Nova Scotia-based alt-pop/roots singer/songwriter Christina Martin’s reputation as a gifted artist, dynamic and engaging performer and composer of unique authenticity, charm and intelligence is well earned. Over the past two decades she has honed her craft in the studio and on stage to build an ever-growing and exceedingly loyal following of fans both her in Canada and increasingly overseas.
Not resting on her laurels, Martin already has two new albums in the works, both of which could be released later this year. Martin will be touring across Canada in the fall to promote the first, as-yet-untitled forthcoming release and then will be heading to Europe and the UK early in 2020.
“Basically, in the fall we’re going to be going from Newfoundland all the way out to British Columbia, which we haven’t done in the past. We’re going to be putting out a stripped down album of covers that we have accumulated over the years, some of my favourites and those of Dale Murray’s who is my producer, and guitarist and husband. And then we’re going to mix in stripped down originals so that what people are seeing at most of my shows, which are usually just Dale and I, they can actually go buy on record,” she said.
“And then we’re always thinking about producing a live album, and we’re ready for that next year. And then I am thinking of the next studio record, which will be fully produced and have bigger sonic arrangements. I suppose when you dedicate yourself to being a creator, you are always working on something new. There is a part of you that is always thinking ahead.”
Martin’s pedigree goes back 20 years to when she first became enamoured with live music and crafting and performing her own songs while living in Austin, Texas. She has since released a number of diverse, dynamic and well-crafted albums, singles and EPs, and is seemingly always on the road, alongside Murray, either at festivals, house concerts or other venues.
Gifted with a hauntingly beautiful singing voice that seduces all who hear it, Martin continues to tour in support of her exceptional 2018 release Impossible to Hold. It is an album that crosses genres, has quite opulently lush production in some areas, more spartan and sparseness in others, and runs the gamut of emotions, emphasizing Martin’s powerfully emotive and sometimes enigmatic voice, as well as her prowess as a crafter of memorable melodies and incisive, revelatory and memorable lyrics.
The latest single is the pop-tinged Always Reminding, which sees Martin and Murray exploring a more eclectically electronic vibe.
“It was a song that I knew I really wanted to work on with Dale and try something new, which is why there is more of an electronic experimental vibe to it than a lot of our other songs, which are typically recorded with drums, bass, guitars, vocals and maybe some other overdubs. It’s really a simple pop song about love and resilience and finding support and having the knowledge that you have that, so when things are going bad in your life, as long as you have love and people on your side, you can really get through quite a bit,” Martin explained.
“I think I was writing the lyrics from my own perspective, and it’s because I feel a lot of gratitude on a daily basis. Even though the path we have chosen, which is basically dedicating our loves to music and touring, is not always the easiest, I just find it so gratifying and I have so much love in my life. So, the song is about all of those reminders when I look to my friends and my family and certainly my husband, who is my biggest supporter – it’s all right there.
“If I think a little too much about it, I start to get a little watery eyed; it’s really awesome. It’s really just a powerful, simple song about love and if you have that, you can get through a lot of crap.”
The song Foreign is also a reflection of the life of a full-time independent touring and recording artist, but from the perspective of how the business side of the music business can sometimes be overwhelming and can even squelch the creative side.
“I was trying to tap into that experience as a creative person when sometimes it just all shuts down. Ninety per cent of my time is spent doing the actual music business stuff, so that I can spend the other 10 per cent doing the creative stuff, like recording and performing – it feels like 90 per cent anyways. And at times you’re just not open to writing and really diving in and letting it take you on that artistic journey – there’s just no inspiration at the time. Maybe you’re empty, I don’t know,” she said.
“It’s sort of a note to everybody else in the world saying, ‘sorry, but it’s just going to have to wait until I am ready and then I will be back. I will take a break and I will be back full force; you can bet on that.’”
Reflecting on the title track of Impossible to Hold, Martin said that it took a little bit of extra work, and the inspiration from two powerful concert experiences helped her hone in on the message and get the entire record done, emphasizing how even veteran recording and touring professionals can get the same jolt of energy and passion from being an audience member as regular fans.
“It started as a fantasy kind of song, where you’re sort of obsessing over the idea of being close to somebody, watching them from afar or even knowing them personally, for example an iconic rock star that you love, and you dream about meeting or being friends with or whatever. I didn’t have the second verse and we were on tour in the U.K. three years ago and my publicist gave us two tickets to see Carole King perform live in Hyde Park and the concert was so incredible. I knew she was an incredible songwriter, but she announced at the show that she was 75 years old but was such a powerhouse. Everything was just stellar and there were 75,000 people there laughing and smiling and singing along and crying. I waked away from that concert and within the week I had finished verse two,” she explained.
“That concert inspired us to buy tickets to see two of my favourite bands, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Stevie Nicks the next year [July 2017] at Hyde Park. And we booked a UK tour leading up to that show. And that show was also incredible, and we went home and finished the record. It was just this extra jolt of motivation and a reminder of why we make the music that we make and why we’re on this path. It was incredible. So, when I sing Impossible to Hold now, I do think of that concert and I do think of Tom Petty and what I must be like to have that reach with music. It’s just incredible and so powerful. And you know, Tom is not around anymore, but if you listen to his music, or the music of any artist that you love, it’s as if they are in the room with you.”
The most poignant track, the one that is arguably the most deeply personal, is also almost surprisingly one of the most accessible and ‘radio friendly’ songs on the album – the potently infectious Lungs Are Burning.
“I will start by saying that I lost my older brother Stephane to an opioid overdose in 2013. A couple years later, I was reading an article about the fentanyl overdose crisis in Canada specifically and in the following days I had a dream and it was on my mind and I suddenly had this melody and just a line which ended up in the chorus. And when I woke up it was another one of those situations where I knew I really wanted to write the song with Dale, who was also very close to Stephane, and I knew he would understand why it was a timely thing,” Martin said.
“We worked on that song that day: first the music and then the lyrics. It all came quite quickly, and it was the first single I wanted to release for the record because I just felt it was important. I am not necessarily singing specifically about drug addiction, but the song is about reaching out and trying to get rid of this feeling, this void, the sense of loss, it could be the loss of a loved one, or it come be something else that’s missing and you’re reaching for something to feel that instant gratification or fulfillment. But then just as quickly as you think it’s fixed; you’ve got your fix and then it fades and you’ve to reach out again for something else.
“I tried to make it a little more universal, and it’s certainly related to my loss. When I look around, it seems that addiction and the opioid crisis is getting worse and worse, but I still find that its something that people would rather not talk about or don’t know how to talk about it. I just tried to make something that was more related to the core issue, but I am not claiming to know everything about it. I am still sorting out issues for myself, in terms of how to fill that void.”
For many years, even before the passing of her brother, Martin has been an ardent supporter of the Canadian Mental Health Association, using her profile to promote the organization at her shows across the country.
“I have always been a support o the CMHA and a proponent for mental health; obviously its important. I knew from a young age that addiction ran in my family and possibly mental illness, but nobody talked about that. So, I became interested in psychology and studied it in university and reached out for help myself and volunteered for some mental health related organizations over the years,” she said.
“In 2016 through a friend who was on tour with me, we partnered with the CAMH (Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) and I found out more about them, and I believe my brother actually accessed their services in Toronto. He lived there for many years and he benefitted great from organizations like the CAMH, Streets To Homes (S2H) and others. In his life he had so many great moments and he was reconnecting with people and with his family and with meaningful work, so I knew it was a great fit for me. It was something I was always talking about – looking after yourself, reaching out to others, and so it just made sense and I really do believe in the organization.
“It’s really encouraging for me to see more and more people at our shows responding to all this. One of the things that I really enjoy about promoting the CAMH is as soon as I say something onstage, which not a lot of people do, people react. I had one person come up to me at a show who is a mental health consumer and said the had never heard a musician talk about mental health on stage. I think it’s changing now, and I certainly don’t think it’s every artist’s duty, but what happens is people see it and then they feel, ‘okay, I can have a conversation.’ It’s part of moving the mental health movement forward to the point where people can talk about mental illness in the same fashion as they do a physical illness. When you do that, it means more people are going to reach out for help and the stigma and the shame is going to be reduced. People will feel more comfortable reaching out to a loved one, we can learn to have that conversation in a loving and compassionate way without shaming somebody. Even with ourselves: how do we open up and talk about it without shame ourselves? So, it’s about trying to be a positive part of that mental health discussion.”
Martin is a firm believer in the power of music to heal the mind body and spirit and believes she is a healthier, happier human because of her ability to process emotions and experiences through the writing and playing of music.
“I think even listening to music, not my own, but the music that I love is very healing. I found that out growing up and still today when I have time for that. For me, I feel that writing saved my life and it’s introduced me to me. I have never said that before, but that’s what it feels like. I found myself, who I really am, and I am still figuring out who I really want to be through writing music – and that’s always changing. I have sometimes daydreamed about what my life would be like if at some point I hadn’t chosen to become a singer/songwriter. Up until then, I drank a lot, I didn’t really have a focus or meaning, I was a little bit reckless in my relationships. I felt lost, and maybe that’s typical of just being young, but as soon as I started doing music and trying to find how to describe the tough things through my music, I started looking after myself much better,” she said.
“I couldn’t do music and sing and perform and maintain all the jobs that I needed to pay for my music unless I was healthy. And I think with so much addiction and mental illness running through my family, I definitely was more susceptible to being unhealthy. I am always aware of that because I really do think we’re all two steps away from not being well, no matter how great your life is, if you don’t kind of maintain things.”
After touring throughout Ontario earlier in the spring, Martin heads back east for a number of shows, including many with a full band, throughout Nova Scotia and other parts of the Maritimes. These include dates in Berwick, Nova Scotia on June 28, Crousetown, Nova Scotia on July 27, Mount Stewart, PEI the following day, St. John, NB on Aug. 3, and Perth-Andover, NB on Aug. 10.
Fans can also support Martin and Murray virtually. Use the virtual tip jar to help cover travel expenses while they tour in Canada and get a post card from the road. Virtual tip jar: https://paypal.me/XtinaMartin
For more news and tour information, visit www.christinamartin.net.
- Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.
SHARE THIS POST:
