Martin Hall is a Danish singer-songwriter who started by forming a first group called 'Identity' in 1979, a group that will not leave an indelible mark in contemporary musical history.
Then we find him at the very beginning of the 80s in a new group called 'Ballet Mecanique', as well as in the concept project 'Before'.
In 1982, he is found this time in a new group called 'Under For', an adventure that is once again short-lived.
We will find him mainly solo thereafter with the release of a number of albums that are quite substantial.
To discover or rediscover...
Discography (among others...) :
80s Decade :
An attempt of interruption (Ballet Mecanique) 1981
Poem (Ballet Mecanique) 1981
Sweetened (Ballet Mecanique) 1981
A wish of life (Before) 1982
Ritual 1983
Inskription 4 1984
Inskription 8 1984
Free-Force structure (Under For) 1984
Imagine focus (Under For) 1984
In the prism of evil (Under For) 1984
Eyes and hands 1985
A description of patterns 1985
Word on word 1985
An overture 1985
Synthesis 1986
Crush 1987
Beat of the drum 1988
Penetration 1988
Intermezzo 1988
Magnum opus 1988
90s Decade :
Between the two 1990
Prime material 1990
Segment 1990
Performance 1996
Cradlemoon 1996
She's eternal 1996
Just a feeling 1999
Burning sugar 1999
Single melody 1999
Couldn't care less 1999
2000s Decade :
Why don’t you come around 2000
Chance of a lifetime 2000
Let's go out tonight 2000
She's my goodbye Europe 2001
My Argentine rose 2001
Walking on eggshells 2001
Replicator 2002
48/40 2002
Gloria 2002
Another heart laid bare 2003
The girl in with the moon in her eyes 2003
Catching the dust 2003
Das mechanische klavier 2004
Blindness and light 2004
Introducing roseland 2005
Neglect 2006
Ash and lemon water 2006
Torn envelope 2006
Faerden (3) 2008
So much for nothing 2009
Brother spare a moment 2009
2010s Decade :
Dead horses on a beach 2012
Eroded foil 2012
Yeux d'océan 2012
Muted cries 2013
Phasewide 2013
XVI 2015
H 2017
Lesser gods 2018
Semi 2018
Services rendered 2018
Tracks :
1981...the first steps in grouped mode. You have to start one day as they say and in this case it will be done with several people...
1981...it is clear that it is not with this kind of music that the group is likely to attract the general public. Copy to be reviewed...
1981...this will at least have allowed young Martin to start to make a minimum of people talk about him. A minimum of that's for sure...
1982...we find him on several projects but what is certain is that none of them are likely to break through at the highest level...
1983...it is clear that the artist is searching for himself and that he has not managed to find himself for the moment. He can and must do better, of course...
1984...and it's even less with this kind of musical project that he risks reaching the top of the Charts. Copy to be reviewed once again...
1984...sure he's enjoying himself at this stage but he's only enjoying himself, that's for sure. Too much experimental kills the experimental, which is the case on this opus...
1984...there would be a semblance of positive evolution with this new project. It took him time to ask himself the right questions but it is done a priori...
1984...we are already clearly more in line with the standards of the moment. In any case, we are not going to get carried away more than that...
1984... proof that you shouldn't get carried away. Here he falls right back into his early career ways...
1985...so we'll have to wait until this year 1985 and THIS title to finally see him produce what we've been expecting from him since the beginning. It took him a while but this time it was the right one. HU-GE !
1985...the opus of revelation, the real one. The sound, just like the style, are clearly more worked and above all clearly more accomplished...
1985... this obviously helps to significantly increase its level of influence. As if hard work always pays off...
1985...a mid-decade which saw him reach the peak of his level of inspiration with a succession of titles of more than certain quality...
1986...now it remains to be done in the long term. It is up to him to show that this success is not just a stroke of luck...
1987...for the moment the level of inspiration remains more or less constant even if we are not going to lie to each other, the best years are already behind him...
1988...a decade of the 80s that saw him blossom and then rise to power in a way that was impressive to say the least. Let's hope it lasts...
1988...at this stage not too much worry about him. Everything is going perfectly with a more than obvious mastery of events...
1988...in just 10 years he has shown that he is one of the sure values of the international music scene, that's for sure...
1988...now it remains to be seen how he intends to continue the adventure : continuity or change ? The future will tell us...
1990...so far no big changes in sight. At least for now because the future might hold some surprises for us concerning him...
1990...he continues to stick to the standards of the moment which prevents him from dropping out more than that. Everything is under control at this stage...
1990...a nice title that literally floats in the air and shows de facto that he is good in all registers. From the fastest to the slowest...
1996...nothing interesting for almost 6 years and here he is back in this year 1996 in a form that we will describe as certain...
1996...certain form and above all sufficient to keep him afloat without too much difficulty. There is really talent in this man when you see what he still manages to produce...
1996...he delivers here a succession of titles all in finesse and lightness perfectly mastered which are a real pleasure to listen to...
1999...a 90s decade which was at least favourable to him, even if he did not manage to equal the 80s...
1999...he will have shown in 2 decades that he had his perfect place within the Elite. A deserved place and that he intends to keep for some time...
1999...what is also certain is that he still has boxes full of songs and that the adventure is far, very far from being over...
1999...at this point he is only halfway through his career, that's saying something. His early fans therefore don't have much to worry about him...
2000...they will still find him for many years but they don't necessarily know that yet...
2000...a transition to the 2000s which will see him change strategy and put others as much forward as himself...
2000...he will begin to multiply various and varied partnerships in order to see if this can open up new musical horizons for him...
2001...and in principle he is absolutely right. After having devoted himself to himself for almost 20 years it is always interesting to go and see elsewhere if we are there as they say...
2001...because often when we reach the end of our inspiration it is others who can possibly boost it in a spectacular way...
2001...on the other hand it is certain that exploring new horizons risks making him lose part of his audience...
2002...what he produces now has little to do with what he produced in the past, to say the least...
2002...the die-hard fans will definitely find something to their liking, but for the others it is clear that the level of attention will clearly decrease...
2002...there will have been other examples like him with a first part of his career which fits perfectly with the spirit of the times and a second which is clearly more experimentalist...
2003...now the lyric has taken precedence over the rest at least on the vocal and orchestration side. Which does not prevent him from adding modern touches that are at least original...
2003...then we go back to a more contemporary mode. He mixes everything and anything now according to his changing moods...
2003...then we go back to concerto mode. He loves to blur the lines now and multiply the musical registers that are at the very least contradictory...
2004...it's really hard to imagine that we're dealing with the same artist who started his career in 1981 and yet that's indeed the case...
2004...surprising how many careers had a second half that was very different from the first...
2006...afterwards everyone leads their career as they see fit. Often at the beginning we comply with the wishes of the record companies and less and less later on...
2006...but there is always a risk of isolation in this kind of situation that the artist must accept to undergo in an almost inevitable way...
2006...at first glance, the thing is fully assumed concerning him. It is better that it is, otherwise the rest of the adventure risks being really complicated...
2008...in any case what comes out now is not lacking in originality, that's clear. An originality that he will push far, very far...
2009...he now lives in a parallel world that he alone can see but that he wants to make visible to everyone...
2009...it comes from a good feeling but it is certain that the fight will be tough to bring back the original public...
2012...original audience that will never come back in the end. The gap in style and sound with his debut is now impossible to bridge...
2012...that doesn't stop him from continuing to believe in it in any case and it doesn't matter whether he's successful or not in the end as long as he continues to enjoy what he does...
2012...on principle who could blame him ? Now the question is whether he will be able to continue like this for much longer...
2013...so far it's holding up but each new opus could be the last at this stage. No long term visibility now...
2013...so he lives from day to day and produces as long as his inspiration does not fail him yet. And for the moment it seems to be managing to hold up a little over time...
2015... once again he takes us into a universe totally out of time and the standards of the moment. You have to dare all the same...
2017... he constantly flirts with the experimental which is a risky bet to say the least. But every time it works, it must be said...
2018...a decade of 2010 that comes to an end without him having lost his footing, which is already quite an achievement in itself...
2018...now it remains to be seen whether he will have the courage to move on to the next decade and especially with what types of projects...
2018...because doing the same thing again in the next decade would no longer be a risky bet but a suicidal bet. To be continued in any case...
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Discography :
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