hard working man:
Alec Martin
Alec Martin is from Bolton, Lancs. He has this hippie feeling in his tunes - Donovan, Cat Stevens and that kind of stuff. But, there is no mistake that his songs were written much later. There is no naive innocence that his predecessors seem to have. He puts a lot of original solutions in his tunes. Lyrics are deep, and arrangements too, although they are very basic and acoustic. I can put my hand in fire and say that all of the songs listed down are home made (no studio involved). I really like the end of "Madness" with the reverb guitar and Townes Van Zandt mood. That sound is very sixties. Titles of his songs remind us on heroes on that era, but they are not covers (She Said, Here Comes The Sun, Isis). You can even see him on this picture posing with guitar in something that seems like a room in a private house, maybe some bar. Mentioning bars, he played them four times a week for last five years. I can guess that he has much more songs, and imagine a beautiful indoor atmosphere that he probably creates. Alec was an ex-singer of a blues band called Night Train, and he founded an interesting music-club The Busker's Ball in his hometown. Obviously, a hard working man.
As Bolton's music icon, he often helps local musicians. His collaboration with Rachel Appleton seems very fruitful and they often make songs together. I wrote something about it in the second issue of this web-zine.
Contact: busker@freeuk.com
'Satan's got a hold on me' she cried
'Got a heart of darkness, and its chilling me inside
She took her cards and read them on the floor
She gave her heart to a man who didn't need love anymore
Make that leap, he said, hold my hand
He spoke words of love that she failed to understand
I wanted less, she said, but you gave more
And I gave my heart to a man who didn't need love anymoreAlec Martin
Most of his songs published on his cd "Another Side of Alec Martin" are available on Internet in mp3 format:
You Make Me Blue
She Said
Don't Pretend
Heart of Darkness
Isis
All Alone
Lovin's Easy
Here Comes The Sun
Madness
Don't Be Concerned