‘Deliciously sparse and exquisitely controlled… it’s also something that I can imagine being played on my dream radio show alongside The Field, Xenakis, Thee Silver Mt Zion, Jon Hopkins, Morton Feldman, Murcof and Matmos. It’s contemporary music that can be of interest as much to Sigur Ros and Can fans as to lovers of Birtwistle and Cage.’
— Paul Morley, The Guardian
Nick Martin (UK) is a Copenhagen-based composer whose work is known for its emotional depth and subtlety, having been described as causing “quiet devastation” (Simon Smith, Higher Plain Music). While his music is informed by classical and sacred music traditions, Martin finds home in the in-between, creating music that resists classification.
Martin’s music has been performed by leading ensembles, orchestras, and soloists, including Ensemble Intercontemporain, Danish Radio Vocal Ensemble, The Nordic String Quartet and Halvcirkel, as well as renowned soloists such as Daniel Pioro, Clare O’Connell & Bjarke Mogensen. His music has been performed and commissioned by Copenhagen Phil, Concerto Copenhagen, Esprit Orchestra, and Manchester Camerata.
His work has been featured in prominent concert halls across Europe and North America, including Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), Koerner Hall (Toronto), Harpa (Reykjavik), and Christ Church Cathedral (Vancouver), and have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Danish Radio P2, Deutschlandradio Kultur, and ABC Classic.
In 2022, Martin’s composition ‘Bittersweet’, recorded by Kimi Ensemble, was released on Dacapo Records, followed by ‘Kołysanka’, a work recorded by Daniel Pioro and Katherine Tinker, which was released on Platoon in November of the same year. These releases have further solidified Martin’s position as an emerging voice in contemporary music.
In addition to his compositional output, Martin performs his own music through Blue Luminaire, an ensemble project which released its debut album ‘Terroir’ on Bella Union in 2022. The album, noted for demanding “a pound of emotional flesh from listeners” (Andrew Mellor, Seismograf), exemplifies his ability to craft deeply affecting sound worlds that challenge and captivate.
Martin is the recipient of 2023’s Pelle Prize, in honour of the late Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen. He is currently working on a larger scale piece for Daniel Pioro & The Manchester Camerata, to be premiere in the UK in 2025.