Press
“One of the wild, ecstatic highlights of last year’s new music releases” – Tom Service, BBC Radio 3 New Music Show
“An exhilarating journey of discovery” – John Fallas, Gramophone
“A theatrical tour de force. Contemporary classical with a thrilling edge.” – Mark Kidel, The Arts Desk
“The music rises to a plangent emotional peak.” – Wall Street Journal
“Vertically witty and musically sexy.” – Fiona Maddox, The Observer
“The most moving of these tributes was Zoë Martlew’s mostly electronic O-lude.” – Ivan Hewitt, Daily Telegraph
“The cathartic musical language reflects Martlew’s shift in focus from instrumentalist to composer. Searing… apocalyptic… epic.” – Claire Jackson, BBC Music Magazine
“a pace that nearly set the floor on fire.” – Independent on Sunday
“laugh-out-loud funny piece of musical theatre. Here the vocal, breath and body sounds provide proper silliness” – Anne Templar BBC Music Magazine
“Fittingly, however, all was eclipsed by a ghostly collage put together by Zoë Martlew.” – Fiona Maddox, The Times
“A colourful Faustian mini-drama …the album’s highlight.” – Pwyll ap Siôn, Gramophone
“nuanced, layered vignettes, expertly rendered ” – Musical Opinion
“Martlew drew from her cello a range of industrial sounds, the music as sparkly and impossible to ignore as her glittery top.” – Bernard Hughes, The Arts Desk
“dazzling ” – Clare Stevens, Classical Music Magazine
“Here is a composer who has a unique, and seemingly endless energy.“ – Classical Explorer
“a wild visceral catharsis of shrieks, gasps, scrapes and howls“ – The Strad Magazine
“Martlew’s works have been drip-fed into the light of day; this reveals a voice that needs to be heard. The piece is beautifully constructed and deeply funny.” – Colin Clarke, Seen & Heard International
“G-lude” reflects Martlew-as-force-of-Nature. It includes, also, the most ethereal, harmonic-driven moments of extreme beauty. – Classical Explorer
“Not since Thomas Adès’ Powder Her Face have I heard anything so gleefully tawdry. Fabulous.” – Simon Cummings, 5 Against 4
“Electrifying” – KQED (USA) • “Decidely fun” – Birmingham Post • “I was enchanted.” – Millbrook Independent (USA)