Coco Martin Introduces Herself With Gartener
“I MAKE MUSIC BECAUSE I HAVE TO, I CAN’T HELP IT” — Part of the reason why we are creative is because we understand the human desire to make a connection to something or someone; we know that this is what life is about.
Magic happened when I sat down to chat with Coco Martin — when I asked her how she was doing and who she was, she lit up. The Denver-based musician oozed with a passion that sent goosebumps down my arms. Martin told me that she is a nanny, a student, an optimist, and a gardener. She’s an artist, and believes that holding on to our humanity through art is the one thing that we do right in this world.
Martin picked up a guitar and played it until her fingers bled at a young age. She was determined to figure out how the instrument worked and fell in love with the catharsis that is experienced when creating music. She began writing songs in high school to help her deal with the fear of death, existentialism, and to process emotions and experiences. In becoming her own muse, Martin learned to use music to tell a story and help people feel seen.
“Music is a powerful tool,” Martin said. “I know how helpful it can be for other people.”
At the very core of her foundation, Martin is a musician.
A bass player for the Denver pop-punk band Knuckle Pups, for the last few months, she has been finding her footing as frontwoman in her new project, Gartener. The name pays homage to both her Austrian roots and her love for gardening, Martin explained.
“I have this other band that I really enjoy playing in, but it’s not my own music,” she shared. “I’ve been putting my own music together for years, and I want to share it. This has been about a decade in the making.”
Like many of us, it seems that Martin had experienced the 27-year-old existential dread and it propelled her to pursue her dreams boldly. She went back to school and joined the music program at CU Denver. Doing this allowed her to realize that more than ever she wanted to put her music out and share what she’d been making for years.
“I began to realize what I really want to convey as a musician and how I want to sound,” she said. “I’ve always struggled with the idea of leading a band, but I think these songs are really special, and I’d love people to hear them. One day I decided that if I really wanted to be able to sit on stage and for people to be able to hear what I hear when I put songs together, I’m going to need a full band.”
To help her transition from bassist to frontwoman, Martin enlisted the help of her brother, Konrad, on bass, as well as the support of local musicians Tyler Rembold of Say Hi, Biscus on keyboard, Chris Hendrick on drums, and Matt Murray on lead guitar. Together, the band has empowered Martin to find her voice. No longer afraid to advocate for her vision and voice her needs, Gartener is becoming a collaborative effort dripping with community.
In late 2022, Martin won a songwriting contest that allowed her to attend the Durango Songwriters Expo. A commentary between the artist and their muse, “Surface,” her winning song, is a track about a situationship in which Martin learned to surrender herself to her feelings in order to process.
“The way that I write is really forthcoming,” she shared of her writing style. “It’s not particularly cryptic or poetic, and I really tried to create a soundscape to go behind these words.”
The songs are moody but also have a lot of sparkle to them; Martin creates a juxtaposition of pulses, synth tones, and vocal harmonies within her storytelling. “My mantra,” Martin mused, “is to serve the song.”
The Denver music scene is not one that is talked about often. The Rocky Mountain highs are usually experienced in a tour bus that is passing by. Beaming with passion and potential, Coco Martin is a Denver music scene gem.
A sneak peek at Gartener is available on SoundCloud. Strange Places will be released late March 2023.
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