As a teenager in Coatbridge in Scotland, Martin developed an obsession with Led Zeppelin. It was the beginning of a love affair with music that eventually took him to Germany in 2009. There his band, Martin & James, signed to Universal, with whom they released two albums. 

The autobahn became a second home for Martin & James as they zig-zagged across Germany and beyond, supporting artists including Bryan Adams, Taylor Swift, Paul Weller and Amy Macdonald. 
Fine songcraft was a feature of both Martin & James LPs, and Martin soon found himself in demand as a cowriter, penning songs with million-selling Belgian star Milow and DJ/producer LCAW. The LCAW track, Painted Sky, for which Martin also provided lead vocals, has been streamed more than eight million times on Spotify. 

Martin’s prowess as a guitarist has seen him in demand as a musician, and he has backed such German luminaries as Thees Uhlmann and Annett Louisan. He recently turned his hand to film soundtracks, and his music features in the film Amelie Rennt, which was shown at the Berlinale film festival in 2017. 

2017 also saw the release of Martin's first solo record, the Fine Love EP, a mixture of home recordings and studio sessions that signals a move away from the major-label sheen of Universal and a return to a sound and an approach reminiscent of the more rootsy records, such as those by The La’s and Neil Young, with which he grew up. 

Martin lives in Berlin and continues to work as a live musician and songwriter. In 2019 he will tour extensively with Thees Uhlmann and Annett Louisan. 

 

Martin Kelly

Fine Love EP

2017