Martin Green

Now best known for his thrash-style accordion playing in the Scottish folk band ’Lau,’ Martin Green has worked with some of the biggest names in British folk including Martin Carthy, Norma Waterson and Kathryn Tickell, not to mention his long-running collaboration with Eliza Carthy. read more...

Born in Sheffield, Martin moved to Cambridge at the age of seven, where he stayed until he moved to Edinburgh in 2005. He began playing the accordion aged ten because it seemed "a lot funnier than the piano." He is married to fellow accordion player Inge Thomson of The Martin Green Machine, Harem Scarem, Drop the Box and Karine Polwart.

His childhood tutor was Bert Santilly. In a recent interview Martin Green credits Santilly for his current mastery of the accordion, calling him ’one of my complete heroes.’

Alongside his work as a performer, Martin Green is actively involved in the world of contemporary music and theatre or performance based commissions. Along with renowned Jazz trumpeter Colin Steele, Martin co-wrote the original score for the theatre production of ’The Little World of Don Camilo’, and in 2004 he was Musical Director for the huge outdoor performance ’Albatross’.

Most recently, Martin has begun The Martin Green Machine. Originally formed as part of a commissioned piece for the 2008 Celtic Connections’ New Voices series, the 9 piece Scottish super-group have continued playing together, releasing their début album ’First Sighting’ in January 2009.