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A librarian by day, a musician by night...Matthew Stead more than makes up in the evening for having to be quiet from 9-5.

Matthew, from Exeter, has moved from being a solo singer-songwriter to being leader of A Fine Day For Sailing.

Their debut album, Honeylands, is out in May 2009, and a double A-sided single - Me and the Girl/Village Idiot is also available.

The album, recorded in the bedroom at Matthew's house, started off as a solo project but quickly grew into something very much bigger.

"It grew organically and I got other people involved," said Matthew. "I'm going for more of a band sound, and we've got a live band together now as well."

The album was recorded in Matthew's bedroom

Joining Matthew on the album are Joe Mansfield (violin), Jeremy West (trumpet), Abby Rassette (vocals), Simon Bish (backing vocals), and Andy Botterill (keyboards).

Like several other groups in East Devon, A Fine Day for Sailing (named after a song by Go Sailor) has linked up with Tipton St John record company Pop Noise Records, run by singer-songwriter Simon Bishop (aka Simon Bish).

They met at a gig in Exeter, and started off on a disagreement over music: "He said he didn't like twee pop and I love it," explained Matthew. "I'm into the '80s sound, like Belle and Sebastian. I think I've won him around now."

Matthew runs Cullompton Library four days a week, so writing and recording takes place at evenings and weekends.

"Most of the album is recorded in my bedroom - it's like a portable home studio. I'm feeling quite good about the record."

The double A-sided single features songs which are close to home: Me and the Girl is about an ex-girlfriend and Village Idiot is about himself.

"It's about me really, about getting away from modern day life and getting into the countryside."

Matthew is hoping this album will help him progress his career in the music industry: "Pop Noise Records is getting bigger and bigger and people are taking notice which is nice.

"It's all going really well and I'm very excited about things."

Find out more about A Fine Day For Sailing and Pop Noise Records by visiting the websites which are linked from this page.

And you can listen to Me and the Girl by clicking onto the audio link.