Martin Luke Brown isn't interested in standing still. Next month he'll release life & death etc, his third album, and before that came dream state, the latest piece of a record that's slowly revealing itself one song at a time. After the release, he'll head out on a UK and European tour that will take him across the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, France, Ireland and Turkey, rounding off what promises to be a busy few months.
A few weeks ago, we found him in Mallorca, trying to make the most of the calm before September's inevitable chaos. Friendship, heartbreak, humour and the beauty of ordinary days all shape a conversation that feels every bit as honest as his songwriting, while Brown reflects on creating alongside the people he trusts most and why he's learnt that even when everything falls apart, you can always build it back up again.
You’ve got a busy few months ahead of you, with new music on the way and a tour slowly taking shape. Before we get into all that, where do we find you today and how are you doing?
I’m in Mallorca currently at my friend’s parents’ holiday home (a very good friend to have), and I’m fucking boiling. I’m here with a few friends, and we’re all self-employed creative types doing our very best not to be on our phones and laptops. It’s really nice but also hard. I am horribly addicted to screens!
How’s your summer looking?
A mix of chill and work stuff! I’m planning live sessions and some little breaks away, writing a bit for other musical projects. I’m hyper-aware that life’s going to get DENSE in September and beyond with the tour, album release, etc., so I’m doing my best to recharge so I’ve got the minerals to really send it in the back end of the year.
A month has passed since dream state came out. Have you enjoyed finally having that song out in the world?
Yeah?! I have a weird relationship with releasing music. It’s nice not to have it sat on a hard drive, but, in truth, it’s always underwhelming. Playing it live with real people in the real world will change that, of course, but I always feel a bit in limbo during this middle part while waiting for shows.
You described it as a song about running away from pain, physically and mentally. What were you actually running from at the time?
My relationship was coming to an end. I knew it subconsciously but just couldn’t face it. It felt like failure, heartbreak, and a logistical and emotional fucking nightmare. It’s hard to jump into something knowing it’s going to blow up your whole world.
Do you think you’re better at facing things now than you were a few years ago?
For sure. It’s hard though, obviously. But I’m so convinced that the key to a happy life is embracing discomfort, so I’m actively working on it all the time.
Earlier this year, you shared that you were basically homeless while finishing man oh man!, living out of a car that eventually broke down. That’s a pretty wild thing to look back on now. How much did that period change you?
Oh Jesus, so much. Talk about character building. I think it’s actually been a real positive in the grand scheme of things. Long enough has passed for me to see that even when everything goes to shit, I have the capacity to build it back up again. It’s made me a lot more confident in my ability to overcome, which is pretty sick, really.
Was there ever a point where you genuinely thought, “Maybe this isn’t going to work”? You seem much happier talking about friends than career achievements. Has that always been the case?
Oh yeah, like a hundred times. I regularly have that conversation with myself, and it all boils down to, “If I’m lucky enough to do this job for one more year, then I might as well really do it in a way that I enjoy.” I’ve never felt confident that this is going to be my job forever, but I know I’ll be okay if that isn’t the case. It just keeps me grateful for this chapter I’m in right now.
And regarding the friends thing, yeah. I think my friends, kind of, are my greatest achievement in so many ways. I am where I am because of them. Community is the baseline that allows me to feel safe and supported. There’s no way I’d still be here without them. “A rising tide lifts all boats” feels right.
And regarding the friends thing, yeah. I think my friends, kind of, are my greatest achievement in so many ways. I am where I am because of them. Community is the baseline that allows me to feel safe and supported. There’s no way I’d still be here without them. “A rising tide lifts all boats” feels right.
This album feels obsessed with the small stuff. Conversations, meals, nights out, inside jokes, people hanging around together. When did those moments become more interesting to you than the big dramatic ones?
I think non-eventful days are actually the biggest blessings. Like, for real, what a privilege. I had a chat a while back with my friends about how we’d all like to die (hah), and all the answers were various versions of “surrounded by my friends, my dog or cat, a cup of tea, in my house.” Nothing big or dramatic.
Life obviously has these big swings of ups and downs, but, if you’re lucky, it’s mainly humdrum day-to-day stuff. I think if you can find a way to celebrate those bits, then you’re winning. My lyrics are often affirmations of things I know to be true but forget too easily.
Life obviously has these big swings of ups and downs, but, if you’re lucky, it’s mainly humdrum day-to-day stuff. I think if you can find a way to celebrate those bits, then you’re winning. My lyrics are often affirmations of things I know to be true but forget too easily.
You made this record with people you’ve known and trusted for years. What do those collaborators bring out in you that nobody else can?
To be seen and understood from the jump gives you such a big advantage. It’s like I don’t have to perform as if I’m auditioning to impress or prove what I’m capable of. There’s all this grace given even if I deliver the worst vocal take or have an off day creatively. It makes the whole process feel more like exploration and play. You can be more daring without fear of embarrassment. There’ll come a time where I’ll want to push myself to embody that with people I know less intimately, but for now it feels right to be rooted in what’s familiar.
What was on the moodboard while making this album? And what were you listening to the most?
Lots of Chet Atkins records and Dolly Parton. That 60s and 70s jangly kind of shit. Paul McCartney’s Ram. None of it consciously, but there’s something about the goofy lightheartedness of the vibe that feels very that. The lyric still has some weight to it. It’s chill, but there’s depth there if you’re looking for it.
One thing I really like about your music is that it can be talking about heartbreak one second and a broken-down car the next. Do you consciously use humour to deal with heavier emotions?
For sure! I think humour is the most human thing. There’s always someone cracking jokes at the funeral, isn’t there? Laughter is so necessary. It’s how a lot of us cope with all the dense shit.
If dream state was the moment where the fog started to clear, where does highest high sit within the emotional journey of the album?
Dream state is written in the middle of an experience; highest high is past tense on that same experience, really. It’s making peace and coming to terms with it all in a sort of celebratory, chaotic, embracing the chaos kind of way. Rather than dulling and numbing it, it’s cranking up the dial on the emotion and letting it all rip out.
You recently announced your first headline shows in Denmark and Turkey and immediately asked people for food recommendations and things to do. Have the replies been any good? Anything you’re already excited to try?
I occasionally do that and get completely overwhelmed by the answers, so I end up ignoring everything, hahaha. But I'm especially excited for Turkey. I loooove that kind of cuisine.
You once said you want your albums to feel like time capsules. If you listen back to life & death etc twenty years from now, what do you think you’ll remember first?
Matt moved into his new studio halfway through making the album, and I have a hunch it’ll be his forever studio. So I’ll remember helping him move in and setting all the shit up in there. Also, when we were in the final, final stages of finishing the album, I remember recording the last vocal take for unlearning everything, and we both BLUBBER cried afterwards. The last bit of the song is all about having everything you need right in front of your eyes, and I think we both really FELT it in that moment. We’ve been friends since we were teenagers, and there we were, both living our dreams together. It was fucking beautiful!
A few months from now, you’ll be walking off stage in Istanbul after the final show of this tour. What would you love to be feeling at that moment?
Grateful and mindful and in the moment. That’s always the good shit. I so often remember moments as better than they were when I actually lived them. I hope I really soak it all in. Turkey!! I’ve never even been to Turkey. What a dream to experience the world doing what I love with my friends. It’s hard to comprehend in real time sometimes.
