Laura J Martin is a UK folk and electronic artist from the suburbs of Liverpool. Her music draws on folk traditions while also using experimental and psychedelic textures, with a focus on flute, mandolin, piano, looped vocals and layered instrumentation. She performs as a solo artist and is associated with Short & Curlies and Wyndow.

Style and approach

Martin’s work sits in the darker and more esoteric part of folk, with an off-kilter, atmospheric character. Her songs often combine wonky progressive flute lines with a sweeter melodic edge, and her arrangements move between sparse folk writing and more complex, psychedelic structures. She also uses looped vocals and instruments to create dense, beguiling textures.

Career

Martin’s debut album, The Hangman Tree, is released on Static Caravan and brings her wider attention through acclaim, radio sessions and higher-profile live appearances. She is invited to support artists including Scout Niblett, Buck 65, Little Dragon, Gruff Rhys, Euros Childs, Diane Cluck and Jonny, and also appears in guest roles with some of them.

An EP titled Bónus Skór follows, with Mike Lindsay of Tunng assisting on the recording. That release reflects a deeper, more atmospheric sound shaped by the Icelandic sessions in which it is made. After returning from Iceland, she begins work on a second album.

Later recordings

Her second album, Dazzle Days, develops ideas from a soundtrack commission for the BFI. It is recorded and produced by Martin herself and includes 13 songs. The album features regular collaborator Mike Lindsay on vocals, while Benge mixes the record and adds synth parts, ambient beds and reverb treatments at his Play Industries studio.

The record is described through its contrasts: tighter pop writing alongside more convoluted structures, with progressive flute passages set against a Laurel Canyon-influenced sweetness. Martin’s influences on the album include the arranging style of Jean Claude Vannier and Francois de Roubaix.