Wonky Folk

IT’s not pop, it’s not folk and it’s certainly not rock ... so how exactly does multi-instrumental singer-songwriter Laura J Martin describe her whimsical music?

“It’s wonky folk!” she laughs.

It’s as apt an explanation as any, neatly summing up the gentle blend of unusual instruments, trippy tunes and quirky lyrics.

“It’s not strict,” she says in a lilting Liverpudlian accent. “It’s playful in terms of production and the combination of instruments.”

Still upbeat and chirpy, Laura apologises for not being at her best when we talk. “I made the mistake of drinking lots of wine with friends last night,” she grimaces. “It seemed only good manners to join in.”

A real musician’s musician, Laura has collaborated with a dream team of artists who share her ‘wonky’ musical tastes. They include Euros Childs from Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci, Sweet Baboo and H Hawkline – with whom she plays under the name Short and Curlies (their album is imminent).

Her pixie-like singing style is reminiscent of Bjork and, at times, Kate Bush, but her strength is in her ability to flit effortlessly between instruments – moving from flute to mandolin, piano, clarinet, saxophone, glockenspiel and her trademark electronic loop station (“I call it my box of tricks,” she says) which gives her hippyish songs a mesmerising beat.

And it’s all played by her. Well almost. “I have a percussionist and bass player but everything else is me,” she says.

Laura (not to be confused with alt-folkie Laura Marlin) was given a boost earlier this year when she was picked as support act for Oxford band Stornoway’s UK tour, playing one of their two hometown shows at Oxford Town Hall.

The band’s bass player Oli Steadman is repaying the favour by joining her on stage when she plays the city’s Cellar club this Saturday.

“Oli saw me play in Shepherd’s Bush last year and came up for a chat,” she says. “We decided to have a jam and then Stornoway asked me to go on tour with them.

“It was wonderful, especially playing Oxford Town Hall. It’s a beautiful place and there was a nice attentive audience who were a joy to be with. I was chuffed to have had the experience of being there. Oli joined me on a couple of songs and there was a nice unity.”

She adds: “Stornoway are all good musicians and are very professional. They have opened my eyes to see things on a grand scale.”

Of course The Cellar is not the Town Hall. Though, says Laura, that’s probably for the best. “I really like playing intimate venues and engaging with the audience,” she says. “And it’s nice to hang around afterwards and chat.”

The night, which also features sets by former Winchell Riots and Fell City Girl frontman Phil McMinn, and You Are Wolf, is part of the venue’s season of Irregular Folk nights, run by sparky Oxford promoter Verity ‘Vez’ Hoper.

It follows support slots not only for Stornoway but Misty’s Big Adventure, Scout Niblett, Buck 65, Hannah Peel, Bonobo, Little Dragon, as well as Norman Blake from Teenage Fanclub and the aforementioned Euros.

“I’m not a perfectionist in any sense,” says Laura. “I just do what comes out – and that depends on what I can play that’s around me.”

Laura is currently working on the follow-up to last year’s debut The Hangman Tree and this year’s EP Bónus Skór, recorded with Mike Lindsay from Tunng, in Iceland.

She admits her new material is a bit of a departure. Inspired by some unspecified upsets, it sees her turning more serious.

“The first album was a little more on the story-telling side with some sentimental tracks there,” she says. “But this is more gritty, honest and open. I didn’t want to go in a completely different direction but there are things which I have experimented with over the past year. It’s still got my wonky choirboy vocals but the lyrics are poetic rather than direct. But then I’d rather keep it cryptic.”

And what comes next? “Who knows?” she says. “I’ll just see how things go. I’m working on music which sounds a bit trancey, not like trance dance music, but in the sense that it will put you in a trance.

“It will turn you into a space cadet.”

And what can we expect from her Oxford show? “Don’t expect anything,” she laughs. “Except some excellent moves!”

Laura J Martin plays Irregular Folk at The Cellar, this Saturday.
Doors 7.30 pm
Tickets are £5 from wegottickets.com