Martyna Wren - The Collector

Acclaimed British singer songwriter, Martyna Wren follows up her recent single ‘Bigger Things’ with brand new EP, ‘The Collector’. With a nod to her influences & peers, including Carole King, Carly Simon, Bonnie Raitt, Sarah McLachlan and Alison Krauss, and numerous live tours under her belt, Wren weaves her supremely rare kind of voice’ (BBC Radio 2) through five uplifting and deeply personal songs on ‘The Collector’. We caught up with her to ask, what song always makes you...

Smile

Morecambe and Wise performing 'Bring Me Sunshine' always makes me smile, without fail. I play it every New Year's Eve and sing along with my sisters. It's the perfect reminder to not take life too seriously and to try to bring a little joy to people.

Contemplate

James Taylor singing Fire and Rain instantly draws me into that story and away from whatever I'm doing. I can't listen to it and continue working on something, it really makes me start daydreaming and thinking about life.

Cry

There are a lot of songs that can make me cry so this is a tough one. I Don't Understand Anything by Everything But The Girl is probably the most likely to. The lyrics are so honest and raw and I think I spent many nights in my bedroom as a teenager crying to that entire album. It still gets me today.



Laugh

Big Mouth Strikes Again by The Smiths. I always try to sing along and end up laughing. It's a dark song lyrically but done with such humour. The Smiths can make me laugh, cry, jump around and feel sad all at the same time. Their music really stands the test of time.

Want to work out

I'm not one for exercises that feel like punishment. Moving around should be enjoyable so I love dance workouts or pretending to be a superhero whilst kick boxing. There are so many great songs for that but Christina Aguilera's 'Fighter' is perfect for a good roundhouse kick!

Reminisce

'I Don't Want to Wait' by Paula Cole. The album 'This Fire' came at the perfect time in my life. I was just discovering my voice as a writer and her songs made so much sense to me. It's tender but tough and I really identified with its themes of self discovery and being a young female trying to make some noise in the world.

Relax

It's difficult to pick one song from Carole King's Tapestry album as every song makes me unwind completely but listening to 'Home Again' with a glass of something in the garden on a warm summer evening is the ultimate relaxation. I saw her performing at Hyde Park as the sun was setting, singing You've Got A Friend with the people around me and now her voice always makes me relax and think of that perfect moment.

Feel Determined

My sister hadn't had her driving license very long when New Radicals 'You Get What You Give' came out. We would drive around pretending we were making a getaway whilst singing to this song as loud as we could. It's a great anthem if you're feeling low and need a jumpstart to feel determined again and reminds me of how invincible you feel when you're a teenager listening to your favourite song.

Dance

I would love to say something cool and edgy makes me dance but in total honesty it's Footloose. Doesn't matter where I am, if I hear this song I'm up and dancing. Love it or hate it but I don't think I've ever seen someone manage to stand still when it's on.