London Irish virtuoso of the button accordion, Andy Martyn grew up among and playing with the best of London-based Irish traditional musicians of his and older generations during the golden era of music in London. He went on to gain renown through collaborations with John Carty, Brendan Mulkere, Alias Ron Kavana, Gino Lupari and London bands Le Cheile and Slip Jigolos among others.
Andy’s distinctive style and mix of music is heavily influenced by his Loughrea, East Galway family roots and the many musicians that he spent his time with.
His 2022 album Will We Give It A Go? represents a landmark recording of Irish music in London and brings to the audience a mix of both his own compositions and his unique interpretation of Irish airs and traditional tunes in collaboration with a cast of renowned musicians: Gerry Diver (Speech Project, Pixie), John Carty (TG4 Tradition Musician of the Year 2003), Gino Lupari (Four Men and a Dog), Matt Griffin, Michael McGoldrick (Michael McGoldrick Band, Usher’s Island), Trevor Hutchinson (Lunasa), Elaine Conwell (The London Lasses), Sinead Egan (The Egan Sisters), Tad Sargent, Kevin Boyle (Le Cheile) and Barney Morse-Brown (Duotone).
“It’s been a rough couple of years with the Covid virus, especially in the music industry, but thanks to London Irishman Andy Martyn there is light at the end of the tunnel. Brilliant accordion player Andy is releasing this wonderful CD called Will We Give It A Go? with a huge variety of tunes including some of Andy’s great compositions. It’s a delight to listen to. I feel safe in saying it’s going to be a classic and will keep listeners delighted for many years to come.”
Brian Rooney