There’s life, there’s death, and then there’s everything in between. Martin Luke Brown turns his attention to the beautiful middle ground on his third solo studio album, life & death etc, set for release via Bright Antenna Records on September 18th. On an album filled with moments of fleeting conversations, hazy nights, emotional collisions, and the small moments that ultimately make up a life, Martin today shares new single, ‘dream state’.
Floating through smoke, memory and imagined escape routes, ‘dream state’ captures the quiet unravelling that happens when running away starts to feel like survival. But beneath its hazy exterior lies something more urgent: the quiet realisation that eventually, you have to come back to yourself. Sonically, we are whisked away on an anthemic indie-soul retreat, with swirling soundscapes, loose grooves, and slacker guitar riffs.
“It’s all about the perils of avoidance!” Martin muses, “It’s about a time where I was literally running away from pain, both physically and mentally. In the context of the album, this song is the moment where the emotional drain begins to unblock, and the fog starts to clear, and it starts to become a big celebration of emotion rather than a turgid wallowing in repression.”
The music video for ‘dream state’ was filmed against the lush backdrop of LA, reflecting the central lyric “somewhere in California wasting away”, as it drifts between green palm trees, fresh beaches and hazy West Coast sunsets. Shot during Martin’s first trip to properly connect with his new label team, the setting became a natural extension of the track’s themes of emotional drift, longing and uncertainty.
Martin’s previous single, ‘back of my mind,’ and first glimpse into the album, sits where warm, country-adjacent tones meet subtle psych textures. Twangy guitar moments, lo-fi vocals, and bluesy trills flourish throughout, yet the track hooks itself like a pop earworm, blending retro charm with a fresh energy.
The new album signals a bold new chapter in Brown’s creative rebirth following his departure from the major label world. Once again, Martin returns to working with childhood best friends and longtime collaborator, Matt Zara (Teddy Swims, Niall Horan, Oliva Dean, Lola Young). Staying true to their partnership, the pair work together with instinct, chemistry and freedom, which is little more than “hanging out, playing music and whatever happens, happens.”
At its core, life & death etc is inspired by music made by people, for people. The songs are intended not simply to impress, but to resonate. “Its service orientated,” Martin says. “I want to make music that serves people in some way.” That emotional honesty pulses through every corner of the record.
The new music sees Martin expand on his signature indie-soul palette into richer and stronger territory, with janky yet tender soundscapes, subtle psych textures and cracked-out country, richly influenced by 60s and 70s classics.
Lyrically, the music lands somewhere between cosmic, hyper existential territory and the everyday mundane. The place where sad meets silly – the person cracking jokes at a funeral. “It feels innately human to seamlessly straddle the line between grief and joy”.
Along with the announcement of life & death etc, Martin will embark on a UK, Ireland & EU tour this autumn. Launching in Utrecht on November 11th and culminating in a homecoming show at London’s Scala on December 2nd. Tickets on sale now here
life & death etc Tracklist:
it’s all gonna be fine !
back of my mind
nonetheless
highest high
aching for everyone
nothing really dies
dream state
still my baby
fully alive
drugs
can i love you now ?
unlearning everything