Donna Martin's latest release, "Seed & History," is a collection of ten songs that demonstrate her dedication to charting new musical territory. Known for her ability as a strong acoustic guitar player, Martin has emerged with some unexpected surprises on her multi-layered, self produced and engineered project. There are melodic mandolin runs, ambient baritone and cello parts with a colorful assortment of electric guitars and, at times, hand percussion and drums coupled with bass to form a rhythm section. All of it performed by Martin herself. This, her fifth solo album, is a soul searching work that bumps up against several musical genres including folk, acoustic AAA and country. Many of the lyrics travel deep into the heart of American culture past and present. The history of slavery is examined not through its horror but its opportunities to exercise compassion in the opening track "Cold Black Water." The remains of the underground railroad serve as the backdrop while Martin whispers a reverence for those who acted to alter the atrocities of their time, a message that is laced throughout a good portion of Martin's work.
Although the assignment of the acoustic/folk genre best categorizes Martin's music, she pulls inspiration from a broad musical palette. Martin's childhood was richly laced with the Canadian roots music that was placed at the center of family gatherings but the start of her professional career began with her work in a variety of rhythm and blues bands. Her move to country music placed her center stage in the highly popular New England band Borderline. Touring the northeast region and parts of Canada, they shared the stage with the likes of Charlie Daniels, road legend Dick Curless and opening for Alabama. An increasing fascination with the lyrical depth and emotional immediacy of singer songwriter music brought her to the acoustic world.
Martin's early album releases opened doors to acoustic music venues throughout New England and received radio airplay across the country. As a new songwriter she entered the showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in NY where she was the most requested new artist invited to return the following year. She successfully worked her way up to being one of the Saturday night headliners there. Martin's third album release," Pioneers" earned her a spot in the 1998 Lilith Fair where she performed a solo set, and then, was invited to take the stage with Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan and Natalie Merchant. She followed up with a fourth release called "Ghost" which received national recognition in Performing Songwriter Magazine. They included Ghost in their Top 12 Picks and said, "Martin's writing and her singing is wistful and personal. A singer-songwriter whose stories are colored by the powers of observation and the frames she puts around them."
In addition to Martin's songwriting and performing schedule, she records and produces cd projects for other artists and is also a faculty member at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts where she has been teaching songwriting in the creative writing department for the past decade.