Selina Martin

If you walk long enough, one foot in front of the other, from the city, you?ll end up in the country. The opposite applies as well, of course. From countryside to city. Selina Martin has travelled back and forth so many times she can slip effortlessly from gumboots to heels. Her songs make this same deliberate journey, sometimes tracing a pastoral trail back to traditional folk music and waltzes, and sometimes, with the aid of one of the best bands in the city, they?re as hard edged and tread stained as downtown concrete. It?s like a folk pop punk cabaret, but smart.

Her songs make this same deliberate journey, sometimes tracing a pastoral trail back to traditional folk music and waltzes, and sometimes, with the aid of one of the best bands in the city, they?re as hard edged and tread stained as downtown concrete. It?s like a folk pop punk cabaret, but smart.

The four years spent on the road as opening act and accompanist to Bob Wiseman were integral in sharpening her skills as a player and performer. She toured all over North America and parts of Europe exchanging guitar for accordion, theremin, organ, musical saw, wine glasses and, of course, vocals.

Since the release of her critically acclaimed debut CD 'Space Woman', she?s been working on her 2nd. Co-produced by Michael Phillip Wojewoda and Annelise Noronha it?s titled 'Life Drawing Without Instruction' and features hugely talented band members Leo Valvassori, Rob Carson, Dave Clark and co-producer Noronha. Guest players include Martin Tielli (also constructing beautiful artwork), N.Q. Arbuckle, Wojewoda, Greg Smith, members of Wayne Omaha, and an instrumental track featuring the junkyard jazz band St. Dirt Elementary School.

This ain't no ordinary album. It?s like a pilgrimage from wide open fields to crowded streets with a million questions in your mind. It?s a fighting arena for the forces that are country and city, order and chaos, and a battleground for the grinning catastrophe that is the human being.

Selina lives in Toronto and has toured extensively across Canada from Windsor to Wakefield to Winnipeg and all the way west to Victoria. She has been featured on the CBC radio programs ?Radio Sonic?, ?Bandwidth?, and ?Sunday Morning?, and has been invited to open shows or share the stage, sometimes many times over, by The Rheostatics, Oh Susannah, Martin Tielli, Bob Snider, Veda Hille, Bob Wiseman, Ani diFranco, Kathleen Edwards, and Mia Sheard, to name a few.

Selina Martin is passionate and candid, bestowed with a hunger for lyrics, a striking ear for melody, a gigantic stage presence, and an unforgettable voice.