Martyrs Premiere Their Retro Music Video for “Having The Window Open Helps”

Innovation and experimentation thrive in the vast, expansive world that is Martyrs. The duo has raised the stakes once again with their brand new song “Having The Window Open Helps” and its accompanying music video. It is just one of several music videos that have recently arrived or will arrive as part of the release of Martyrs’ new release, The Church Street EP. Since its release on April 15th, the team of Jon Howells and Michael J. Hall have been rolling out video clips to accompany each track.

“Having The Window Open Helps” is a beautifully composed spoken word track with a retro sound and feel. It derives inspiration from the darker aspects of the band’s 2022 debut album Un Diavolo In Casa. It delves into nights of insomnia when you are ruminating with anxiety. Howells and Hall went to great lengths to create a certain ambiance that is both eerie and chilling.

Commenting on the composition process, Howells states:

“The music is written entirely on a Synthstrom Deluge, and the ambient soundscape underneath the vocals was created by sampling a couple of the tracks into a Chase Bliss Mood MkII pedal and using the slicing, time stretching and direction controls live, to warp the notes and chords into that reverby swirl.”

Hall adds:

“Jon delivered this track for the EP, complete. I just thought it was wonderful, no notes, so it went straight on the record exactly as it was. I loved that there was this whole instrumental stretch before his spoken word began – it creates such a rich, dark atmosphere. I tried to match that with the video, which is a kind of hybrid music/lyric video. The synth sound really reminded me of those ’70s Italian horror films we both love so much, so I took that as a cue to make our own Giallo movie trailer, lots of saturated colour, VHS warping, split-screen and ominous imagery.

“I had a lot of fun making it, even though the song’s subject matter is extremely bleak. I found that trying to make something look visually pleasing while also trying to make it look ‘cheap,’ in line with some of the old straight-to-video movies we take inspiration from, was really challenging, but I feel like a reasonable balance was struck in the end.”

Martyrs ‘The Church Street EP’ album artwork

The Church Street EP is the seventh in a run of ten EP releases that Martyrs are in the midst of. This particular release is a collection of heart-wrenching tracks focusing on small-town life viewed through the perspective of distance and time. Howells and Hall are also responsible for creating the accompanying music videos, making this a full-fledged multimedia experience. This is a project that they have been working on for some time now, with the band noting it as the most long-term work they have ever done. They feel that this is some of their best work yet, but the process was at times challenging and demanding. It was hard to get to the point where the EP felt complete enough to release, but eventually, they were able to free themselves of a loop of iteration and reiteration.

Howells and Hall first began creating music together in high school. Innovation has always been one of the primary goals of their artistic endeavours together. Add to that a DIY aesthetic and no specific interest in genre, and you have a project as inventive and original as Martyrs.

The Church Street EP Track Listing:

1. Church Street
2. He Breaks Horses
3. Twist The Cap
4. You’ve Been Here Before (Bandcamp Exclusive Track)
5. Having The Window Open Helps (Bandcamp Exclusive Track)
6. Twist The Cap Alternate Version (Bandcamp Exclusive Track)