Martin, Eric Stephen/Paper Chains [LP]

Paper Chains is a collection of ten songs by Eric Stephen Martin. The album, produced by JUNO award winner Joel Plaskett, sits somewhere alongside the singer-songwriter rock’n’roll of Elvis Costello with hints of Billy Bragg, while the visuals and card deck remind one of Brian Eno’s creatively suggestive project Oblique Strategies. The relation between the music and the art is evident, which lyrical references within the songs repeating throughout the recording as well as showing up in the ideas and words on the cards. Themes being reused and recycled, much like a collage, a paper chain. 

In recent years Eric has opened tour dates for The Joel Plaskett Emergency, JUNO nominated duo Mama’s Broke, as well as playing countless shows touring across Canada. His 2021 album, Dreamlike, which features performances by Plaskett, Mo Kenney, and Bill Stevenson, was nominated for Roots Recording of the Year at the Nova Scotia Music Awards. In 2022 he released the alt-country inspired single ‘Can’t You Hear Me Sigh…’ which was supported by a 35 show tour with dates in Ontario, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 

Still residing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Eric splits his time touring around Canada, creating visual art, and doing graphic design for artists in the Maritime provinces. His visual arts have been featured in the releases of JUNO award winner Garrett Mason; “River Of Shame” (7" Vinyl, 2020), Blue Lobelia; “Songs And Ballads From The Helen Creighton Collection” (Songbook, 2021), Thomas Stajcer; “Midwestern States” (12" Vinyl, 2021), and others.