Album Notes

Martin Brown's second solo album 'Butterflies' is causing a stir. The single 'Hemel Hempstead Boy', which pays tribute to Martin's home town, has been a local success story and is making front page news. Along with BBC airplay and live interviews to promote the single and album, Martin is at last making the kind of waves that he has threatened to make for a long time.

Martin is a British singer/ songwriter/ multi-instrumentalist with co-writing credits to his name that include partnerships with million-selling composer Russ Ballard, UK's premier bass genius and producer Ed Poole and songs that have been covered by artists as diverse as Bonnie Tyler and Sam Brown.

This album is literally 'all his own work'; Martin wrote all of the songs, played all of the instruments and sang all of the vocal parts. The album was also engineered, produced and even mastered by Martin. He considers this album to be a progression from the strong opening statement he made with his first album, 'Where Have I Been All Your Life?'.

Recently reviewed on Jeff King's influential online blog www.jefitoblog.com, Jeff had this to say about Martin's work:-

"Listening Booth: Martin Brown, “Where Have I Been All Your Life?” (2006) / “Butterflies” (2007)
Thursday March 22nd 2007, 2:55 pm

Plenty of artists think their work is different and/or special. The music of Martin Brown — who titled his first solo album Where Have I Been All Your Life? — might not be terribly different, but it’s special. In fact, it’s damn good.

Brown lists XTC and Crowded House as influences, and unlike a lot of musicians who hope to evoke Andy Partridge and Neil Finn, he succeeds. His best songs evoke both writers’ melodic warmth and attention to detail. Further points of reference, happily, include the catchier bits of Nick Lowe’s late-period work; clearly, Brown — who will soon celebrate the release of his second album, 'Butterflies' — has spent a lot of time genuflecting at some of pop music’s more impressive altars.

Brown is an unsigned gem. And he might not be unsigned for long, because Butterflies‘ first single, “Hemel Hempstead Boy,” has generated some media buzz. You can hear it (and vote for it!) on BBC Radio’s “The Box Office”, either online or on your radio dial (if you’re in the UK).

In the meantime, visit Brown at his website and MySpace page (where you can hear “Hemel Hempstead Boy”), or just skip straight to the finish line and buy 'Where Have I Been All Your Life?' "