MARTYNA BASTA

Martyna Basta is a Polish composer, producer, and singer-songwriter whose work resides at the intersection of art-pop, chamber folk, and electroacoustic composition. Moving away from the rigidity of her classical guitar background, she shifted toward electronics, using reworked field recordings and instrumental samples to craft a sonic diary. Blending eerie vocals and haunting songwriting with granular electronics, she creates an intimate, tactile world.

The diaristic is at the core of her process, drawing on themes of vulnerability, memory, and longing. Her songs unfold like private reflections, striking a balance between melodic immediacy and a dreamlike sense of space. Starting from processed recordings of instruments like the zither, harpsichord, and guitar, she crafts soundscapes that feel fragile and deeply personal—drawing as much from the emotional intensity of shoegaze as from the delicate ornamentation of baroque music.

Basta’s live presence, seen at venues and festivals like CTM, Unsound, and Cafe OTO, is vivid and immersive, weaving voice and instruments into shape-shifting arrangements. Her work has earned international praise from Pitchfork, Dazed, and The Wire. Collaboration remains essential; her latest work features james K, LEYA, Rainy Miller, and Felisha Ledesma, following acclaimed partnerships with artists like claire rousay and Pavel Milyakov – projects that expand her sonic world through expressive restraint.

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“Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering is an ode to memory rendered with delicate acoustic phrases and Polish composer Martyna Basta’s personal field recordings.” – Madison Bloom for Pitchfork (2023)

“a collection of ambient compositions that really stick with you, like this foggy, ambiguous dream that you can’t stop thinking about” – marg.mp3’s favorite underrated albums of 2023

“Its hauntological qualities don’t resort to cliches, and it is deeply poetic in spite of its sparse wordage” – Miloš Hroch for The Wire (2023)

“Basta’s combination of autotune, and subtle walls of guitar leave the audience in a haze.” – Jakub Knera for The Quietus (2023)

“The Polish ambient musician channels deep-seated melodic instincts on her exploratory and enchantingly enigmatic new album.” – Philip Sherburne for Pitchfork (2023)

“Basta’s work is often described as diaristic, but rather than a musical memoir, Slowly Forgetting, Barely Remembering reads more like an emotive, impressionist sketch. Vague forms approximate places she’s been, and broad strokes imply the movements she’s making. The details aren’t clear, but they don’t have to be; the feeling is all there.” – Shy Thompson for Bandcamp Daily (2023)

“The experience is surreal.” – Jakub Knera for The Quietus (2022)

“she transmutes the unknown into the euphoric feeling of pure freedom” – Martyn Pepperell for Dazed (2023)

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