Martin Pursley profile picture

Martin Pursley

I am your biographer.

About Me

Martin Pursley is a man of many talents, but writing a bio is not one of them. Instead of choosing to cop out and merely state that "the music speaks for itself," Martin opts to quote a passage from Les Chants de Maldoror by Comte de Lautréamont (a work that was surely written about Martin), which follows:
Please heaven his birth may not be a calamity for his country, which has driven him from her breast. He goes from land to land, abhorred everywhere. Some say he has been afflicted since childhood with a kind of original madness. Others assert that he is extremely and instinctively cruel, is himself ashamed of this, and that his parents died of sorrow. There are some who claim that he was branded with a surname in youth; that he has been inconsolable ever since, because his wounded sense of dignity saw in this fact a flagrant proof of the wickedness of man, which becomes apparent in his earliest years and increases later. That surname was the vampire!
Additionally, Martin Pursley is a singer/songwriter and a native to the Eastern Shore of Maryland where he still calls home. Writing and recording from his home amidst rural landscapes, Martin lives a quaint and simple life.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 9/5/2005
Band Members: Martin
Influences: Will Oldham, Xiu Xiu, The Magnetic Fields, Jackson C. Frank, Angels of Light, Red House Painters, Vincent Gallo, The Mountain Goats, Devendra Banhart, Entrance, Sun Kil Moon, Antony and the Johnsons, The Hidden Cameras, Sir Millard Mulch, Tom Waits, Hank Williams III, Hefner, Chocolate Genius, Andrew W.K.
Sounds Like: Pensive strumming, a dolorous voice.
Record Label: None
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Electric Guitar Finished, An Updated Timeline

Merry Christmas. I realized today, as I walked back to the studio to add a few more layers of electric guitar to my tracks, that I am done with this phase of the recording process.  I don't know ...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:44:00 PST

Compilation Benefit CD

Hello lovelies. This is a short one.  Brief and succinct.  Strictly utilitarian.  Maybe. Recently I received the compilation disc I appeared on entitled Rock 4 Life.  This compilat...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Sun, 02 Dec 2007 07:18:00 PST

Recording Electric Guitar

Here I am. I've been really busy lately with life (trying to live it properly) and the album (trying to get as much recorded as possible). I have scratch tracks of vocals and guitar for all eleven son...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Wed, 22 Aug 2007 07:47:00 PST

Drums and Percussion

As previously mentioned, my upcoming album will be fully orchestrated and produced.  In the past, my music has had minimal layering, and even more minimal percussion - typically hand claps, tambo...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:46:00 PST

Review of "The Colors EP" by Read Mage Productions

Martin Pursley - The Colors EP (2006).Martin Pursley's blood runs a pale blue beneath his skin. Most of ours runs a soured red-black like ichor.Home alone, I listen to this album in the same manner a ...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Sat, 14 Jul 2007 11:57:00 PST

Back to Maryland

So, I have returned from two weeks in Wisconsin.  I spent a lot of time outside with my shirt off, I canoed, and generally relaxed.  I also ate a lot of cheese curds (fried and fresh) a...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 06:07:00 PST

Uploads and Updates

Hello. A new song has been uploaded.  Please check it out and let feel free to leave comments.  It's an older song called "To Feel Something Real" that I have updated for the new album....
Posted by Martin Pursley on Sun, 24 Jun 2007 11:51:00 PST

Compilations

I just received word that I will be appearing on a new compilation through Quickstar Productions (a production company based in Baltimore) entitled Rock 4 Life.  It is a benefit CD fundraising fo...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Sat, 09 Jun 2007 06:11:00 PST

New Recordings Uploaded and Detailed

There are two new demo songs uploaded to my page.  These are from the ten new songs I recorded last week to distribute to the guest musicians who will be appearing on my upcoming album. Last nigh...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Tue, 05 Jun 2007 02:38:00 PST

Williamsburg, VA, and Pre-Production

This weekend was spent in Williamsburg, Virginia.  My musical soulmate Andy Brooks is moving there.  We spent a lot of time discussing music and comparing notes.  I will be producing an...
Posted by Martin Pursley on Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:17:00 PST