Martin Messent profile picture

Martin Messent

About Me

I have been playing and recording original material solo and in various line ups since 1991. My sound takes in folk, jazz, blues and alt. country, influenced by songwriters like Bob Dylan, Beck and Van Morrison, at the same time digging Neil Young, Gram Parsons and Nick Drake, and composers Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington.
My current band includes Steve Thompson on double bass and Giles Gobat on drums. I've played with (among others) Buster Cottam (The Hat, Lou Rhodes), Grant Allardyce (Super Collider, Mountain Firework Company), Mark Treffel (Blue States, Astrid Williamson), Mike Simmonds (Alice Russell, Natureboy), Ben Lee (Heritage Orchestra) and Martin Harley (Martin Harley Band).
I've recorded two albums: 'Saw The Sun', released in January 2007 on independent label Round The Corner... You can buy it here


and here:
...and 'Blues for Plankton', released end of August 2008, available from CD Baby now! I also recorded an EP 'Bye Bye Blackbird' in 2002, and several cassette albums between 1994 and 1999, but who's counting?
In the last four years I've played sets at both Glastonbury and Bestival, written an arrangement for a live collaboration between The Hat and the London Swingfonia big band which was performed at Glastonbury 2005 in the Lost Vagueness ballroom, together with dates at popular Brighton venues such as The Greys, Sallis Benney and Pavilion theatres, Sanctuary Cella and The Hope, as well as the 12 Bar Club, Betsey Trotwood and Green Note in London.
I am also part of the Sound Tank collective, set up in October 2004 to provide a focus for quality, original music where bands play their own material and get paid fairly. It has hosted artists including Lou Rhodes, Cate Ferris, Martin Harley and Jon Thorne. Musicians in the collective lend their skills to each others' projects, creating a network from which recording and live collaborations grow. It attracted Brighton and Hove Grassroots Arts Commission funding in 2006 to produce a sampler CD of nine collective bands.
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 11/02/2006
Band Members: Some of the musicians I've played and recorded with: Mark Treffel - keyboards, harmonica; Steve Thompson, Buster Cottam, Dave Whitford - double bass; Grant Allardyce, Sam Walker, Giles Gobat - drums + percussion; Mike Simmonds, Ben Lee, Jote Osahn - violin; Naja Skott Olesen - vocals; Joe Giddey - cello; Martin Harley - slide guitar; Chezzie Grimble - saxes; Rob Heasman - trumpet
Influences: Van Morrison, Thelonious Monk, Billy Strayhorn, Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, Al Green, Allman Brothers, Led Zeppelin, Neil Young, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Johnny Cash, Beck, Nick Drake, Erik Satie, Buster Keaton, Tom and Jerry, Marcus Aurelius, Tao Te Ching.
Sounds Like: "Soulful jazz-tinged experimental songs crammed to bursting point with pop hooks, soaring highs and enough melancholy to leave even the most hardened of gig-goers with an open jaw and a lump in their throat..." Ric Blow, The Greys
Record Label: Bread Pudding Records
Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

BLUES FOR PLANKTON AVAILABLE FROM CD BABY NOW!

The wondrous CD Baby now stock Blues for Plankton, so you can purchase it on line securely, either in CD form or as mp3s. You can also get a 20% discount when you buy more than one copy.Just click on ...
Posted by on Thu, 18 Sep 2008 01:42:00 GMT

ALBUM REVIEWED ON FRESH DEER MEAT

Hello me hearties: link to a review of my new album on the supremely cool Fresh Deer Meat americana and alternative website:   http://freshdeermeat.com/eatmore.php?id=22   They like! The C...
Posted by on Mon, 08 Sep 2008 13:27:00 GMT

Being utterly broke - a rough guide

Being utterly broke and in possession of only the crankiest old crap in the way of recording equipment, I recently decided to go into a mate's studio for a day and record all the new tunes simply and ...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:20:00 GMT

Blues for Plankton lyrics

Like a slow fire burning,an intro that never ends,unnecessary safety,blind hope in a ditch with fairweather friends;try soap on a wound without flieswhen all of your secrets are liesan unknown chord h...
Posted by on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 22:15:00 GMT

The Notes Themselves

I don't drink. Not because I 'disagree' with it or want to be better than anyone, but because when I did, it caused my life to go down the drain. It's better that I don't, believe me. This simple abst...
Posted by on Fri, 22 Jun 2007 12:39:00 GMT

Saw The Sun album launch - Thank You!

The album launch night went off like a starry windswept magic carpet ride of sumptuous wild playing - I kid you not! The band rocked and rolled like a soul/folk starship on a sea of strings and R...
Posted by on Wed, 03 Jan 2007 02:09:00 GMT

Respirator Records/ Elemental Tide Records

Anyone approached by email by companies from Canada going by these names - it's a scam. I have been 'selected' for a compilation CD twice for different tracks up on myspace. Each time the initial emai...
Posted by on Tue, 07 Mar 2006 15:48:00 GMT