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Matt Berry hardly needs an introduction. He’s been a familiar face on British television since the early 2000s, captivating audiences with his bold personality and deep, commanding voice in cult comedies like Toast of London, What We Do In The Shadows and The IT Crowd. What many might not realize, though, is that Berry has also released ten studio albums throughout his career.

Music has been a constant in his life, and his upcoming album Heard Noises, out on 24 January 2025, is another milestone in his journey as a multi-talented artist. His work in music has brought some unexpected achievements, including contributing guitar and vocals to the Strictly Come Dancing theme song. Yet his path to becoming a musician was almost cut short before it truly began.

Berry’s passion for music started when he was young, but things took a turn at school. His teachers refused to let him study music as a GCSE subject because he couldn’t read sheet music. Instead of letting that stop him, he decided to prove them wrong and eventually succeeded. Looking back, he considers that rejection to have been a hidden gift, sparing him from turning something he loved into a chore.

Berry at the Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny premiere in London, 2023. Image: Fred Duval/Shutterstock

“I wasn’t even given the chance to spend any time at school doing music, even though it was obvious to all these teachers that it was the only thing that I was interested in and yet it was the only thing they wouldn’t allow me to do,” he recalls.

“I think it’s very different now. You can spend time at school doing music and not have to learn theory, which is fantastic and how it should have always been. If you’re a teacher that’s worth anything, and you spot that a kid is interested in one thing, then that’s what you should allow them to do while they’re under your care.”

Over the years, Berry has explored a wide mix of genres, from folk to Northern soul to psychedelic rock. One of his most playful projects was his 2020 release Television Themes, a collection of his takes on iconic tracks such as the Doctor Who and Rainbow theme songs.

With Heard Noises, Berry is taking a different approach. In the past, he followed a specific vision for each album, creating strict creative boundaries. He compared it to an artist limiting themselves to just four colors on a canvas. This time, though, he’s letting himself use the entire spectrum. “That kind of discipline pushes you to do things that you wouldn’t have done before. That can be interesting if you give yourself restrictions,” he says. “But with Heard Noises, I didn’t do that. I did whatever I wanted regardless of style or genre.”

The result is his most personal work yet. The album cover itself reflects his life, showing a table set with meaningful objects, each one representing a different part of his story. Among those items are Lazlo Cravensworth’s teeth from What We Do In The Shadows — the hit comedy series based on Taika Waititi’s vampire film, which wrapped after six successful seasons.

Berry usually keeps his acting and music careers separate, but this show was such a big part of his life that it inevitably bled into everything else. “It needs to be noted, not in loads of detail but that was that, here’s the evidence and let’s get on to the next thing,” he says. “I’m not a nostalgic man. I don’t ever look back at old stuff, once I’ve done something I tend to lose interest and can only think about the next thing.”

That “next thing” has included lending his voice to the acclaimed animated film The Wild Robot, alongside Lupita Nyong’o, Pedro Pascal and Bill Nighy. The film tells the story of Roz, a robot who finds herself stranded on a deserted island and learns to adapt to its rugged environment, eventually becoming the adoptive parent of a gosling. Berry was drawn to the story as soon as he read the script, but it was when director Chris Sanders showed him a ten-minute preview that he knew it was something extraordinary.

“[Chris] turned all the lights off and we played it in the recording studio and, honestly, [I realised] that this is what I need to be doing. This is something that I need to now fully concentrate on because I knew it was going to be exceptional.” On the day this interview was published, The Wild Robot received an Oscar nomination — a well-earned recognition.

Heard Noises will be released on 24 January through Acid Jazz.