Martha Da’ro

Photo Credit: Yaqine Hamzaoui

Martha Da’ro’s music is wonderfully vibrant, rhythmic, and unforgivingly experimental. The 25-year-old has never been a stranger to breaking the mold. Since her streaming debut in 2018, Martha has continuously pushed the boundaries of indie pop and hip-hop music. “Summer Blues”, a song that puts her genre-bending ability on full display, is her most popular song to date with over one million Spotify streams. Cheap Wine & Paris, her debut EP, garnered significant traction and features her most unique sound yet. Martha’s musical efforts have paid off as of late; nearly 40 thousand monthly listeners and a growing fanbase speak volumes on how her individuality connects with her fanbase. We recently spoke to Martha about her favorite artists, musical style, and more! 

How did you start making music?

First I started writing for myself in my room. The moment I felt like sharing my stories and emotions, I decided to go to cafés and do Slam Poetry. Around 2014, my best friend was in a Hip hop collective called Soul’art and one day I joined them in the studio. It was a tiny studio in the youth centre nearby where I lived. They were recording and struggling with a chorus, I had already written one but in my head it was for one of them to use. But they were like “why son’t you don’t it?”. So I went and recorded for the first time, the song was called “Ride your Soul”. One week later I was a member of Soul’art. In the summer of 2018 I decided to go for my solo career.

Describe your musical style in three words.

Free.Story.Telling.

Who are some of your favorite musicians of all time? 

Bonga (an Angolese singer whose voice is so powerful, from the first note he just hits your soul)

Joao Gilberto (a Brazilian singer, his voice does the opposite, it caresses your soul)

Who is a dream collab of yours?

Living in the same era as Basquiat and working on an artistic project with music, visuals, fashion, etc.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your songs?

Life.

What advice would you give to someone trying to make it as a musician?

What’s “making it” if you don’t do it genuinely and you don’t trust your talent and hard work. 

Any plans for the future?

Following the advice I just gave haha.