B &W Bowers & Wilkins

Martyn Ware
Martyn Ware wasn’t a big fan of traditional rock ‘n’ roll in his youth. “It was history. For me, the sound of synthesisers was the sound of future. I loved how it seemed to create new worlds in people’s minds, put them in a completely different headspace. So when the first affordable synthesisers came out, I decided I was going to create a new kind of pop music using pure electronic sounds. That’s how The Human League got started."

Modern electronic music would be hard to imagine today without the influence of musician and sound designer Martyn Ware.

As a founding member of both The Human League and Heaven 17, Martyn pioneered the use of electronic instruments in British pop, and went on to become a hugely successful producer as well as a leading figure in sound art and design.

Inspired by avant-garde electronic bands such as Kraftwerk and a fascination with early synthesisers, Martyn founded The Human League with his friend Ian Craig Marsh in 1977, at the age of 21.

For me, the sound of synthesisers was the sound of future. I loved how it seemed to create new worlds in people’s minds.|Martyn Ware|Musician & Sound
Martyn Wares Future of Sound LecturesMartyn Wares Future of Sound LecturesClick to enlarge

The band’s first single, Being Boiled, was a hugely influential piece of electronic music quickly picked up and championed by both the NME and John Peel at the time, and is still heavily sampled today.

Bringing innovative visual effects to their live performances, the band was soon gaining acclaim from the likes of David Bowie, who famously declared to the NME that he had “seen the future of pop music” after attending a Human League gig in 1978.

Since leaving the band in 1980, Martyn has continued to enjoy a highly successful career in pop music. His new band Heaven 17 scored chart success worldwide with the hit song Temptation in 1983.

As well as performing and writing music, Martyn also worked as a record producer, responsible for albums such as Tina Turner’s career-reviving Let’s Stay Together, Terence Trent D’Arby’s multimillion-selling The Hard Line According To ... and Erasure’s I Say I Say I Say.

Today Martyn continues to explore and promote the creative potential of sound and sound technology.

Along with Vince Clark, he is the founder of Illustrious, a company that uses three-dimensional sound imaging techniques and technologies to provide immersive sound environments for art exhibitions, performances, museums and public spaces.

His latest project is Future of Sound, an ongoing tour of events bringing together artists, musicians, sound designers and scientists to showcase and discuss experimental sound art.

Martyn lectures extensively on music production, technology, creativity and soundscape composition at universities and colleges across the UK and Europe.

When the first affordable synthesisers came out, I decided I was going to create a new kind of pop music using pure electronic sounds. That’s how The Human League got started.|Martyn Ware|Musician & Sound Artist

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