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Jan-Pieter Martens is some kind of creative octopus. Most people will know him as a former Football Player for a.o.Sturm Graz in Austria, Roda JC in Holland and KV Mechelen in Belgium, but actually he always was occupied doing other stuff as well: nowadays he is a Belgium-based Singer-Songwriter, a sports-columnist for Het Belang Van Limburg, journalist for Belgacom TV, football analyst for Studio1, concert organizer-promoter for Platoo, active Footvolley-Player for the Austrian national Team, President of Futsal-Austria etc...JPM is performing solo-concerts as well as band-concerts. After making music for nearly 15 years, now he is working on his next album. Also, after being an active sportsman for several years, he decided to change points of view and started writing columns for Het Belang Van Limburg.Most of you might know him only as a football player but in the meanwhile he is all day making music, recording it, observing football and writing about it or playing Footvolley.... JPM is finishing most of the songs for his new album with Producer/Songwriter Chuck Lemonds, one of his austro-american music friends!! As soon as some songs are ready they 'll appear here. Make sure to subscribe to his Newsletter to become latest News!JPM appears on the Austrian sampler "1967" with a coverversion of Jacques Brels "La Chanson des vieux amants".
Also check the songwriter platform Platoo which he initiated in june 2003 in Styria, Austria. There are concerts all over the year and there is the novemberly Songwriter festival Autumn Leaves. Check the Links!
Discography: ARTcoustic (1999)/ Epique (2000)/ Intimate (2002/only online) Mirrorface (2003) /PlatooSampler03 (2004) / AUTscream Vol.2 (2004) / PlatooSampler04(2005) / 1967 (2006) / Live@Chuck`s (2006/only online)
KV Mechelen (Bel) 1994-1996Roda JC Kerkrade (Nl) 1996-1997SK Sturm Graz (A/1) 1997-2003TUS Arnfels (A/3) 2003-2004SC Untersiebenbrunn (A/2) 2004-2005withdrew from active playing in summer 2005President of Futsal Austria since Mai 20061/2 of the Austrian National Team Footvolley since April 2007Titles: Austria 1998 + 1999Cups: Holland 1997 + Austria 1999Supercups: Austria 1998 + 1999UEFA-Cup appearances with Roda JC Kerkrade and SK Sturm Graz (1996, 1997, 1999)Champions League appearances with SK Sturm Graz (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
Currently working on his next Album "Campfire Birds""Live@Chuck`s" / Live-EP 2006 @Platoo Records"1967" with a coverversion of Jacques Brels "La chanson des vieux amants" / Sampler 2006 @Pumpkin Records"PlatooSampler04" with the song "Georgy Boy" / Live-Sampler 2005 @Platoo Records"Mirrorface" / EP 2003 @Platoo Records"Intimate" / EP 2002 only online"Epique" / Double Album 2000"Shining like a butterfly" / EP 1999Solo-concerts in Austria, Germany, England, Belgium.Band-concerts in Austria and Belgium.
JPM performs solo or with his band:Jan-Pieter Martens: Vocals, Piano, GuitarDavid Bell: BassJörg Haberl: Drums, VocalsIf you 're lucky, you might be able to hear some songs covered of other bands. For example: Mr. Jones-Counting Crows; Disarm-Smashing Pumpkins; Street spirit-Radiohead; Don’t dream it’s over-Crowded House; The cross-Prince; Lightning crashes-Live; Jeremy-Pearl Jam; Fake plastic trees-Radiohead; Karma police-Radiohead; One-U2; Losing my religion-R.E.M.; Spirits in the material world-The Police; Into my arms-Nick Cave; Why should I cry for you-Sting; La chanson des vieux amants-Jacques Brel; The blower’s daughter-Damien Rice; I need love-LL Cool J (Luka Bloom); The one-Luka Bloom; Seven days-Sting
Jan-Pieter Martens is a belgian soccerplayer.Jan-Pieter Martens is a very active musician living in Austria.About both we should discuss.After a successful career of 12 years on the green he has meanwhile completely comitted himself to music. In 2003, he also initiated Platoo, a platform for songwriters in Graz. (www.platoo.at).He refounded his band last winter with drummer Jörg Haberl and bassplayer David Bell. Trio instead of the classical quartett, which means that there is even more space for the song itself! He would describe his sound as follows: ‚I see myself on the intersection of mainstream and alternative, pop and indie. Put Jack Johnson, Beck and Moby in a studio, let them work on a song by Nick Cave and have Tracy Chapman sing it, that’ll give you an idea. It’s all about the message’s authenticity.’ The content’s emphasis are microcosms on a personal level.Born into a belgian family of artists he learned to take a sociocritical point of view at an early age, started writing songs at the age of 17, had his own band with 18 and has released three albums so far. (Sharp tongues would assert that it is a kinda miracle that JPM was a football player for such a long period..)Anyway, JPM likes the audience real close and that’s how he delivers a little of his hunger for miracles to you and all of us, live and on the new record!
JPM moved to Austria in december 1997 and here a new chapter is to be read in his musical book of life: On day 1 he got in touch with Bernie Mallinger, an Austrian jazzy cross-over violonist, who turned to a great well of inspiration for the following years. Some first Duo-gigs followed, but JPM needed more. That 's when Ismael Barrios showed up and already at the end of 1998 (parallel to JPM's first Champions League appearances) they decided to do some shows together, as well as to record an EP during spring 1999.Ivanila Lultcheva, a Bulgarian classical cellist and Reinhold Kogler, an Austrian allround guitarist joined the recordings, JPM became a local heroe by making some decisive goals for Sturm Graz as they turned to be the Austrian Champion 1999. That was spring 1999! Some of his collegues as there were Prilasnig, Vastic, Popovic, Schopp, Mählich etc. were spotted at his concerts.Parallel with great success in football, a first version of Shining like a butterfly was recorded and more five tracks followed to result in the first EP "ARTcoustic". That was the moment that JPM got to know David Bell, a Welsh bassist, who appeared to play on "End of the century", now played as "Turn of the century". David is still playing in JPM's Trio Bandformation.New elements filtered through and in august 1999 Christian Pischel joined the band on drums. The music became more groovy and old grunge influences entered Jan-Pieters music.Martin Harms, a saxophonist/clarinettist from Munich (D) enriched the band in spring 2000.Winter again, new songs, new talks, new persons, new ideas and the start of a recording year 2000.From March until November 2000 a lot of record sessions took place and the New Album Epique was born. A Cooperation with Andreas Fabianek and Ismael Barrios, the live band and more than 25 Guest Musicians ended in a strange Double Album containing 22 Audio Tracks......to be continued!
An old nostalgia to acoustic instruments and thin arrangements came up and leaded to the decision to make a new EP with 4 songs ("Intimate") in the year 2002.Also in this period, JPM stopped a first time playing professional football after a few heavy knee injuries. In fall 2002, JPM started to develope his idea for a styrian singer-songwriter platform. "Platoo" was born and after june 2003, Graz would never be the same again for a lot of Austrian Singer-Songwriter.Nevertheless JPM started to be an active football player again exactly in the same period, in spring 2003 in Arnfels (A3), Southern Styria, with some famous former Sturm Graz collegues Popovic and Kocijan.In december of that same year JPM released the EP "Mirrorface-five lovely piano tracks" and played some concerts with a totally new band: Thomas Mauerhofer on guitar, Christian Wendt on bass and Jörg Haberl on drums. Jörg Haberl still plays in his band at this time. His music received more rock and jazz influences, but it stayed searching for the right mix during the following years.A lot of recording sessions followed in the year 2004 and 2005 (some songs came on Austrian samplers).In december 2005 JPM went to Rio de Janeiro for 8 months and came back with a lot of new songs and new ideas. This turned out to be the base for new recordings, this time mainly with Jörg Haberl and David Bell. Still there is some work to be done, but at least the direction for JPM's music is clearer than ever......to be continued!
