Barton born singer songwriter, Iain Matthews and guitarist/singer/ songwriter/producer BJ Baartmans met in 2003, shortly after the former had relocated to the south of Holland. T they have been playing and recording together more or less since then mostly in the all Dutch line-up of Matthews Southern Comfort, which they formed together in 2005 releasing three albums and touring extensively throughout Europe. When last year’s pandemic forced all performers off the road, the two began writing together in earnest and made plans to record and tour as a duo once curfews were lifted. Calling themselves The Matthews Baartmans Conspiracy, a year and half and 17 tunes later, their new album titled Distant Chatter and its accompanying EP Close Call is now available.