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STRINGS AND MARTIN ARE TOURING THE WEST COAST OF THE USA AND CANADA BETWEEN AUGUST AND NEXT MARCH. ANY HOUSE CONCERT HOSTS WHO WOULD BE INTERESTED IN HAVING US PLAY, PLEASE MESSAGE US OR EMAIL martingiles2008_AT_gmail_DOT_com

Strings, Chris and Martin were brought together by a mutual love of Joni Mitchell's music. The band has recorded two albums of original material and played at many venues in and around London and Cambridge, UK; from house concerts to an audience of 600 at Islington's famous 'Carling Academy'.

Normally a five-piece (see band 'members' on left), for their travels in the US, Stryngs will be the stripped-down acoustic duo of Martin (guitar) and Strings (vocals).

Aside from her career as a psychiatrist, Strings has won national awards for her poetry, and brings her poetic talents, her empathy and humanity to her lyric writing.

Martin has had a long career in the music industry, for the last seventeen years as a mastering engineer. Having played guitar since the age of fourteen, he has finally decided to step out from behind the console to write and play.

"Wow! Goosebumps down my neck met the ones up my back and I was neither man nor ghost for a minute stretched into an hour maybe longer. This is beautiful music. Not the kind of beauty you find in magazines, but the kind you find in eyes and touches. Truly amazing." Oli D.

The Thrill of Maintaining Momentum "It's stuck in my CD player! ...and i can't get it out. Have been fascinated by this CD for well over a month. It took me three days just to get past the second track; I was spellbound. Throughout, the guitar and bass are equally as sensitive as the warm vocal lines, and the subtlety of all three principal instruments becomes more accessible with each listen. 'The Thrill Of Maintaining Momentum' is pure gold. Buy it." Randall Williams.

Love and Other Vices "...what makes this album so good is the marriage between music and words, between lyrics, melody and harmony. This is the sign of songwriters and musicians at the top of their game.
Graham Holland. 'It’s A Frog’s Life' Acoustic Podcast

THE THRILL OF MAINTAINING MOMENTUM

Released in 2003, the first album, 'The Thrill of Maintaining Momentum' showcases Strings' warm voice and powerful lyrics. Martin and Chris provide an acoustic guitar and fretless bass backdrop with guest musicians Erik Stamms (drums) and Anna Phoebe (violin). Stand-out tracks include 'Frank's Song', 'Perfect Cruelty' and 'Ivory White Alibis'.

LOVE AND OTHER VICES

The band's second album, 'Love And Other Vices' explores more deeply the musical style established in their first. Martin, Chris and Strings are joined by drummer/percussionist Derek Scurll. Guest violin is provided by Dan Cassidy (Eva Cassidy's brother) and mandolin by Colorado based multi-instrumentalist, Les Irvin.

"The centrepiece of every Stryngs song is the vocal, and here we have the most unique aspect of the band. The vocalist and lyricist (whose name is Strings. Note the subtly different spelling) writes the sort of lyrics that shouldn't be singable. There are too many syllables, the lines don't obey any regular meter and there are far too many long words. Half the songs read like prose on the page, and yet when you hear Strings' soft, intimate, chocolate delivery it all makes sense."
Tom Slatter. We'll Write

You can buy our albums safely online at CD baby.
The Thrill Of Maintaining Momentum and Love and Other Vices

Here's a video of a song from a house concert we played in Lewisham, London, UK.
"I would run my pen dry over you, if you let me.
I'd sign my name and address along the side of your thumb
in case you're ever lost
and had to hitch yourself a ride home to me."

And two more - 'Two Shiny Buckets' (a one minute waltz)
segueing into 'The Aeroplane Collector'
"Window-ledge-lodging I dangle myself and my
two shiny buckets into the drizzle of another dull old night -
under knit-brow clouds, as they consider storming.
This is loving you;
exciting, completely mad and just a little bit frightening.
Eye on the sky, waiting with my two shiny buckets,
trying to catch the lightning."

And the one that always makes them cry ... 'Frank's Song'
"A cold, absent-minded year drifted by
and you felt you'd been sifted like flour - left behind
like a feather falling from a flying bird to where
past-tense sentences held her name."

Keeping in touch

MySpace is a great place to keep in touch with us. But there are other ways: the first is the discussion forums on our own website. Secondly, you could also sign up to our mailing list here:-

Middle England Cross
"She still dreams of separating shoals with a dagger and a tan
diving on practiced lungs, but like a pearl the oyster is her world."




Anywhere But Understood
"I ran to be a nomad in a momentary land;
to leave and leave until there were no new places left."