Through experimental textures and raw honesty, Martikor has created a narrative of introspection and resilience that invites one on a transformative journey. With their sophomore album, Acedia out today, multi-instrumentalist and composer Lenn of Martikor was kind enough to answer a few questions about the album, the creative process, and more.
ATN: How did Martikor come together?
LENN: Martikor is basically a solo project, I do all of the composing and for the first album recorded all the instruments myself. For the second album I worked with other musicians to record some parts. I’ve been writing music for years but never released anything, and thought these are interesting enough songs to release maybe!
ATN: Given that your debut album, Soliloquy, was released in September last year and now Acedia is out, the seven-month gap between albums is quite impressive. It seems like you guys are really productive in the studio! Can you share a bit about your creative process and how you manage to work so efficiently?
LENN: Soliloquy was released in September but most of the material except a couple songs were written more than a year ago. The songs on Acedia are much more recent. I go through phases of being very inspired and writing all the time to periods of time that I cannot write anything at all! I think this past year and a half especially was very productive for me.
ATN: Can you tell us more about the concept behind Acedia and how it differs from Soliloquy?
LENN: Acedia is about dealing with some dark emotions and moments in my life, and while Soliloquy was still dealing with a similar theme, personally I am trying to grow and get better at dealing with these emotions and understanding them in a sense. So in general Acedia for me is coming from a bit more sanguine state! And as the album reaches its end I’m trying to move towards the light and be kinder to myself and more hopeful.
ATN: How would you describe the overall sound and atmosphere of the album?
LENN: I think in Acedia I experimented a lot with different textures and sounds and followed the approach of “only too much is enough”! At least for most of the album. So it is filled with different textures that for me personally carry the song more than the typical instruments. And I think it turned out pretty dark in general but a kind of dark that could be beautiful at times too if it makes sense!
ATN: The themes of mourning, grief, and loss seem to be significant themes in your music. How do you approach translating personal experiences into musical expression?
LENN: Art has always been my main source of communication with myself honestly. I don’t really talk much about my emotions, how I feel and all that. Unfortunately this even makes it harder for myself to really see how I feel! So when I get inspired to write and feel like I wanna do something creative then I know there’s something I wanna find out. And that is the same story for Acedia.
ATN: “Soothing Rattle” has been described as a reflection of dark moments in the psyche. What inspired this track, and what emotions do you hope to evoke in listeners?
LENN: “Soothing Rattle” is about some sort of unrest that lingers in you and sometimes it gets worse, sometimes better but never leaves you alone! After some time I realized that I kinda found peace in this unrest and kinda needed it to function the way I’m used to which I think is not a great thing! But yeah that song is about that never-ending mental or emotional unrest!
ATN: In “A Tremor in Infinity” and “Born Among Thorns,” you address struggles with self-doubt and self-reflection. How do these tracks fit into the broader narrative of Acedia?
LENN: For me Acedia, specifically lyrically, started as dealing with the dark unrest, trying to project and maybe figure out what it is, and then reaching to a state of kind of getting emotionally naked and just seeing parts of your mind that you were missing and then comes the self-doubt! Just figuring out your worth and what you are in a sense. So these two tracks deal with that part.
ATN: Both “Awake” and “Acedia” seem to offer a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness. Can you discuss the significance of these tracks in the context of the album’s overall theme?
LENN: Yeah I think these conclude that journey of dealing with pain, going through the process of doing your best to get to know yourself, your pain, and what you are, and then finding a way out of it maybe. Not necessarily letting go of everything you know but seeing things from a different perspective, something new and hopefully more joyful!
ATN: What was the creative process behind crafting the album, from conceptualization to recording?
LENN: Musically, when I feel like I wanna write something I just go ahead and do whatever I want. I don’t think about writing anything specific or starting with a specific instrument or anything like that. I just write what I come up with at that moment. And I try to write the main part of the song in a very short amount of time, at most a day or two. I kinda like that idea, I feel like it captures your feelings at that moment. Then I add/remove stuff later! And I basically record and mix everything myself so I’m basically recording while I’m writing. For drums on this record, I wrote the parts and then we went to the studio with Keenan and he changed some parts and re-recorded them.
ATN: As a post-metal project, what role does experimentation play in your creative process?
LENN: I love experimenting with textures, sounds, song structures, vocals and all that. I’m not creative enough to be super experimental and innovative but I really enjoy playing around with sounds and coming up with interesting ideas like that. I’d say experimentation in the context of the music that I write is probably the most enjoyable part of writing for me.
ATN: Lastly, what’s in store for Martikor this year?
LENN: Probably taking a break from writing! I don’t wanna write the same album again! And maybe some live shows in the nearish future, who knows!
SAME 3 QUESTIONS WE ALWAYS ASK
ATN: Artist / band that you feel is the most underrated and why?
LENN: Quiet Man – I think they only have one album out, The Starving Lesson. They’re amazing, I really love that record.
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to collaborate with and why?
LENN: Keeley Forsyth – I love her music and she has an amazing unique vocal style. Such a great artist!
ATN: Artist / band that you would like to tour with and why?
LENN: Amenra – their live shows are phenomenal! Would love to see them playing every night!
