Martin

Story

The piano has always been my friend and a place to 'connect' to the divine. After a difficult emotional period in 1996 I began to improvise at the piano as a way to express the deep feelings that were coming up that I couldn't express in words. I basically just vomited out grief, pain and rage every day for a number of years until almost overnight something changed. There was suddenly a 'voice' within the music that was expressing healing, kindness, compassion and hope. I had no idea where it had come from. At first I was afraid that it was just a temporary thing but it has stayed with me for twenty years. I play piano twice a week as a volunteer at Cedar Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles. It requires me to be empty and just to allow this voice to manifest, bringing comfort to patients and visitors and creating a healing ambience in the room. Best gig I ever had. I strive to perfect my technique and to expand my harmonic knowledge constantly. I will always be a student. I am currently looking to create a system of teaching 'free improvisation', allowing a musician to find their inner 'voice' and express it.

Profile

Instruments

Genres

Influences

Equipment

Languages

What is music to you? What does it give you?

Music is what happens when I make the conscious decision to disappear. It is a gateway to being nothing but action.

What is your music dream?

I have no dream. I am just grateful for this present moment.

If you could change the world - what would you start with?

The world is perfect.

Which is the most memorable song from your childhood?

“Vair me o”. A welsh folk song my mother would sing.

Who are your favorite musical artists or bands?

Debussy, Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Ravel, Keith Jarrett, Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan, Eagles, Beatles, Dawes. Any musician that is speaking through their instrument or music.

What inspires you to make music?

Silence

What is the message you want to send with your music?

There’s no personal message but what seems to recur when I get out of the way is kindness, compassion, pathos and comfort.

How do you feel when you perform in front of an audience?

Nervous if ego is present. A wonderful sense of completeness and perfection when it isn’t.

How do you see the musicians’ reality nowadays? What could be improved?

Which musicians? The one in their bedroom streaming on Reddit? The one on YouTube who also streams on Spotify, or the one who plays for the LA Philharmonic? What is a ‘musician’?

What do you think of Drooble?

I am grateful to it’s creators for providing a music specific platform.

What frustrates you most as a musician?

I don’t know that I get frustrated but I am constantly disappointed by the general public’s adulation of mediocrity.

Do you support your local scene as a fan? How?

There really is no local scene.

What qualities should a musician nowadays have in order to get their music heard by a larger audience?

Depends on who your audience is.

Share some awesome artists that we’ve never heard of.

Don’t know any.