Martin Grech

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Martin Grech
a picture of Martin, taken from Kerrang! Magazine 2002.
a picture of Martin, taken from Kerrang! Magazine 2002.
Background information
Born 1983
Origin Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England
Genre(s) Experimental rock
Progressive metal
Dark ambient
Gothic Rock
Alternative rock
Occupation(s) Musician, Vocalist
Instrument(s) Vocals, Guitar, Piano, Drums
Years active 2002 - present
Label(s) Island Records
Associated acts Zealey, Ophelia Torah, Meatsuit
Website http://www.myspace.com/martingrechofficial

Martin Grech (born 1983) is a Maltese-English singer, songwriter and musician from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

Contents

[edit] Open Heart Zoo (2002)

He first achieved serious critical acclaim after his haunting falsetto track Open Heart Zoo (written when he was 19 years old) was featured on a Lexus car advert on UK television in 2002. A debut album of the same name (produced by Andy Ross) quickly achieved cult status, with the expansive and eclectic record being compared, in places, to the work of The Cure, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails and Jeff Buckley. The accompanying British tour saw Grech gain a larger following and further critical support.

[edit] Unholy (2005)

2005 saw the arrival of Grech's second album, entitled Unholy. It dealt with much darker, and more disturbing, themes than his debut record, including such lyrical topics as insanity, heresy and death. The songs pushed the boundaries of Grech’s music through instrumental experimentation and previously unheard vocal power. As before, reviews were extremely positive and his fan-base expanded. The Unholy art work created by Stephen Kasner was hung as a backdrop to live shows.

[edit] March Of The Lonely (2007)

The start of 2007 saw an announcement of Grech's much-awaited third album. After Grech's split with record label Island shortly after the release of Unholy, all went quiet in the world of Grech, following the demise of the openheartzoo.com forums, and his official website. Still, Grech's myspace page remains active, and announced the arrival of the new album, March Of The Lonely. The first single from the album, "The Heritage", was released as a CD single on 30 March on Grech's own label Martin Grech Songs via online label, Burning Shed. "March Of The Lonely" took a completely different approach from his previous CDs, and was much more acoustic, more guitar-based, with a thinner texture and softer atmosphere.

March of the lonely was released June 4, 2007 in the UK via Genepool Records.

[edit] Influences

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] EPs and Singles

  • Dali (2002)

1 - Dali (5:40)
2 - Catch Up (3:47)

  • Open Heart Zoo (Promo) (2002)

1 - Open Heart Zoo (Circus) (Radio Edit) (4:41)
2 - Open Heart Zoo (Album Version) (5:23)

  • Open Heart Zoo (2002)

1 - Open Heart Zoo (Album Version) (5:21)
2 - Storm (5:09)

  • Push (Promo) (2002)

1 - Push (Radio Edit) (3:56)

  • Push (2003)

1 - Push (5:01)
2 - Bliss (1:38)
3 - Head Sty (5:25)

  • I am Chromosome (Promo) (2004)

1 - I Am Chromosome

  • Rest In Peace EP (2004)

1 - Mighty Hands (4:15)
2 - Gratefully Punished (4:26)
3 - Father And Mother Figure (2:48)
4 - Freedom, Warmth And Security (2:53)

  • Guiltless (Promo) (2005)

1 - Guiltless (Album Version) (7:47)
2 - Guiltless (Radio Edit) (4:00)

  • Guiltless (2005)

1 - Guiltless (7:41)
2 - Seed Of A Seed (3:29)
3 - Worthy (2:59)

  • The Heritage (2007)

1 - The Heritage (3:32)
2 - Ashes Over Embers (5:39)

[edit] Other work

In 2003 Grech was invited to play at the Jeff Buckley tribute concert by Jeff's mother Mary Guibert, at the Garage, Highbury alongside Ed Harcourt and Jamie Cullum, amongst others.

In 2005, Adam White sampled Martin Grech's Open Heart Zoo for his trance track titled "Ballerina".

As well as his solo releases, Grech has performed Vocals on the album "First Chance I Get I'm Out Of Here" (2005) by fellow Aylesbury artist Zealey. He drummed for the four-piece rock band Ophelia Torah between early 2006 and April 2007.

He has also been involved in a collaboration project, organised by yourcodenameis:milo, called "Print is Dead". Along with artists such as Bloc Party, Graham Coxon, Tom Vek, Reuben and Biffy Clyro, he was given the challenge to work with yourcodenameis:milo, in their studio, to write a song in one day. The track is called "We Hope You Are What You Think You Are" and features a more garage-sounding, lo-fi Grech peppered with immaculate vocal harmonies when joined by Paul Mullen.

Grech is now working on his Meatsuit project, a heavier darker sound, details at myspace/martingrechofficial.

[edit] Current Live Band

[edit] External links

Languages