Singular Voices: Martha Marlow

With her dazzlingly accomplished debut album, Martha Marlow arrives with an artistic vision fully formed. Drenched in orchestral pop, Medicine Man is an evocative, heart-on-sleeve album, exploring recurrent themes of introspection, longing and hope.

Growing up in the same Sydney home where The Bee Gees honed their craft, Marlow was surrounded by music. Her father, renowned jazz bassist Jonathan Zwartz, crafted the album’s luscious string arrangements. Storytelling is central to Marlow’s practice, reaching towards her heroes (Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Billie Holiday) whilst channelling her contemporaries (Radiohead, Laura Marling, Fiona Apple).

A gifted landscape painter, Marlow’s National Art School studies were shattered by a devastating autoimmune condition. Her experience of living with chronic pain has profoundly shaped her art, transforming suffering into transcendence.

Marlow will perform Medicine Man in its entirety for Singular Voices, with her band of jazz luminaries, plus a 17-piece chamber orchestra led by Véronique Serret.