Bend artist, Kelly Martin of Black Currant, released her new LP, “Fast Ceremony,” on Sept. 21. Her new release is a joining of musical antitheses: pop and experimental, dark and danceable, joyous and haunting. By adding urgent, percussive synthesizer rhythms, she forms a backdrop to ethereal vocals and melodies, which at times may best be described as extra-terrestrial.
Other singles and EPs that Martin has released include, “I Dream” — released Sept. 7, 2025. “Ghost Town,” a fan favorite from the previously released EP, highlights signature haunting vocals and their dark and dreamy vibe. An upcoming release show will be held at the Palate Coffee Bar.
“In lieu of a traditional release show, there will be an invite only (limited space), collaborative evening featuring new sounds by my project, to be played during a guided yin yoga session,” clarified Martin. “There will be an acoustic opening set from a local musician and there will be snacks. It will be held at Palate Coffee Bar on the full moon, the sixth of October, from 6-9 p.m.”
Martin seeks to build songs not just to bob heads, but to move the whole body. The eccentric nature of the music is complimented in Martin’s lyrics, which feels at once deeply personal and oddly inclusive.
The inspiration behind the music
Martin was obsessed with music, even from the time she was a young child.
“I didn’t really think that I could sing and I didn’t think I could write my own music — it just didn’t seem possible, but it was a dream that I had for a long time. I just never really let it go,” Martin said of her dreams of becoming a musician.
Late in her twenties, she had an opportunity to move to San Francisco after attending art school in Portland. While in California, she had the opportunity to trade some design work for voice lessons. Despite her fear of failure, she moved ahead with singing lessons.
“I had such a lack of confidence and so fearful. I said, ‘This is it. Just try it and see what happens and if you fail, that’s OK. If you can’t sing, you can’t sing — but at least you tried.’”
Karina Denike was her first singing teacher at the time and is still her mentor. Denike began her career in Europe and she has her own solo career.
“I gave myself permission and then I just went with it. And I have been doing it ever since, obsessively,” she added.
Martin has an undergraduate degree in fine art. She loves the medium of watercolors and her artwork is evident in her music, both in her EP from Ghost Town and other graphics on her website.
“When I started making my own music, it was very art-inspired art form. When I was learning how to sing, I would paste word after word into the music software GarageBand, stringing them together until they became full sentences and it would create an interesting, collage-like sound that was unique,” she said of her early music.
Martin enjoyed the creative part of the process, which is referred to as Avant-pop. It blends elements of popular culture to create something novel and accessible yet challenging. She enjoys traveling and considers herself a “nomadic” person. She currently lives in Bend and enjoys spending time with her family.
“I am here, this is a home base, but then I also go on journeys. I spend a lot of time on the east coast as well, so I consider New York another home.”
Martin reflected on her new release and what she hopes her listeners will take away from her music.
“This music all came from the last couple years of my life. I have been doing a lot of trying to find ways to change and transform myself for the better and looking for help with that in spaces that are unusual, unlimited or creative. There has been some spiritual seeking and some contemplative work, like sitting and meditating and doing psychological work. They are a personal journey, but they are meant to be relatable in that they came from trying to visit my sacred spaces and go back into nature and slow down and to try to slow down my life even though everything keeps speeding up.”
She added that she also worked on this by going back into nature and delving into the world of plants to shift her consciousness. She wants her listeners to feel like there are new possibilities in the way they think about things and get them to move their body and experience embodiment through the music.
“The idea behind Fast Ceremony, is trying to slow down and be in the moment and treat people well and be present, while everything is encouraging you to do the opposite. Around you, everything is speeding up, and you get lost in all the information you are supposed to take in and all the things you are supposed to do in the day, and it just gets to be hard.”
This article appears in the Source October 2, 2025.
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