agenda.

I'll feign surprise
I pretend not to know what's going on in order to avoid taking responsibility.

Like every time we always
This is a normal pattern of behavior between us.

Run through
We repeat the same mistakes and struggles over and over again.

This shit
The problems and challenges we face.

Over again
Repeatedly, with no end in sight.

I've nothing better to do with this life
I lack purpose and direction, leading me to resort to this harmful behavior.

Than this endless strife
I am addicted to this cycle of pain and struggle, and cannot seem to break free from it.

The endless cries
The pain and suffering of others, which I remain indifferent to.