Biography

Martha Tilston is the daughter of singer-songwriter Steve Tilston

Steve Tilston

Steve Tilston is an English singer-songwriter.-Early years:Steve Tilston was born in Liverpool and raised in Leicestershire. Tilston was a graphic designer before taking up music in 1971, living in Bristol at the time, where he recorded his first album "An Acoustic Confusion". In the early...

 and stepdaughter of Irish folk performer Maggie Boyle

Maggie Boyle

Maggie Boyle is a London-born Irish singer-songwriter.As a youngster she joined the Fulham branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. Later she became an events organiser...

. Trained as an artist and dramatist, she began her musical career in 2000 as an active presence in Britain's alternative festival scene, particularly as part of the traveling troupe called "The Small World Solar Stage". She formed the duo Mouse with guitarist Nick Marshall, releasing two albums, "Helicopter Trees" (2000) and Mouse Tales (2001) and touring as a supporting act with Damien Rice

Damien Rice

Damien Rice is an Irish singer-songwriter, musician and record producer who plays guitar, piano, clarinet and percussion....

. Her first solo album "Rolling" was issued in 2002 on her own label, Squiggly, followed by Bimbling in 2004.

Her next album Ropeswing (2005) featured an expanded group of backing musicians named The Woods, and was available as a free download. It contains her two most politically-explicit songs, "Artificial", which speaks of the deadliness of office life, and "Corporations" which is a critique of corporate rule and the corporate-education complex. She has also appeared on several compilations, including her song "The Saddest Game" about child soldiers in Africa, on The Big Issue

The Big Issue

The Big Issue is a street newspaper published in eight countries; it is written by professional journalists and sold by homeless individuals. It was founded by John Bird and Gordon Roddick in September 1991...

's "Peace Not War" CD. Her song "Good World" is among several that she has written and performed on environmental subjects. However, much of her work is not political, focusing instead on personal freedom, love, inner peace and the natural world. Songs such as "Simple" on Ropeswing, "By the Lake" on Mouse Tales, and "Firefly" on Bimbling are examples of these.

Her album "Of Milkmaids and Architects" was released in late 2006. She was nominated for "Best New Act" in the 2007 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards

The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards celebrate outstanding achievement during the previous year within the field of folk music. The awards have been given annually since 2000 by British radio station BBC Radio 2....

 contest.

Throughout her career she has played regularly throughout Britain, ranging from unaccompanied solo gigs to larger concerts with up to 6-piece backing band The Woods. She also toured Australia in spring 2008. Following a maternity break she resumed playing live in April 2009, appearing on the fourth Zero7 studio album Yeah Ghost

Yeah Ghost

Yeah Ghost is the fourth studio album by Zero 7, released in September 2009. The album features vocals by Eska Mtungwazi , Martha Tilston , Binki Shapiro , Rowdy Superstar , and Binns himself Yeah Ghost is the fourth studio album by Zero 7, released in September 2009. The album features vocals by...

.

Her third solo album Lucy and the Wolves was released in April 2010.

Albums

• 2000 Mouse: Helicopter Trees (with Nick Marshall)
• 2001 Mouse: Mouse Tales (with Nick Marshall)
• 2003 Rolling
• 2005 Bimbling
• 2006 Ropeswing (credited to Martha Tilston and The Woods)
• 2007 Of Milkmaids and Architects
• 2008 Till I Reach the Sea (compilation EP)
• 2010 Lucy and the Wolves

External links

• Official Martha Tilston website
• Official Wupadupa Music Collective website
• Squiggly Records website
• Small World Solar Stage website
• Biography from Pond Life Studios, which distributes Ropeswing
• Biography from Woven Wheat Whispers, which distributes Ropeswing
• Nominees for 2007 BBC 2 Folk Awards
• Myspace site for Martha's Australian label, THINK

Sources

• [ Biography by Colin Irwin at Allmusic.com]
• Review from The Argus
• Peter Culshaw, Martha Tilston: The folk singer who's come in from the cold, The Guardian, 21 January 2007. Accessed 18 February 2008.
• Review of Of Milkmaids and Architects by David Kidman
• Review from BBC Norfolk
• Short Interview from Friends of the Earth
• Interview with Colin Irwin of fRoots Magazine (subscription) No. 297, March 2008
• Martha Tilston on Folk Radio UK
• (Artist's newsletter, January 6, 2010)