Martin Lloyd Howard is a composer and guitarist from Reigate, England, whose music bridges classical training and a much wider world of folk, blues, and rock. His influences stretch across centuries, from Elizabethan lutenist John Dowland and classical guitarist Julian Bream to folk virtuosos Davey Graham and Martin Simpson, and even the acoustic playing of rock guitarists Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore. The result is a voice that’s hard to file under one label, one where the way a piece is played matters as much as the notes on the page. His new single, “Surrey Bells,” released September 21st, is part of an ongoing series of compositions meant to conjure landscapes, images, and moods, following recent instrumental releases like “Highland Mist” and “Hidden Andalucia.”
Surrey Bells
“Surrey Bells” is an original piece for two guitars, written to capture church bells ringing across the English countryside in the county where Howard lives. He had a specific picture in mind: two sets of bells trading phrases back and forth across a rural valley on a bright winter morning. That image drove the whole arrangement. The piece is played entirely in DADGAD tuning, whose open, droning character suits the ringing, resonant sound he was after, and one of the two guitar parts is treated to sound distant and echoey, like bells heard from the far side of the valley.
Howard recorded everything at home, overdubbing separate parts on his Tanglewood steel-string guitar. He had originally planned to play the second part on his fifty-year-old classical guitar in standard tuning, but ended up returning to the DADGAD-tuned Tanglewood, and the decision paid off, since both voices share the same tuning and blend into one resonant space. The two-guitar idea is the heart of the piece. One part is more dominant than the other, but it’s the interplay between them that creates the depth and space that lets the music truly ring out. The writing and playing feel fluid and organic rather than rigid or precise, which is just how Howard describes his approach to the classical tradition, and the result is meditative yet moving, turning texture into a real sense of place.
Final Thoughts
“Surrey Bells” is a gentle, atmospheric instrumental that proves a couple of guitars and a strong mental picture can be enough to build a whole landscape. It’s available now on major streaming platforms.
What did you think of “Surrey Bells”? Stay tuned to MusicOnTheRox.com for all your music news and reviews.
For a new way to discover music, check out app.musicontherox.com.
Want a review like this?
Send us your release and our editorial team listens to every one. Every submission is also considered for the Music On The Rox Spotify playlist, at no extra cost.
