« back

martoc - music for alien ears - em records - vinyl

New Copy

Genre: Wave / Pop / Rock

1. Navigator Through Nowhere
2. Helen is a Hologram
3. The Vigilante Rules
4. Nightmare Trip
5. Sex Kills
6. B.E.M.'s
7. Absolute Zero
8. Serene Machines
9. Dragons Attack
10. Born in a UFO

Charted by

Karen Gwyer

Martoc, aka Martin O'Cuthbert, has been making alien and alienated synth-pop in the UK since the post-punk period. This compilation gathers six songs released on seven-inch EPs during the years 1978-80, plus four songs released during the first decade of this century !

The tracks show a distinctive stylistic unity, inspired by fellow spirits like Fad Gadget, The Normal, John Foxx and
Kraftwerk; across the decades Martoc has maintained both his close relationship with his synthesizers and an arms-length relationship with society, resulting in an appealingly quirky and individualistic iciness, informed also by his love of science fiction writers such as J. G. Ballard and Iain Banks.

One of the songs included here, "B.E.M.S.", was chosen as
Record Of The Year by John Lydon in New Musical Express in 1978; John Peel was also a supporter. Despite these and other accolades, Martoc and his simultaneously catchy yet disturbing music has hovered resolutely under the radar, an alien craft avoiding detection by an unaware and perhaps unprepared world. Gathered together here, this collection of tracks offers an excellent opportunity investigate an alien explorer.