Martin & Coole are a contemporary folk swing blues duo from Beaconsfield in Western Australia featuring the songs of Jonathan Cope and Emma Birkett.

Their debut album titled ‘The Roaring Gimlet’ was launched in March 2017 with two sold out shows at the Kidogo Arthouse at Bather’s Beach in Fremantle.

The album was recorded live and acoustic at Shanghai Twang studio on 14 & 15 January 2017 and features ten original tracks blending acoustic folk, swing, country, blues, and bluegrass music influences.

The Martin & Coole sound of Jon and Emma’s close vocal harmonies, guitar, ukulele and mandolin is embellished with diverse acoustic instrumentation including dobro, banjo, violin, harmonica, double bass, plus the yangqin, the traditional Chinese hammer dulcimer.

The songs are generally set in a local West Australian context sharing modern and old stories; like the true tale about a friend that spent a night in a maximum-security prison for not wearing his bicycle helmet; a FIFO (Fly-in Fly-out) widow’s lament; or the trad style folk ballad about Goongarrie, a Goldfields ghost town out near Lake Ballard in central Western Australia.

Available online...