Check Out Martinius Solum’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Martinius Solum

Hi Martinius, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’ve always loved music. As a child I would sing children’s songs and I knew (mostly) all the lyrics.
At the age of 7, I started playing the cornet in the local marching band. I didn’t play with the band right away of course, but that’s where my musical upbringing began. Later I moved on to the trumpet. I still know how to play it, and I find great joy in picking it up from time to time, although it doesn’t sound particularly good.
When I was 9 years old, I started taking guitar lessons and looking back, this was probably the first time I felt a true connection to an instrument. The first song I learned was “Hang Down Your Head Tom Dooley” and the two chords were D and A7. I practiced so much that first week that when I came back for my second lesson, I could change chords without even looking!
The guitar took me through many different journeys. I played in two bands, where I also were lead songwriter and and lead singer in one. As a teenager, I played the guitar youth choir and got a lot of experience playing with a bigger ensemble and really learning how to find my place as a guitar player in a musical context. With the choir, we traveled to Italy and China where we competed in international choir competitions (yes, those exist), and we put up many concerts.

At the same time, I had started to develop an interest for film music. So many people have John Williams as their main inspiration and Star Wars as what ignited their passion for film music, but for me it was Steve Jablonsky’s score for Transformers. I listened to that score all the time, and up until today it holds a very special place in my heart.
I started listening more to film music and I explored different composers and their scores.
In high school I learned about a university in Los Angeles called USC where you could actually study film music! This was very intriguing to me and I set myself a goal that I was going to go to USC and become a film composer. I had no idea that it was going to take me more than 10 years to get there. In the meantime, I got my bachelor’s degree in popular music and tried to make it as a solo artist, but my dream of composing film music never went away. I scored a few student films during undergrad, and went on to do a one-year part-time program in film scoring. By that time, I had almost forgotten about USC and Los Angeles. It felt so far away, and I didn’t think I had what it took. But that year, we went on a student trip to LA and sat in on a few lectures. We got to meet the students at the time and I realized that these people aren’t here because they know everything; they’re here because they don’t. So I decided that I wanted to give it a shot. It took three applications and a summer program in Siena, Italy to finally get in. So I left Norway and set course for Los Angeles. After an intense year, I finished the program and now I have no idea what’s to come. And I think that’s exciting!

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s never a smooth road. When you’re in the middle of something challenging, it’s always impossible to see how this will lead to something in the future. But looking back, there’s always a clear thread leading directly to where you are now. It’s just that you can’t see it until you’ve moved further ahead.
My journey so far has been full of obstacles and challenges. But they have all played a major part in me being where I am today, and having become the person I have become.

Most of the obstacles have been in the form of life not happening the way I wanted it to or planned for. That required me to think differently and be creative about making things work out.
If I started getting a lot of gigs and established myself as a composer in Norway right after undergrad, I would never have moved to LA.
If I got into USC on the first try, I would never have gotten the opportunity to spend two weeks in Italy, studying film music at Accademia Musicale Chigiana and record with Orchestra Della Toscana in Florence.

I struggled a lot with biting over more than I could chew. I’ve always wanted to be a composer and an artist, but trying to become both, simply took too much. Both needed my full attention, so I decided to press pause on becoming an artist and only focused on composing & producing.

I’m not saying that everything happens for a reason, but the pieces has a tendency to always fall into place.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a music lover who specializes as a screen composer, musician, songwriter and producer.

What sets me apart from most composers is my ability to write and produce songs and have one foot in the pop industry working with artists and one foot in the film industry as a composer.

In 2021, I was a contestant on The Voice in Norway. I didn’t win but was on for three episodes and got a pretty decent amount of screen time. I’m very proud of my accomplishments there because even though I’ve performed a lot as an artist, I’ve always seen myself as a guitar player first and singer second. I’ve always had issues with calling myself a singer, but The Voice changed everything.
I don’t think there are a lot of film composers who can put that on their resumé.

How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
If people want to work with me or collaborate, they can either reach out to me on instagram @martiniussolum, or contact me through my website www.martiniussolum.com
To support me, you can listen to my music on Spotify and follow me on social media.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.martiniussolum.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/martiniussolum/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martiniussolum.music
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@martiniussolum/featured
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6jGo36acdViJeuqALgDmS5?si=YrHaZm7aSxyNjhRT4ufZzw

Image Credits
Daniel Kivle, The Voice, Christian Amonson, David M. Giannamore