Martina Armour is a singer and songwriter from Los Angeles who writes a narrative with her songwriting, providing her audience with the right kind of music. Her music is known to create bridges between pop-folk, rock music, and Scandinavian melancholy. Martina brings something new with her second single, “Knife”. This is one of six songs from her debut EP produced by Alex Williams. “Knife” begins with a melody of sparse, low pitched piano notes. Martina Armour soon adds artfully monotone vocals that later build into a powerful chorus. In the background, a violin chorus joins piano notes and a comforting bass drum beat. The violin and piano serve to trigger emotion in her audience.
Martina Armour sings about her struggle and inner tension and uses metaphor to make it personal for everyone. She includes phrases like “knife under my breath” and “bomb inside my words” to represent the potential for concealed chaos in her life. The song has a quirky, mysterious vibe while maintaining its earthy elements. This song compares favorably to the work of Florence and the Machine. Passionate vocals, emotional instrumentals, and metaphorical lyrics combine to give Martina Armour’s “knife” alluring energy that will make music fans want to hear more.
Welcome back to BuzzMusic Martina Armour! The energy in your single “Knife” was contagious. Can you tell us what we can expect from the rest of your debut EP?
Thank you so much! “Knife" and “Trouble” are the first songs out of six total. They are all gonna be pretty different from each other musically but all touching on the themes of impossible love, belonging and finding yourself. Also, I’m super excited to include a Fleetwood Mac cover of it!
You are talented in combining pop, folk, rock, and “Scandinavian melancholy” styles of music into your songs. Why did you end up choosing these specific genres to create your music?
My sound is a fusion of a wide variety of music I grew up listening to and of what really inspired me up to today. I find it hard to settle on one genre, so I think subconsciously I borrowed from everywhere. I grew up on music like Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac (which I still listen to) then I got really into Australian artists like Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly. And some of my favorites today are Maggie Rogers and Brandi Carlile. These are all artists with music that moves me and inspires me to create. Also growing up in Scandinavia added a moodiness in my songs I guess, ha! The winters are long and dark, so there’s time for a lot of self-reflection.
You included many powerful metaphors in your lyrics for “Knife,” including “knife under my breath and “bomb inside my words.” Can you elaborate on the message of this song?
Those lyrics tell the story of someone who sits on some pretty heavy truth. And as soon as those words come out of their mouth, they cannot be unsaid. The damage is done. So the question is, do you keep quiet in order to not hurt the other, or do you push it down and eventually hurt yourself?
With your lyrics, you expressed your feelings through metaphors. How did you come to use this style of songwriting, and how does it influence your music and the type of artist you are?
Oh man, I love me a good metaphor! I’m on an endless search for the next best metaphor haha. Sometimes they describe a feeling much better than plain words do, you know? A metaphor can set the mood and really make you think, giving a particular line of lyric a past, present, and future without explaining too much. I’ve always loved using metaphors, but I think the artist that opened up a whole new world of metaphors for me when I started writing as a teenager was Missy Higgins. Her lyrics have inspired me so much, I wish I wrote like that!
What can we expect to see from Martina Armour throughout 2020?
We are working on the music video for “Knife” right now, and it will come out before the summer. I’m heading back into the studio at The Village to finish recording the last couple of songs on the EP. I got a third single coming out, accompanied by a music video. There’s gonna an EP release party with some live shows. Then there are some exciting things I’m working on that I can’t share yet, but stay tuned ;)