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Martha Marlow – Reaching Out To People

By Ash London on September 13, 2013 in Arts

Photo: Natalia Horinkova

Photo: Natalia Horinkova


Local girl Martha Marlow (and by local, I mean actually local – she hails from Waverley) has already got a number of aces up her sleeve. Support slots for the likes of Matt Corby and Bluejuice, musical heritage in the form of her award-winning double bass playing father, and a stupidly cute face are just a few. She sounds to me like the Eastern Suburbs’ very own Regina Spektor, and after hearing a preview of her upcoming EP, I can’t wait to hear her in person when she launches it later this month…

My hometown… is Waverley.

The most exciting thing about the local music scene… is the up-and-coming small music venues – in living rooms, behind warehouse doors. These are the ones that are under the radar and are best for hearing music. No loud conversations or poker machines!

I’d like to think that my music… reaches out to people. The message of the song sinks in so you walk away really thinking about something that’s personal to you.

My earliest music memory… would be falling asleep in my father’s double bass case, having him play the acoustic guitar to me before bed, having our house invaded by musicians for rehearsals, jazz blaring out of the stereo or live from the garage, and hearing my mum sing in the kitchen. All my memories include music. My brother and I were literally bathed in music.

Growing up my parents listened to… everything from Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin to Thelonious Monk, Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, Mike Nock, Ravi Shankar and so much more. Lots of different music and all of it really good. I’m skipping a lot of stuff here.

One song that makes me really nostalgic is… ‘Martha’s Lullaby’. This is a song that my dad wrote for me when I was a little girl to try to get me to sleep (it never worked). He recorded it on his award-winning album ‘The Sea’. I still hear it as my own lullaby though.

If I could have written any song… it would have been ‘Happy Birthday’ – imagine the royalties! No, I’m kidding, I think it would have to be ‘Riverman’ by Nick Drake, ‘Positively 4th Street’ by Bob Dylan or ‘Little Green’ by Joni Mitchell.

My upcoming EP is something… very close to me. It’s original and the songs have something to say. There have been a lot of sleepless nights invested in it, a lot of people have put their support and belief into it and I think it really has a place out there in world.

If you see me play you can expect… to hear songs and a whole new sound that you’ve never heard before.

I never want to get to the point… where I question the creative side of what I do.

I know I’ve really made it… when I hear a stranger in the street humming my song.

You can catch Martha live when she launches her EP on Monday September 16 at Club 505 in Surry Hills. For more information visit www.marthamarlow.com.

The Beast.