Während seiner Arbeit als Musikdozent am Aboriginal Islander Dance Theatre in Sydney im Jahre 1984 lernte Matthew das Didgeridoo-Spiel. 1985 wurde er in die Williams Familie adoptiert, eine Familie traditioneller Llardil “Song Men”, Didgeridoo-Meistern und Tänzern. Später lebte und arbeitete er ein Jahr lang bei den Llardil auf Mornington Island im Golf von Carpentaria.

Matthew McGrath, founding member of Frill Neck, introduced the didgeridoo to Berlin in 1987. Following his Berlin solo didgeridoo debut at the Monsters Myths and Mutation festival in Tempodrome in 1987, Frill Neck was formed with Stewart Dunlop. Didgeridoo meets virtuoso guitars. Frill Neck’s unique blend of atmospheric ethno-jazz-punk and contemporary ballads spread quickly, drawing much attention and critical praise in the world of contemporary music, until Stewart’s death in 2006. Frill Neck’s eponymous album from 1992 is available from SUTA publishing https://sutapublishing.com/product/beispiel-produkt-nr-2/

Unabhängig von seinen Bühnen-Aktivitäten als Sänger, Songwriter und Didgeridoo-Meister konzipierte und organisierte Matthew 1995 das “Rückkehr des Boomerangs”-Festival mit großen australischen Künstlern wie Bangarra Tanztheater, Woomera Dance Group, der Warrumpi Band, Archie Roach und Ruby Hunter mit dem Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin. Später war er der Anstoß und managte die Europa-Tournee der Woomera Dance Group von 1996 in Verbindung mit dem 50. Jahrestag der UNICEF.

Since 2011, Matthew has performed and composed music for „whichdoctorwatson“ who released the debut album “circular hymns”  a documentation of a live performance program. “Circular Hymns” charted new musical waters in contemporary musical explorations that also draw on over 35 years experience in Berlin as a solo didgeridoo artist. In “circular hymns” the didgeridoo and the “Jam Man®” sampler combine to create evocative and haunting music never heard before. The circular nature of repetition in the didgeridoo, one the world’s oldest musical instruments and the digital sampler, one of the newest, gives the project its name. The CD “circular hymns” was released in 2012 and available at https://sutapublishing.com/product/beispiel-produkt-nr-1/

In 2026 the second album from WhichDoctorWatson? “Shonky Downtime in Heterotopia” is scheduled for release.

Matthew is acknowledged as a modern master of the didgeridoo and has been given permission by the Llardil elders to play a selection of traditional songs and teach the playing of the didgeridoo. His concerts include some of his own solo pieces, compositions from Frill Neck and Whichdoctorwatson? as well as a selection of traditional Llardil songs.

Matthew has worked on many collaborative projects in music, theatre and film. His most raucous excursion in music performance was undeniably as singer/ saxophonist of “Hysenkeit”.