Meet Mitchell Martin.
Mitchell is a Bunbury local who has definitely made a name for himself in the WA music scene! He’s supported some pretty big names (Killing Heidi, Justice Crew, Sheppard and British India) in some pretty cool places (Perth BeerFest, the Illuminate Festival, and Telethon), and already has an album to his name.
We asked Mitchell some hard-hitting questions ahead of his Homegrown set this Sunday.
How did you get started as a musician?
I began my journey as a musician with guitar lessons in Year 8 (2010) during high school. Throughout high school, I became more involved with performing in various bands and ensembles as well as performing as a solo artist. I started performing cover songs professionally at various venues once I turned 15, in a rock band, an acoustic trio, and as a solo act. In Year 12 I began writing my own songs. After graduating from high school, I ended up being hired as a guitar teacher at my high school and did this for two years. Between 2014 and 2016 I wrote and recorded my debut 12-song album ‘Into the Light’ which I released in 2017 straight after moving to Perth to begin studying music at the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe my musical genre as pop with influences of other genres including rock, soul and electronic music. I enjoy writing songs with different styles, so I always find it hard to describe exactly the type of music I create, however it all falls under the category of pop music.
Who is your musical idol? Is there anyone who inspires you or influences your sound?
I have a few musical idols. I really enjoy the music of Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Dean Lewis and Lewis Capaldi, and I would love to have a career like these artists.
If you could invite three musicians to dinner who would they be and what would you serve?
Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes and Dean Lewis. I would probably order in because I am a terrible cook!
What is the one venue/festival/event you would love to perform at and why?
I would actually really love to play on the main stage of the RAC Arena one day. It would be incredible to perform at the arena in my own city – the dream would be to be the headliner.
What are your career highlights so far?
Performing solo in front of 50,000 people at 1/4 time at the first Optus Stadium home game for the Fremantle Dockers and Hit92.9, performing live both solo and with my band on Telethon, and performing on the main stage of the Belmont Festival Finale with my band supporting ‘Sheppard’.
What are your career goals as a musician?
I would love to tour around the world, performing my own songs to people who have come to listen to them.
What advice would you give to other aspiring musicians?
Get really good at your instruments, write lots of songs, record your best ones and release them one at a time until one hits the right spot with listeners and the industry.
If you could be an accomplished musician on any instrument without a single lesson, what instrument would it be?
I would love to be able to play the saxophone, but it isn’t currently on the list of instruments I want to learn, so it would be awesome to be accomplished at it right now!
What is your favourite thing about working in the WA music industry?
It is nice and small which means it isn’t too hard to meet and get to know everyone, so you get to make a lot of friends and meet a lot of people by just performing at shows around the place.
Don’t miss Mitchell Martin on Homegrown, 8pm Sunday 12 July on Facebook, IGTV and YouTube.
