ABOUT THE MUSIC

Shantell Martin is a philosopher and visual artist who quietly ventured into music more than a decade ago. Raised in London on a diet of Atari, Sega Megadrive, and whatever music was playing in the house, her sonic work carries the same spontaneous flow as the continuous black line she draws across walls, canvases, objects and screens.

For Shantell, music is a way of knowing herself through improvising. Her recordings blend wordplay, storytelling, movement and social commentary into freeform thought and poetry, inviting listeners into a world where intuitive expression meets sonic liberty. The Present Word series, a growing community of live performances, is where much of that practice happens in real time.

This site is a timeline of that practice: every recording connected to where and who she was when she made it.