Martyyna‘s debut album, ‘Written In The Scars,’ cleverly subverts the cliché that our destiny is dictated by the stars. Instead, it explores the idea that our life stories are shaped by the emotional scars we carry and how we come to terms with them.

Looking for such confidence, Martyyna intertwines reverberating clock chimes with her hazy vocals submerged in sampled water droplets, owl calls, or birdsongs – only to repeat a hopeful wish: “This time… don’t make me cry.” 

Past feelings of anger and misery melt into a complex and stuttering production, her deepened vocals intertwine with jittering synth arrangements, slowly rising in pitch and gaining courage. Distant, muffled echoes are trying to break free, regressed traumas are coming to the surface, demanding attention. After a process of healing, overcoming and getting lost in a dream, the album ends with light, calming duets – two voices finding harmony at last, extending a euphoric invitation. An invitation to breathe in. To rest. To finally not be scared of one’s own self.

On “Written In The Scars”, Martyyna delves deeper into her work with vocals, first introduced on her EP AWAKEN, and perfects her layering of textures, tonal shifts, gradation of rhythms and deconstruction of string instruments. Rather than awaking, however, she’s now plunging into more atmospheric dreamscapes. Crafted with both chaos and care, Martyyna’s tracks are made of diverse building blocks reflecting her mood shifts and despairs as well as her meticulous craftswomanship gained working as an architect. Only here, forming physical structures in her waking life is interchanged with sonic worldbuilding of her dreams.

Martyyna is a producer & DJ born and based in Prague, co-founder of the multimedia KSK club nights, the Illegal Taipei architecture research hub, and a resident DJ of Fuchs2. Her EP AWAKEN, utilizing and dissecting traditional Asian instruments such as guzheng and erhu, saw the light in 2020 on the local BCAA system label and was considered among the top Czech records of that year by the Wire magazine. Martyyna is deeply rooted in the electronic scene, as evidenced by her collaborations with the Kenyan producer Slikback, tracks on Eco Futurism Corporation and UNIZONE labels, or remixes for jjjacob (ANBA) and Ethno Service (UNIZONE).”

Igor Lorok, Siberian-born and Prague-based visual artist and graphic designer, collaborates closely with Martyyna as part of the KSK multimedia club night. Their partnership began through a strong personal connection, resulting in the artwork for Martyyna’s debut EP, “Awaken.” Their collaboration continues with Igor taking the role of art director and overseeing the entire visual aspect of Martyyna’s debut album, “Written In The Scars.” Igor is deeply rooted in the music industry, being part of the pop and underground scene, boasting commissions for artists like Namasenda (PC Music), Lil Texas, Parv0, Know V.A. Foxes and many more.