Interview: Martyna Baker
Published on May 8th, 2012 | Jonny Abrams
When we interviewed Jay James Picton last month, he recommended we check out the sounds of London singer-songwriter Martyna Baker; suffice it to say, we did so and found ourselves struck by the brooding, spellbinding “Don’t Stop”, which sounds somewhat implausibly like Sparklehorse producing a young soul singer. We then hot-footed it over from her SoundCloud to her Bandcamp and found this gem to be the fifth track on a tremendous five-track EP simply entitled The Demos. Now, have a listen, then read on for Martyna’s responses to the questions we fired over to her…
How long have you been writing and performing music for?
I started playing and writing about four years ago after an ex-boyfriend told me he thought I’d never do it… so I did.
How would you describe your music, if pushed?
Indie-soul ??… I think it sounds like the stuff going on in my head and heart.
Who or what are your primary inspirations for music-making?
I love strong female vocalists like Alanis Morissette and Joan Armatrading; I love their honesty and angst. I try to channel all my darkest emotions into my music so I can get on with being a happy person the rest of the time.
Where can we hear your music?
My EP The Demos can be downloaded for free here: http://martynabaker.bandcamp.com/
Which have been your most exciting gigs so far?
I just supported Daley on his Those Who Wait tour which was amazing. Manchester which is his home town was incredible! There was so much positive energy from the crowd!
Got any more coming up? (Gigs, that is…)
I’m doing Daley’s rescheduled London date at the Jazz Café on the 29th of May which is already sold out! I’m playing at Brainchild festival and Bestival later this year but should have some more before that!
Recommend three albums that we might not have heard of…
They’re not albums but Dogtanion’s Switzerland EP is amazing as is Dawn Richard’s Armor On EP. SBTRKT’s album is awesome too.
Any other unsigned artists you’d like to recommend or give a shout-out to?
Mahalia is a 13 year old genius and I love Jareth too she is just so fresh!
Martyna Baker, thank you.
The Demos EP is available now at martynabaker.bandcamp.com. For more information, please visit the Martyna Baker Facebook page.
About the Author
Jonny Abrams Editor of Rocksucker and the website's founder, Jonny is passionate about the music he listens to, both good and bad, as well as interviewing his favourite musicians.
