Laura J Martin

English singer/songwriter Laura J. Martin draws comparisons with the likes of Kate Bush, Euros Childs, and Tom Tom Club, with a unique sound that has incorporated alt-folk, indie pop, and Americana. Born and raised in Liverpool, as a child Martin enjoyed listening to her grandfather play the piano. She took up the flute at school, eventually becoming an accomplished flautist, and learned to play piano and mandolin. Inspired by poetry and such artists as David Bowie, Lalo Schifrin, and Serge Gainsbourg, she began to write her own songs and, with the aid of a loop pedal and an Akai MPC, became a one-woman band when she played live, looping all the instruments and her own vocals to create dizzying sound textures. Her first two albums, 2012's The Hangman Tree and 2013's Dazzle Days, were released through Static Caravan. They primarily had a psychedelic folk sound, with Martin's high, breathy delivery faintly recalling Kate Bush. She worked extensively as a session musician, and also recorded a collaborative album with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci frontman Euros Childs under the name Short & Curlies, entitled At the Dance. Inspired by her friend Kidkanevil, she applied for and was accepted to the 2014 Tokyo Red Bull Music Academy; her residency there inspired her to take more risks and put more "dirt" into her music. Ennui and disillusionment at many of Liverpool's vibrant, eclectic alternative venues being replaced by faceless apartment blocks fueled her third album, On the Never Never, which was released by Shape Records in February 2016. Recorded in Nashville in just three days at the home studio of producer extraordinaire Mark Nevers, the album had more of an Americana sound and saw Martin backed by a stellar cast of '90s alt-country and indie rock legends including Matt Swanson and Tony Crow of Lambchop, Silver Jews' Brian Kotzur, and the Jesus Lizard's Duane Denison. Almost a decade later, she recorded another solo album, returning to Liverpool after years in London. Following an apprenticeship with renowned flautist Willy Simmons, she chose to place her flute at the center of the effort. Released in 2024, Prepared was co-produced by Iwan Morgan (Cate Le Bon, Gruff Rhys), who also appears on a pair of duets. ~ John D. Buchanan