Martin Høybye’s songs largely fall into the category of confessional songwriting, conveying authentic thoughts and feelings of a ‘life lived and lessons learned.’ The songsmith’s style has previously been described as that of Michael Stype meets Springsteen, and to the attentive listener the music of Tracy Chapman, Edie Brickell, and Chris Stapleton will likely also come to mind.
Martin Høybye’s recording career spans some 25 years during which he has released his own albums as well as contributed to many recordings by other artists internationally.
His songwriting tends to revolve around social and existential issues, and recurring themes are community, time, interhuman connection, and identity in a seemingly disjointed world.
Since 2007 Martin Hoybye has co-directed ‘Songcrafter Music,’ which supports new songwriting talent as well as some seasoned songwriters. He has a background in journalism, social work and heritage studies, and currently works on a “never ending project” that creatively investigates responses to living amidst the fallout of the climate, biodiversity, and care crises.
June 14 2023 he successfully defended a PhD thesis in which he explored personal and collaborative songwriting to engage with questions of going through “Anthropocene moments.”
“Starting in March of 2018 I witnessed effects of climate change in Cape Town, South Africa, after years of drought led to a severe water crisis. I believe it offered a glimpse into what the future may look like in other places. In fact we have seen similar issues unfold in the US, India and Spain,” he says.
“I see the climate, biodiversity, and care crises as interconnected. And I feel compelled to go out there and listen and write these songs with people. These are major challenges of our time, and I will continue to write songs about it until there is nothing more to say.”
Along with collaborators in South Africa and the US, Høybye is currently working on a manifesto which builds on his doctoral work. It calls for songwriters to share their practice to change the world “one song at a time.”
“Songwriting is a deeply humanizing activity, it should not only be in the hands of experts. A great many songwriters, like me, have felt carried during dark times by having this craft, and they have been lifted by feeling that a song connected with others. The least we can do is try to share the practice.”
Please find tracks and more info about Martin Høybye’s album releases here: http://martinhøybye.dk/music/