Cat Martino

Brooklyn Bridge Park, in the DUMBO neighborhood of Brooklyn’s northwest end is one of it’s most beautiful destinations. A restored ferry dock with two Civil War structures nested between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges with a full view of Manhattan’s skyline, romantic capital of the borough, there are few places more suited to music at sunset.
Over the years, no matter what my level of malaise for the iconic sights and sounds of this great city, the sudden illumination of the bridges just after sundown will never fail to remind me of the perpetual allure of New York City.
Two years later, Grimaldi’s famous pizza has moved around the corner, Jane’s Carousel has survived two hurricanes, and the Tobacco Warehouse has been host to hundreds more weddings. We follow Cat Martino, fresh off of a tour with Sufjan Stevens and armed with brand new songs for her upcoming debut LP, for another evening watching the sun creep down behind the majestic cityscape for another night of sleep. - La Blogothèque

This installment of Weathervane/WXPN's "Shaking Through" features singer-songwriter Cat Martino creating a new song called "I Promise". Martino enlisted Sufjan Stevens to play keyboards and drum machine and provide backing vocals, while Man Man's Chris Powell played the drums and drum machine. Download the track for free here, in exchange for an e-mail address.
"Shaking Through" is a series that artists to write and record a song in only 48 hours from start to finish, and films the process. Watch a clip from Martino's session: - Pitchfork

I first saw Cat Martino at the best concert of my life. It was the summer of 2011 and Sufjan Stevens was performing at Celebrate Brooklyn. But within the spectacle -– a troupe of maybe a dozen performers on stage — was a singer and dancer named Cat Martino. I know that because a number of my friends at the show knew Cat and were screaming her name at the top of their lungs. Jump forward a few months and Cat Martino is playing on the rooftop of NPR, part of a series of "deskless" concerts organized by our former intern Clare Flynn. I was intrigued by what she played.

Cat Martino just made her first music video. It's for her song "Yr Not Alone," which recounts a provocative interaction Martino had with someone she calls "an eccentric Chaplin-esque character in Prague." "Came inside, bought me a drink," she sings. "You stopped my song with what you think."

This visitor was "dressed like Chaplin, with the hat, cane, mustache and everything," Martino says. "There was something tragic and mysteriously wonderful about him, although in the end his behavior approached stalker. I would never see him again, but I wrote the song right away, imagining his sadness as he disappeared from a great fun party.'

The video, co-directed by Lily Baldwin and Deborah Johnson, takes that encounter, turns it into an abstract form in order to play with the idea of interactions both intimate and jarring. "It became far less literal and more about the visual vocabulary that Lily had been developing between camera and body," Cat Martino says. The action in the video is a beautiful dance, filled with colors, patterns and backlit images, and it climaxes with animation made by Deborah Johnson. - NPR

". It's a diverse and ethereal collection, grounded by Martino's voice—a spectacular instrument, capable of piercing and powerful belts that retain a disarming delicacy—as well as her vivid and emotional lyrics. Martino is equal parts siren and sacrifice, calling listeners to follow her tantalizing example"

- Indy week

Armed with a small Danelectro amp, a looping pedal, and a mess of extension chords, Martino pieces together her own take on the classic “Love Song”. Filmed by Alex Marvar, the video doesn’t seem to have used any high-tech sound gear, as wind and air-conditioning whirs interfere with the audio a bit. Martino’s voice still manages to make an impact, soulful and crisp, and when she loops herself together for the outro, it even approaches operatic. - Consequence of Sound

Yr Not Alone is a soulful, gorgeously enigmatic set — complete with surprising arrangements, inspired melodies, and multi-textured meanings that reward and unfurl with each repeated listen. - 24 Bit Music

??Cat Martino makes glowing, of-the-moment woozefolk full of ethereal drones and spacey loops, running modern indie-scruff through the 4AD dream machine." - The Village Voice

"In addition to singing, playing guitar and piano, Cat creates soundscapes by putting her vocals through a loop station. " - Brooklyn Vegan

"Cat Martino left her post at the back of the stage for a spirited, soulful duet with Sufjan, proving that she is more than capable of being the leading lady."
- Brooklyn Vegan

"Cat Martino left her post at the back of the stage for a spirited, soulful duet with Sufjan, proving that she is more than capable of being the leading lady."
- Brooklyn Vegan

"Cat Martino left her post at the back of the stage for a spirited, soulful duet with Sufjan, proving that she is more than capable of being the leading lady."
- Brooklyn Vegan

"With the celestial, vocal looping allure of Julianna Barwick while making greater use of a cacophony of instrumental sounds, Martino creates an ethereal sonic soundscape."
- Baeble Music

"Yr Not Alone, is chock-full of lushly layered vocals, swaying melodies, folk influences (and maybe some fairy dust?), and we can’t get enough." - Nylon

Feathering beats and synthy instrumental swells undulate beneath Cat’s mesmerizing vocals and Sufjan’s supporting hum. Replay until this storm, or any other, has passed. - RCRD LBL

"With the celestial, vocal looping allure of Julianna Barwick while making greater use of a cacophony of instrumental sounds, Martino creates an ethereal sonic soundscape."
- BAEBLE MUSIC

"With her loop pedal singing, Cat Martino accomplished what John Lennon attempted to do in "Tomorrow Never Knows" by sounding like monks singing from the mountaintops". - http://www.lamusica.emol.com/

“The intuitive side of the New York underground... Shows a roller coaster of emotions.”  
- Women Who Rock Magazine

When you first hear Cat Martino perform live, you get the feeling you're discovering someone already famous. Her voice is beautiful and soulful, overflowing with raw talent. "Here Now," Cat's debut album is an eclectic mix of what Cat refers to as "electro-space" rock, as well as acoustic guitar and piano songs with layers of string and keyboard arrangements. The album was recorded in New York with some of the best musicians in the business. Cat talks here (and now) about being in the moment with her musical projects, with her relationships, and with her job teaching music in the New York City school system. - womanrock.com/Brenda Kahn