Monday, May 12, 2025

“My dad says it’s too confusing,” jokes Isaac Martinez of “Cedar Road” video featuring family photos. “10 Country Songs” album is out now.

Songwriter’s standalone single “Falling Backwards” is also streaming now. New “Play Me” EP from Martinez’s trio True Fiction drops June 12.

 

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Isaac Martinez as photographed by Johnny Singels


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PLAY, POST & SHARE


Isaac Martinez | “Falling Backwards” (feat. bitsutra)



[LISTEN]: https://song.link/us/i/1797900224

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“I wrote ‘Falling Backwards’ in 2019, nearly fully formed all in one night when I was living at my parents house in Los Angeles and feeling particularly lonely,” Isaac Martinez confides.

“I practiced the guitar part for hours. In the midst of playing it over and over I didn’t realize that my sister was listening at the top of the stairs and was crying over the lyrics. She had just had a child at the time with her now-husband, and his mother wouldn’t let them see each other much since they were both still in high school.

“Later, after I moved to Colorado Springs, the song became one of the favorite demos I made with Logan Snowden aka bitsutra, my bandmate in True Fiction. He pretty quickly wrote a verse and added percussion to the track. His vocals on the finished song are the original demo recordings done in our Colorado Springs studio.”

“Falling Backwards” (feat. bitsutra) by Isaac Martinez is out now. An alternate mix of the song appears on the upcoming three-song EP “Play Me” by True Fiction, out June 12th. Martinez’s full-length album 10 Country Songs, featuring the single and video “Cedar Road” is also available now. Scroll down for more info.

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Isaac Martinez | “Cedar Road”

“Deeply personal… Martinez’s vocals are subdued and layered for powerful effect.” Glide

“Captivating. Slowly envelops you in a graceful, evocative embrace.” Tonic Grain



[WATCH]: https://youtu.be/81NFnJam8YE

[LISTEN]: https://album.link/us/i/1810265501

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“I wrote ‘Cedar Road’ when I was 15” explains Isaac Martinez of the latest single and video from 10 Country Songs, his first widely available album issued under his “government name.” See the “Cedar Road” video now courtesy of Glide Magazine.

“My therapist asked me to write about the pain of missing family, and it captures a specific moment of my youth,” says Isaac Martinez of “Cedar Road,” the current single from his 10 Country Songs full-length, out now. “I tried to make the video like a tour of my family life. I don’t have as many pictures as I thought, but there were enough. I grew up as a rated chess player.

This was my mom’s influence. She is a best-selling chess author, so chess was a big part of my childhood. But then music entered the picture, and you see me playing violin in the youth symphony, growing up, meeting my wife, Zoe, and childhood pictures of her and our son. My dad said this video is too confusing, which is an odd thing to say since he knows everyone in the pictures!”

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Isaac Martinez
10 Country Songs
Out Now
(*! Records)


 Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP
  
+++
 
Track Listing:
 
01. No One Wants to Drink Alone
02. Time Passes (VIDEO)
03. Killer
04. Infinite Water Glitch (LISTEN)
05. Whiskey
06. Lily White Dove
07. People Problems
08. Cedar Road (WATCH)
09. Poppy
10. One 


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Isaac Martinez | About


“I’m working to become a better person for my wife and son. Music is the major side quest, you know?”

Denver-based musician Isaac Martinez is the man behind this candid remark. It is a compelling truth about the reality of life for any successful father who is also a songwriter seeking success.

Summing up Martinez’s ceaselessly creative and complicated career is nearly impossible. He began composing songs at the age of 11, appropriated the guitar his father had bought for his sister soon after, and was studying the instrument in a conservatory by high school.

Martinez is prolific to the point of confusion, and his tendency to obsessively work on material for years in a multitude of genres, then release it, and then mysteriously wipe it from the internet, is part of his artistic charm.

Regardless, some tunes are too important not to last.

For the first time, following years of operating under aliases, more than a dozen DIY releases since 2016 alone, and a detour to Los Angeles that spawned a Brockhampton and Beatles-inspired band that had just enough momentum after four years to justify an implosion, Martinez has finally released the work he is most proud of.

He should be.

10 Country Songs is the first record that Martinez feels worthy of being dropped everywhere under what he refers to as his “government” name. The album was produced by Martinez alongside the A-list assistance of engineers Andy Flebbe (Green Day) and Grammy®-winner Jerry Ordonez (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee).

True to Martinez’s eclectic nature, the album’s title is a tiny red herring as the record isn’t even necessarily ten country songs.

It is an amalgam of the unsorted and ubiquitous intellectual and emotional influences on Martinez (including those of his wife, son, and relationship with God) and his just-as-many musical ones. It represents what matters most to Martinez, i.e., not “side quests.”

Your eyes might glaze over while listening to Martinez gush about influences on his sound as disparate as Shoegaze, Garage Rock, IDM, Alternative, Americana, Math Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop, and, yes, Country. It’s a lot to take in. Better to have your eyes water while listening to Martinez’s music. It’s also a lot to take in but in the best way.

“How much can I tell you to show you I love you? Anything I could say! How much could I give to you to show you I meant it? Anything God could make!,” Martinez sings on one of the album’s stellar standout tracks “Infinite Water Glitch”.

The song would ring true as a tear-jerking love tune on its face, but when taken with Martinez’s previously stated family priorities, his commitment to his instrument, and the acknowledgment of faith that led it to your ears, this composition becomes world-class.

“I believe musical ability is a God-given gift granted generously amongst the people,” he explains. “It is like a soup of truths that overtakes an entire sense.”

Martinez’s wife Zoe offers some truth soup, too. Without her insistence, what turns out to be one of Martinez’s signature songs may not have even been made.

“I was playing ‘Time Passes’ at open mics while Zoe was pregnant with our first child. She wanted a recording that sounded as good as it did live.”

This request led Martinez to the studio. The results are glorious. The warm atmosphere created by the song’s heavenly piano touches, combined with Martinez’s close-miked vocal and underpinned by an insistent snare propelling his overdubbed harmonies, is absolutely haunting.

“And time passes on your favorite music, 100 years from now, will they be singing the songs your parents sang or will they even remember how?”

With this tune, Martinez is giving his “major side quest” a significant chance at success.10 Country Songs by Isaac Martinez is streaming everywhere now.

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Isaac Martinez | Links


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Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

Friday, May 2, 2025

Isaac Martinez is #1 Most Added on college radio folk chart with “10 Country Songs,” his first full-length using his “government” name.

Album co-produced with Grammy®-winner Jerry Ordonez (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee); See “Cedar Road” video (written when he was 15)  now.

 

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Isaac Martinez as photographed by Johnny Singels

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PLAY, POST & SHARE


Isaac Martinez | “Cedar Road”



[WATCH]: https://youtu.be/81NFnJam8YE

[LISTEN]: https://album.link/us/i/1810265501

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See the premiere of the “Cedar Road” video by Isaac Martinez now at Glide Magazine here.

“Feels deeply personal yet also carries themes that resonate… Martinez’s vocals are subdued and layered for powerful effect, lending themselves to the emotional power of the lyrics.”

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“I wrote ‘Cedar Road’ when I was 15” explains Isaac Martinez of the latest single and video from Ten Country Songs, his first widely available album issued under his “government name.” See the “Cedar Road” video now courtesy of Glide Magazine.

“My therapist asked me to write about the pain of missing family, and it captures a specific moment of my youth. I tried to make the video like a tour of my family life. I don’t have as many pictures as I thought, but there were enough. I grew up as a rated chess player. This was my mom’s influence. She is a best-selling chess author, so chess was a big part of my childhood. But then music entered the picture, and you see me playing violin in the youth symphony, growing up, meeting my wife, Zoe, and childhood pictures of her and our son. My Dad said this video is too confusing, which is an odd thing to say since he knows everyone in the pictures!”

+++

Isaac Martinez
10 Country Songs
Out Now
(*! Records)


 Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP
  
+++
 
Track Listing:
 
01. No One Wants to Drink Alone
02. Time Passes (VIDEO)
03. Killer
04. Infinite Water Glitch (LISTEN)
05. Whiskey
06. Lily White Dove
07. People Problems
08. Cedar Road (WATCH)
09. Poppy
10. One 


+++


PLAY, POST & SHARE 

Isaac Martinez | “Time Passes”


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“And time passes on your favorite music / 100 years from now / will they be singing the songs your parents sang or will they even remember how?”

 Isaac Martinez, “Time Passes”

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 “I was playing ‘Time Passes’ at open mics while my wife Zoe was pregnant with our first child,” Isaac Martinez explains. “She wanted a recording that sounded as good as it did live.”

 This request led Martinez to the studio. The results are glorious. The warm atmosphere created by the song’s heavenly piano touches, combined with Martinez’s close-miked vocal and underpinned by an insistent snare propelling his overdubbed harmonies, is absolutely haunting.

 
+++

Isaac Martinez | About


“I’m working to become a better person for my wife and son. Music is the major side quest, you know?”

Denver-based musician Isaac Martinez is the man behind this candid remark. It is a compelling truth about the reality of life for any successful father who is also a songwriter seeking success.

Summing up Martinez’s ceaselessly creative and complicated career is nearly impossible. He began composing songs at the age of 11, appropriated the guitar his father had bought for his sister soon after, and was studying the instrument in a conservatory by high school.

Martinez is prolific to the point of confusion, and his tendency to obsessively work on material for years in a multitude of genres, then release it, and then mysteriously wipe it from the internet, is part of his artistic charm.

Regardless, some tunes are too important not to last.

For the first time, following years of operating under aliases, more than a dozen DIY releases since 2016 alone, and a detour to Los Angeles that spawned a Brockhampton and Beatles-inspired band that had just enough momentum after four years to justify an implosion, Martinez has finally released the work he is most proud of.

He should be.

10 Country Songs is the first record that Martinez feels worthy of being dropped everywhere under what he refers to as his “government” name. The album was produced by Martinez alongside the A-list assistance of engineers Andy Flebbe (Green Day) and Grammy®-winner Jerry Ordonez (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee).

True to Martinez’s eclectic nature, the album’s title is a tiny red herring as the record isn’t even necessarily ten country songs.

It is an amalgam of the unsorted and ubiquitous intellectual and emotional influences on Martinez (including those of his wife, son, and relationship with God) and his just-as-many musical ones. It represents what matters most to Martinez, i.e., not “side quests.”

Your eyes might glaze over while listening to Martinez gush about influences on his sound as disparate as Shoegaze, Garage Rock, IDM, Alternative, Americana, Math Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop, and, yes, Country. It’s a lot to take in. Better to have your eyes water while listening to Martinez’s music. It’s also a lot to take in but in the best way.

“How much can I tell you to show you I love you? Anything I could say! How much could I give to you to show you I meant it? Anything God could make!,” Martinez sings on one of the album’s stellar standout tracks “Infinite Water Glitch”.

The song would ring true as a tear-jerking love tune on its face, but when taken with Martinez’s previously stated family priorities, his commitment to his instrument, and the acknowledgment of faith that led it to your ears, this composition becomes world-class.

“I believe musical ability is a God-given gift granted generously amongst the people,” he explains. “It is like a soup of truths that overtakes an entire sense.”

Martinez’s wife Zoe offers some truth soup, too. Without her insistence, what turns out to be one of Martinez’s signature songs may not have even been made.

“I was playing ‘Time Passes’ at open mics while Zoe was pregnant with our first child. She wanted a recording that sounded as good as it did live.”

This request led Martinez to the studio. The results are glorious. The warm atmosphere created by the song’s heavenly piano touches, combined with Martinez’s close-miked vocal and underpinned by an insistent snare propelling his overdubbed harmonies, is absolutely haunting.

“And time passes on your favorite music, 100 years from now, will they be singing the songs your parents sang or will they even remember how?”

With this tune, Martinez is giving his “major side quest” a significant chance at success.10 Country Songs by Isaac Martinez is streaming everywhere now.

+++

Isaac Martinez | Links


+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact

Monday, April 28, 2025

“The chorus gives away my age at the time,” says Isaac Martinez of new single, “Cedar Road,” written when he was just 15.

Track is taken from new “10 Country Songs” album co-produced by Grammy®-winner Jerry Ordonez (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee).


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Isaac Martinez as photographed by Johnny Singels

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PLAY, POST & SHARE


Isaac Martinez | “Cedar Road”



[LISTEN]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ2o_DtsJvk

[LISTEN]: https://album.link/us/i/1810265501

“I wrote ‘Cedar Road’ when I was 15, explains Isaac Martinez of the latest single from 10 Country Songs, out today. “My therapist asked me to write about the pain of missing family. The chorus gives away the age I was at the time. It captures a specific moment of youth, which I kept when I wrote it, but still hasn’t ever made any sense to me. I’ve always liked these puzzle box lines that nowadays AI could never figure out.”

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Isaac Martinez lands the #1 Most Added album on the NACC Folk chart at college radio with “10 Country Songs.”

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Isaac Martinez
10 Country Songs
Out Now
(*! Records)


 Streaming Link:

STREAM FULL LP
  
+++
 
Track Listing:
 
01. No One Wants to Drink Alone
02. Time Passes (VIDEO)
03. Killer
04. Infinite Water Glitch (LISTEN)
05. Whiskey
06. Lily White Dove
07. People Problems
08. Cedar Road (LISTEN)
09. Poppy
10. One 


+++


PLAY, POST & SHARE 

Isaac Martinez | “Time Passes”


+++

“And time passes on your favorite music / 100 years from now / will they be singing the songs your parents sang or will they even remember how?”

 Isaac Martinez, “Time Passes”

 +++

 “I was playing ‘Time Passes’ at open mics while my wife Zoe was pregnant with our first child,” Isaac Martinez explains. “She wanted a recording that sounded as good as it did live.”

 This request led Martinez to the studio. The results are glorious. The warm atmosphere created by the song’s heavenly piano touches, combined with Martinez’s close-miked vocal and underpinned by an insistent snare propelling his overdubbed harmonies, is absolutely haunting.

 
+++

Isaac Martinez | About


“I’m working to become a better person for my wife and son. Music is the major side quest, you know?”

Denver-based musician Isaac Martinez is the man behind this candid remark. It is a compelling truth about the reality of life for any successful father who is also a songwriter seeking success.

Summing up Martinez’s ceaselessly creative and complicated career is nearly impossible. He began composing songs at the age of 11, appropriated the guitar his father had bought for his sister soon after, and was studying the instrument in a conservatory by high school.

Martinez is prolific to the point of confusion, and his tendency to obsessively work on material for years in a multitude of genres, then release it, and then mysteriously wipe it from the internet, is part of his artistic charm.

Regardless, some tunes are too important not to last.

For the first time, following years of operating under aliases, more than a dozen DIY releases since 2016 alone, and a detour to Los Angeles that spawned a Brockhampton and Beatles-inspired band that had just enough momentum after four years to justify an implosion, Martinez has finally released the work he is most proud of.

He should be.

10 Country Songs is the first record that Martinez feels worthy of being dropped everywhere under what he refers to as his “government” name. The album was produced by Martinez alongside the A-list assistance of engineers Andy Flebbe (Green Day) and Grammy®-winner Jerry Ordonez (Bon Iver, Waxahatchee).

True to Martinez’s eclectic nature, the album’s title is a tiny red herring as the record isn’t even necessarily ten country songs.

It is an amalgam of the unsorted and ubiquitous intellectual and emotional influences on Martinez (including those of his wife, son, and relationship with God) and his just-as-many musical ones. It represents what matters most to Martinez, i.e., not “side quests.”

Your eyes might glaze over while listening to Martinez gush about influences on his sound as disparate as Shoegaze, Garage Rock, IDM, Alternative, Americana, Math Rock, Hip-Hop, Pop, and, yes, Country. It’s a lot to take in. Better to have your eyes water while listening to Martinez’s music. It’s also a lot to take in but in the best way.

“How much can I tell you to show you I love you? Anything I could say! How much could I give to you to show you I meant it? Anything God could make!,” Martinez sings on one of the album’s stellar standout tracks “Infinite Water Glitch”.

The song would ring true as a tear-jerking love tune on its face, but when taken with Martinez’s previously stated family priorities, his commitment to his instrument, and the acknowledgment of faith that led it to your ears, this composition becomes world-class.

“I believe musical ability is a God-given gift granted generously amongst the people,” he explains. “It is like a soup of truths that overtakes an entire sense.”

Martinez’s wife Zoe offers some truth soup, too. Without her insistence, what turns out to be one of Martinez’s signature songs may not have even been made.

“I was playing ‘Time Passes’ at open mics while Zoe was pregnant with our first child. She wanted a recording that sounded as good as it did live.”

This request led Martinez to the studio. The results are glorious. The warm atmosphere created by the song’s heavenly piano touches, combined with Martinez’s close-miked vocal and underpinned by an insistent snare propelling his overdubbed harmonies, is absolutely haunting.

“And time passes on your favorite music, 100 years from now, will they be singing the songs your parents sang or will they even remember how?”

With this tune, Martinez is giving his “major side quest” a significant chance at success.10 Country Songs by Isaac Martinez is streaming everywhere now.

+++

Isaac Martinez | Links


+++

Josh Bloom at Fanatic Promotion | Contact