Throughout his 29-year career, Kevin Martin has made a name for himself in the electronic, industrial and dancehall scenes, under names like GOD, Techno Animal and the Bug. But for his latest LP, the British musician decided to ditch the monikers, perhaps because Sirens is by far the most personal album Kevin Richard Martin has ever made.
The 14-track/60-minute album documents Martin's experiences with his wife's life-threatening issues during the birth of their first child, along with the two operations their son had to endure within the first 30 days of his life. Although the LP consists of instrumental ambient landscapes, Martin's horrific journey remains top of mind, due to the album's artwork, and song titles like, "There is a Problem," "Necrosis" and "Loss of Consciousness."
Tracks like the 11-minute "Life Threatening Operation 2" build with tension, as Martin utilizes rumbling sustained synth, while "The Surgeon" employs an isolated heartbeat-mimicking electronic drum sound. Martin doesn't let up on the distressing wash of sound until the final track, "A Bright Future," which features bell-like rhythms that luckily give a hopeful conclusion to this extremely personal and affecting piece of art.
(Room 40)The 14-track/60-minute album documents Martin's experiences with his wife's life-threatening issues during the birth of their first child, along with the two operations their son had to endure within the first 30 days of his life. Although the LP consists of instrumental ambient landscapes, Martin's horrific journey remains top of mind, due to the album's artwork, and song titles like, "There is a Problem," "Necrosis" and "Loss of Consciousness."
Tracks like the 11-minute "Life Threatening Operation 2" build with tension, as Martin utilizes rumbling sustained synth, while "The Surgeon" employs an isolated heartbeat-mimicking electronic drum sound. Martin doesn't let up on the distressing wash of sound until the final track, "A Bright Future," which features bell-like rhythms that luckily give a hopeful conclusion to this extremely personal and affecting piece of art.