Interview with Martyrs

Members: Jon (Music) and Michael (Vocals) / New album Luminism Out Friday May 10th

What got you into music, and if you had not gotten into music what would you be doing today?

My Uncle introduced me to The Kinks, Billy Bragg and REM when I was just a toddler. So I grew up on alternative music. Becoming a teenager in Merthyr, in South Wales, our identity was built around music, around the idea of the outsider. I think that’s where Jon and I felt most comfortable, if it’s possible to feel comfortable at that age. We started our first band together as teenagers. We wanted to be Nirvana. Doesn’t everyone? We split off on completely different paths but came back around years later and reconvened, started making songs together again.

If I hadn’t gotten into music? No idea. My life has been dominated by consuming and making music. Maybe I would have finished writing a book. I probably would have had a more conventional career. My mum would have liked that, I think.

What do you like to do when you are not playing music and how does that influence your creativity?

I write a lot. I’m working on that book I mentioned, that’s an ongoing thing. I live by the sea, so I walk along the shoreline and listen to ghost stories. I listen to a lot of music. I watch pro wrestling and play Zelda with my partner. All of that feeds into the songs I write, which often have unconventional subject matter. Though we don’t have one about Zelda yet. I’ll work on that.

How long has your band been around? Also, please tell me about the dynamic of the band of what brought you all together.

We started making our first album in 2020. We’d made a few songs together prior to that after reconnecting, but we really got it together at that point and decided to make a record. Martyrs is just Jon and myself (Michael). I sing, Jon plays instruments. Many, many instruments.

We worked entirely remotely for the first record ‘Un Diavolo In Casa’. Wrote and recorded it all during consecutive lockdowns, so it’s a pitch-black album. It’s a very DIY record. It’s very pandemic-y. We got back together to make music, I think, because an old friendship, a shared childhood is a powerful thing, and because of a desire to create, to enjoy the process, and to not worry about anything external. We share a strong belief in the process. The making is what matters, everything else is peripheral…Which is ultimately a version of “We make music for ourselves, anything else is a bonus” which is just awful…

Where are you based and how did that influence your music?

We’re now in Kent, in the South of England. Growing up in Merthyr Tydfil influenced us hugely - we took our moniker from the English translation of part of the town’s Welsh name. Where we come from is important to us.

Where I live now in Ramsgate has had a huge impact on my writing. Moving out of London, to the coast, it helped my mental health, my physical health. It let me write a more hopeful album lyrically in ‘Luminism’.

How did you come up with the name of your band and what does it mean to you?

Martyrs is taken from Merthyr Tydfil, which translates to Tydfil the Martyr. She was a 5th century princess who was killed in the region. We’ve got a taste for the dramatic in Wales. It’s also the nickname of the local football team. It serves as a constant reminder of our roots, and of a yearning, sometimes misguided, we all have for the past.

Tell me about your most memorable shows.

We have never played a live show. We’ve both played hundreds of shows over the years in different bands but when we started this we knew we weren’t going to put a band together. We were going to just do everything ourselves and avoid all the drama, all the egos of being in a band. Neither of us want that, we just want to get on with making music. So we make records, release them, then make more music. It’s not the most ambitious approach, but it suits us well. I don’t know if we’ll end up playing a show at some point, or even what that would look like. Probably quite funny, I’d imagine.

What is your favorite venue to play at, and do you have any places you want to play that you have not already?

Previously, in former lives, in former bands, there was no beating the Windmill in Brixton, London. I’ll always have a soft spot for The Fox in Lewisham, London too.

If we were offered a slot at Primavera Festival in Barcelona I would like to do that. Seems quite unlikely. I hear promoters prefer you to have some live experience before putting you on at a major international festival.

If you could play any show with any lineup, who would be on the ticket?

The Blue Nile, Tom Waits, Kate Bush, Mavis Staples and The Caretaker. And Iron Maiden. Got to have some Maiden on there. I think we would go on first.

What is some advice that you would give to someone who is just getting into playing in a band and some advice that you would give to your younger self?

I’m more likely to ask for advice than to give it, if I’m honest. I would probably tell my younger self to practice more, set ego aside, enjoy making music and recognise the foolishness in being driven by ambition or expectation. All things I learned in time, but it would have been great to have that shortcut. Oh, and learn to read music. I’m working on that currently. It’s hard.

Of your songs which one means the most to you and why?

‘Sunset Thinking’ from the new album is very personal to me. It’s about someone who helped me when I was at a very low ebb, mentally and emotionally, a situation I didn’t know if I’d get through. It’s a tribute to them and how remarkable people can be when put in dire situations, situations of responsibility they never signed up for. The song reminds me of how grateful I am.

Which songs are your favorite to play and which get requested the most?

My favourite to sing is ‘Death of the Territories’, the closing song from the new album ‘Luminism’. It’s an attempt at a Springsteen ballad, and while it inevitably fails on that level, it is very satisfying to be in that sort of headspace. Also, the lyrics are about the old territory system of professional wrestling and how it rose and ultimately was destroyed, in Minneapolis in particular. That’s my kind of song. Essentially impenetrable to the casual listener.

What is the creative process for the band, and what inspires you to write your music?

Either I record a demo - basic chords on keyboard, lyrics and melody - then send it to Jon who reinvents the whole thing in wild and unexpected ways, or Jon sends over a piece of music he’s composed and I work to that. Or, third option, somewhere in-between. There are a few on ‘Luminism’ where I couldn’t tell you how it came about, it just fell into place after much back-and-forth. Making music is wonderful when it works like that.

On record, I sing everything, Jon plays and produces everything.

For ‘Luminism’, musically we actually gave ourselves a blueprint - to try to make a glossy, ‘80s studio album, somewhere between yacht rock, soul and disco, but to make it at home. Literally. In our houses. So you add in the lyrical inspiration - horror stories, mental health struggles, stories about addiction, about fake sports, about nature, about love, and you’ve got an interesting prospect. Lastly you throw in our musical sensibilities, our differing tastes and tessellating talents, which all affect the outcome, and the album has turned into this bizarre thing that hops across genres and ideas. We’re indie rock guys, essentially, who’ve paddled themselves out, way out of their own depth. That challenge is inspiring to me.

What kinds of messages do you like to get across in your music?

We’re not The Clash, surprisingly. They were really good at messages. My messages are usually like “The cat is hiding behind the bath again, lol”. If there’s anything I’d like people to take away from ‘Luminism’ it’s the idea that there is always someone there who cares about you, whoever you are and whatever situation you’re in, and that the future has the potential to be as good as if not better than the past. And that Christopher Cross is underrated.

Do you have any new singles, videos, or albums out that you would like to tell me and your fans about?

The first single from Luminism was called ‘Sunset Thinking’

You can stream it here:

You could also buy it on Bandcamp here:

The next single is ‘Where Did You Go?’ Out Friday May 3rd.

The album ‘Luminism’ is out Friday May 10th and you can order it now on digital or limited edition CD:

All proceeds from the sales of our singles and the album through Bandcamp go to Russell Trust, a charity which gives aid to food banks across the UK.

What are your plans for the future, and do you have anything that you want to spotlight that is coming up?

We’d like some people to enjoy the album, raise some money for a good cause, then get on with the next one. I think we might make an experimental electronica album, though I’ll have to consult with Jon on that. He’s the one that has to do all the work.

How can your fans best keep up to date with you, any socials you want people to check out?

You can find us, follow us, send us links to old Tokyo Dome shows and cat pics at any of these links here:

https://linktr.ee/martyrsmusic