Martha Tilston‘s ambitions clearly go beyond music, having shared the news that she has written, directed, and stars in a new film called ‘The Tape’, which will premiere in September.
Martha plays the character Tally, Cornwall’s worst cleaner and a disillusioned songwriter drifting through life. She finds her inspiration renewed at an atmospheric Cornish cliff-top house and records a single analogue copy of her new album. When corporate lawyer Leo is drawn into Tally’s world of music and mythology, the implications ricochet through both their lives, with the tape acting as a talisman, helping those who encounter it to truly come alive.
It wouldn’t surprise me if there was some biographical references in there. Those who follow Martha will not be surprised that the film centres around a secluded Cornish cliff-top coastal home. Martha is often drawn to such locations to perform small intimate gigs. When we premiered the video for Nomad Blood, she told us how she had performed a music show in a cliffside cottage in Cornwall. She would later hold a concert there which was shown as a music film titled the ’Clifftop Sessions’. There are other references, more on below. First, watch the film trailer for The Tape below:
The character Tally lives in a van…and while Martha may be settled now, she was familiar with the nomadic lifestyle when she began performing on the fringe festival scene and travelling all over the UK and Europe. Her gigs were often held around festival campfires, in the woods, or at house concerts. When she filmed the video for Lucy, for her 2010 album ‘Lucy and the Wolves’, she filmed it in a beautiful wagon in the deepest west country.
She released her highly acclaimed album Of Milkmaids and Architects in late 2006 and was nominated for Best New Act in the 2007 BBC Folk Awards. She has maintained a strong and loyal following of fans since.
According to the film company Sparky Pictures (via Twitter), the film will be in UK cinemas on 24th Sept, with Q&A previews on various dates prior (Soho, Lewes, Nottingham, Exeter, Plymouth, Hedley Bridge and Inverness).
Follow Martha Tilston’s Facebook page and Sparky Pictures for more updates.