Martin Terefe's debut album The Involuntary Gardener is out today on all streaming and digital platforms as well as the website-exclusive deluxe red vinyl with lyric art book.

“It's so crazy beautiful. I love it. Really fucking dark in places. Full of hope in others.” - Jonas Bjerre, MEW

“Melodious, playful and sometimes mysterious, it’s a generous listen, executed with the simplicity and confidence of a master.” – Jamie Woon

“…the man can write a great song! All the tracks on this record are full of imaginative production, but it’s the lyrics that really stand out and make it such a thought provoking and heartfelt experience.” – Ron Sexsmith

The Involuntary Gardener is the debut album from London-based, Swedish-born Martin Terefe, acclaimed producer, songwriter and musician, founder of Kensaltown Recording Studios, London, and integral part of art collective Apparatijik. For 25 years, Terefe has produced Grammy, Brit and Juno award-winning albums, and worked with artists as diverse as Jason Mraz, Mary J Blige, Cat Stevens, Luis Fonsi and KT Tunstall. He has most recently produced and arranged the music for the forthcoming dance production 'Message In A Bottle’, producing new versions of Police and Sting songs in collaboration with acclaimed musical theatre composer and arranger Alex Lacamoire (Hammilton, The Greatest Showman) and Sting himself . The production opens in the Westend on Feb 19th. Martin’s productions of ‘I’m Yours’ (Jason Mraz), ‘Hey Soul Sister’ (Train) and ‘I Took A Pill in Ibiza’ (Mike Posner) are part of American chart history, with Terefe being named one of the top 10 most successful music producers of hit songs on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart (2009).

Whilst helping other artists create award-winning music, Terefe has been silently contemplating a solo artistic venture. After years of procrastinating on a preferred format (be it film, visual art, a book), Terefe began working on what came most naturally to him, a collection of personal songs, the lyrics adapted from poems, notes and ideas jotted down over the years. These evolved into The Involuntary Gardener, an album of 11 intimate and atmospheric songs that Terefe describes as “observations, reflection and stories from my life. About love and loss; hope, dreams, fear and frustration.”

The Involuntary Gardener feels instantly both classic and modern, with a bittersweet melancholy that moves through light and the shadows, sometimes simultaneously. The album’s opener ‘Some Advice for the Kids’ recalls the glitchy melancholy of ‘In Rainbows’ era Radiohead and the down-tempo electronica of James Blake, coupled with a subtle orchestra sound and a deep soulfulness - one that runs through the veins of the entire record.

Light comes in the touches of Terefe’s pop work on the sultry ‘Learning Logic’, with its dark and subtle R’n’B infusion. Other tracks take on a more ageless and classic feel, like ‘Monday’ which offers the languorous late-night smoky melancholy of The Velvet Underground. Whilst the soulful ‘Hey There Sunshine’; the stripped back ‘The Best That We Can’; and the acoustically plucked guitar and raw introspection of ‘The Weight Of It All’ all offer up different shades of timeless balladry - with a song-writing craft and vocal yearning that at times recalls Elvis Costello at his heartbroken best.

The often downtempo, atmospheric, and intimate feel of The Involuntary Gardener is brought to an emotional peak on the forlorn piano melody of the album’s title track with its heart rendering lyrics, and the more reflective ‘Missing You’. Then there’s the hidden gem of ‘Breaking’, the calm before the storm and then the storm itself, a beautifully crafted song, layered exquisitely so its piano-led crescendo rises in perfect synchronicity with the song’s lyrical turmoil.

The Involuntary Gardener is a beautifully crafted album in every sense. Accomplished, timeless and deeply moving.

Martin Terefe wrote, recorded and produced The Involuntary Gardener, laid down all the vocals and played every instrument featured on the album. It was recorded in pieces between other projects and in various studios, planes and hotel rooms around the world. The strings were recorded with long-time collaborator David Davidson in Nashville with his quartet The Lovesponge Strings. The song was engineered by Terefe and Oskar Winberg, with Terefe doing the final mix all at Kensaltown Studios, London.