30 May 2023 - 0 Comments

Babe Martin is the project of Zoë Larsen Cumming (she/her), musician and songwriter based in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).

Babe Martin skilfully crafts sparse arrangements, mainly piano and cello, that carry her stories leaving listeners tenderly gut wrenched. She doesn’t over egg the omelette, which is a masterful touch for a musician so early in their career.

Today Babe Martin shares Knocked For Six In BHX, the first single ffrom her upcoming debut The Versoix EP (out digitally on September 7 via Sunreturn).

STREAM Knocked For Six In BHX

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Over swells of cello Knocked For Six In BHX has Babe Martin recalling the emotions of leaving those you love the most.

“At its core it’s about living apart from people that you love and the inevitable goodbye after a catch up,” says Larsen Cumming. “It’s about family, airports, and old feelings you’ve not felt in a while sneaking up on you when you least expect. Growing up I travelled back and forth between Ngunnawal Country (Canberra, Australia) and Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa (Auckland, New Zealand), so there were lots of goodbyes and hellos. Knocked For Six in BHX describes having that airport feeling I had as a child sneak up on me as an adult.”

The track was written under the tutelage of Jazmine Mary as a part of the NZ On Air Music’s New Music Development programme. “Jazmine is incredible to work with. I’d drive out to their little blue house on the coast in Parau every Wednesday afternoon, offer them a Crunchy Bar that they would politely decline, I’d eat said Crunchy Bar, and then we’d make music. I trust them and their own creative style absolutely and having their guidance on these songs really helped them materialise into what they’re meant to be.”

“[Knocked For Six In BHX] is actually very simple - just vocals, electric keyboard, and beautiful cello (played beautifully by the talented Antonia Barnett McIntosh). Jazmine, Antonia, and I spent a day in the studio just layering and layering the cello until it became a big wave of sound. It’s yearning, simple, and resigned."

Asked to reflect on the track Larsen Cumming says “It's funny, it made sense as the first release and yet it's always the final song I play when I perform live. Knocked For Six In BHX is a beginning and an end. When you think about it, that’s exactly what an airport is. When I hear it or perform it, it feels completely like me (or atleast, a part of myself).”

Babe Martin and K M T P (solo) at Nice Goblins HQ (220A Dominion Road).

Both Sunreturn acts will have just released have new singles from upcoming EPs and Albums and to celebrate they've teamed for one night only. The intimate show will have a limited capacity and is not to be missed.

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW FROM UNDERTHERADAR

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