John Martyn

John Martyn's music was a slow, deep river of sound, carrying echoes of folk, washes of jazz, and the gritty undertow of the blues. Born Iain McGeachy in 1948, he emerged from the British folk scene of the late 1960s but quickly outgrew it, armed with an acoustic guitar and an Echoplex tape delay unit he used to build swirling, hypnotic soundscapes. His voice, a warm, slurred burr, became as instrumental as his intricate, percussive guitar playing. Albums like 'Solid Air'—dedicated to his friend Nick Drake—and 'One World' are touchstones of a uniquely atmospheric sound. Martyn's life was as turbulent as his music was serene; he battled personal demons and a leg amputation later in life, yet his creative output never ceased. He remained a musician's musician, a figure of deep influence whose work defied categorization, creating a deeply emotional and textured world that listeners could get lost in.