Herman Martin..

A new film by Jean-Jacques Rousseau

admin — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:24:39 +0000

Just finished the latest film by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who specialises in the ‘absurd’! It took me about three months to do.. so I’m back to my new Jazzoid stuff. I’ll let you know more about the film when it is ready to be shown, probably in September.

New series of short films

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:47:10 +0000

I’m just in the process of finishing off a project of 7 short art films with Annick Ghijzelings called “The Very Minute, Unfinished 1>7″ and a refreshing sound design job it is!… They will be showing at various festivals around Europe next year. I’ll try and keep you posted.

Have a listen to all the album tracks

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:55:59 +0000

I was obliged to do a MySpace page but you can listen to all the tracks featured on the album ‘Pretensions” here…..myspace.com/herman_martin

Animation/Game showreel

admin — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 16:56:45 +0000

This is my animation/game showreel which contains extracts from Code Lyoko and horror stuff….its all a bit edgy but I think it does the job!

New short film

admin — Sat, 02 May 2009 11:29:05 +0000

A new short film called ‘Avant Partir’ by Annick Ghijzelings, which I did the soundtrack for, is released in the somewhat rarefied world of art films. Apparently everybody cries at the end, even I did when I finished it!

“La lune” to be shown at Ostend exhibition

admin — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:06:46 +0000

“La lune“, the art film I produced in 2003, is about to get another airing, this time in the Belgian coastal town of Ostend. Curator Gerry Smith has brought together 40 artists on the theme of “outdoors”, a slightly different slant to his original exhibition, translated into fake-Belgian as “Buitendoor” (“buiten” means outside in Dutch). “I would often take the train from London to Folkestone, sail the sea to Ostend and then on to Brussels,” says Gerry. “These journeys came to an end with the introduction of the Eurostar. I felt perhaps a series of exhibitions at these four locations might prevent an outbreak of nostalgia for places I believed were special, but no longer visited on a regular basis. Speed isn’t everything and at the end of the day, the Eurostar despite all its grandness, is still only a train. So now I am thinking ——– BOATS.”

The exhibition will feature work by Gerry himself, Orla Barry, Marcel Broodthaers and a selection of his favourite Anglo/Belgian artists! Catch it at Hotel Andromeda, Kursaal Westhelling 5, 8400 Ostend between February 15 and April 19. (A little) more about “La lune”.

Coming together, falling apart

admin — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 13:30:14 +0000

Been putting all the stuff like photo shoots and cover designs together, and it looks good to me. Marie Biebuyck did some moody photos in an abandoned brewery… “Stranger in a Strange Land” Yep, that’s definitely what I feel like over here!….. Started talking to possible musicians for the live set…… the electro side of it all is proving to be a bit awkward but it’s coming together!…Take a listen to some of the tracks on the “Jazzoid” page.

So what’s falling apart? Bollocks! Lots of techie problems. I had to re-install all my DAW stuff onto a new computer… It took me about 4 weeks… sounds improbable I know…… you don’t believe me…. Maybe there’s some virtue in just playing the trumpet or harmonica. then there would be no need for all this computer stuff… but I couldn’t function without it. Technology for the masses…Ha! Anyway, back to agonising about the next bi-tonal twentieth I suppose……

.bonk: improvised electro with Sam Gyselbrecht

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:11:50 +0000

I just came across some material I worked on with Sam Gyselbrecht a year or two ago. .bonk (note that dot in front of the “bonk”) was an opportunity to take some wild and wonderful heavy electronic music and integrate it, all based around a concept, with spoken word and other things. We basically created segments and were then able to improvise as we went along. Some of the tracks went on for forty minutes. The versions below are shorter.

Incidentally, if you have a website, you can post the tracks and earn a commission. Problem with this link, then click on the Bonk music interface.

Mtyland gets good reviews in New Zealand

admin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:38:28 +0000

Dancer Claire O’Neil returned to her native New Zealand with a new dance show for Footnote Dance a while back, featuring some of my music. The title, “Mtyland”, was her way of questioning her roots. Is it empty land? Mighty land?

The reviews were excellent, with Lyne Pringle saying, “O’Neil teases apart the liminal space between emotional states, toys with dualities such as ‘attack and defence, emptiness and fullness’ to reveal a new perspective on the quest to find an ‘emptiness (openness, acceptance) in a full world’.” Lyne also noted that my soundscape design was “compelling and appropriate”. Thanks. Sue Cheesman called the show “invigorating, challenging, exciting”. The Big Idea website for the New Zealand creative community called it “stunning”.

“Mtyland” can even add an “award-winning” before the title, as Claire picked up an award as the “Best Choreography by an established Artist” at the Tempo 2008 dance awards. Footnote Dance have plans to bring “Mtyland” to Europe next year. The other pieces that I have worked on with Claire are “NowHere”, “Lost Property” and “Loaded”.

What have I been doing?

admin — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 11:32:24 +0000

Aug 08-Finished mixing the album “Pretensions”…all seems to have gone well ! I’m pleased with it….. So you can have a listen to some of the unmastered tracks on the Jazzoid page.

July 08-‘Mtyland,’ the dance piece with Claire O’Neil, is now basically finished and has left for New Zealand with a few finishing touches to be done with the company when they start rehearsals!

July 08-Ok! Everything is ready and all I have to do is wait for the prospective ‘mixer’ to come back from his holiday and then its over to studio ‘ICP’ (Brussels) to finish the Jazzoid project, then I can start to punt around for some distribution and other stuff!!

May 08-Received a mail from a very old guitarist friend of mine, who I’d lost contact with about 23 years ago. He came over to Brussels and put some very nice finishing touches to the long awaited “Pretensions” project.

April 08-Start collaboration on the music for a new dance work ‘Mtyland’ with Claire O’Neil/Fidget Co. To be toured around New Zealand in September.