Cumbria based singer-songwriter, poet, and performer Martin Wardley has just released his new single ‘Make This Count’. Produced by Ben Matravers (Hannah Trigwell, Boyce Avenue, East Life) and mastered by Pete Maher (Rolling Stones, U2, Peaky Blinders), the track is the second single from Martin’s upcoming album. The first single ‘Resurrecting the Show' saw wide support from the likes of BBC Radio Cumbria, Lancashire and Americana UK.
We caught up with Martin to find out more...
Hi Martin, how are you doing today? All good thanks. Working towards the release on Friday and a short break from the day job in order to take a break from the screen and move forward on music and other projects. Looking forward to the break.
Can you talk to us about your latest single ‘Make This Count’? What inspired you to write the song? It was inspired by my own lulls in term of creativity and the subsequent need to grind out a result when that happens rather than simply stop. As hard as that can be it means there is still momentum when the muse returns. This has also been poignant throughout lockdown during which many norms have been lost and the need to grind out results even more pronounced.
Loving the video, can you tell us a little about the filming process? Glad you like it and thanks!! We were planning on an outdoor complex shoot but Covid restrictions had other ideas. Also the video producer and I couldn’t meet. My wife, Rachel, therefore stepped in and we decided a “home shoot” would not only be appropriate but would work. She filmed the footage and took the stills. We then handed over to Daniel, the producer, for him to work his magic.
You’re a singer, songwriter and poet. How does poetry influence your songwriting? Words in songs are very important to me and I treat these with the same focus as I do the poems. My poetry feeds directly into the tunes. Sometimes the work starts as words only – a poem – which would then need to be adapted to fit the rhythm or melody. On other occasions the music is created first and the words follow – again to fit meter and melody. And on rare occasions both music and words are created separately and wonderfully meet with no changes required for either.
The track is partially inspired by the current lockdown. How has lockdown affected you as an artist? I would say the impact has been minimal in that my focus hasn’t changed. It has however given me a number of things to reflect on which feed into thoughts and words. This has been around my personal loss in terms of people and opportunities. Even with both I am still aware that my situation is a reasonable one.
Who are your musical icons? I’m not sure I have icons but influences and those I respect would certainly include: Joe Strummer, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Marvin Gaye, Woody Guthrie, Dusty Springfield, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Prince, Holland/Dozier/Holland, Hans Zimmer, Dolly Parton, PJ Harvey, Bon Iver, Taylor Swift … and on and on and on.
Which animal would best suit your personality? Interesting question. I would say my personality is best suited to Homo Sapians. It’s in my genes I believe.
What does the rest of 2021 hold for you? I will release more music: almost certainly an album over summer followed by an EP and singles later in the year. Words on Wednesday will continue into their 4th year. I’ll release instrumental tacks. I will also continue to work on the Piano. I will continue with the day job. And finally, I’ll have some fun post lockdown – some of this will be in the form of largish endurance events.
