Welsh DIY Duo Martyrs Share Their Vision Behind New EP Halloween Dream

Welsh duo Martyrs are back with their Halloween Dream EP, set for release October 22nd, accompanied by the evocative first video from the collection, October Kind. Fusing indie, electronica, post-rock, and punk, the 5-track EP traverses both vintage alternative influences like REM, Wilco, and Super Furry Animals, and contemporary acts such as Geese, Parcels, and Islands.

Self-producing and recording entirely from their kitchens, childhood friends Jon and Michael continue their DIY ethos, crafting music with freedom, intimacy, and a resolutely independent spirit. The duo’s latest work demonstrates their refusal to chase trends, instead embracing adventurous, genre-defying soundscapes, from minimalist post-rock to psychedelic reinterpretations of classic tracks.Here, Martyrs discuss the inspiration, process, and philosophy behind Halloween Dream.

1. Halloween Dream blends indie, electronica, post-rock, and punk influences. How did you decide on the sonic palette for this EP, and what inspired the title?

For the songs Delta Rain and October Kind we were led by the fact that Jon (music) had just picked up an acoustic guitar for the first time. The tone and the lyrics were all inspired by that, which was a brand new approach for us. Having the acoustic as a lead instrument is inevitably going to give you a more natural, organic sound, but we're always going to use synths and sequencers so it was a matter of finding the right balance between tradition and innovation. We've got no interest in the "proper music played on real guitars" attitude some musicians have, so I think we treated it carefully, and made sure we could bend it to our sound.

On our cover of The Man Don't Give A Fuck we were keen to stray from the Super Furry Animals' original melodically and instrumentally but at the same time retain its power, the contrast of the ethereal and the explosive. Jon took inspiration from Run The Jewels when reinterpreting the chorus, and as a vocalist I relistened to the original just once then set it aside so I could retain some freedom in my interpretation of the melody. It's as close to psychedelia as we've come so far.

Midnight Mass is pretty minimalist. We often dabble in spoken word and so it's in that tradition to an extent. The post-rock explosion at the halfway point is something we've not done before and I was just keen to see what it would sound like. I love bands like Mogwai and Mono so there was inspiration from them, certainly. There's a lot of stylistic shifting between these tracks but hopefully there's a throughline where you can see what we're trying to do as artists.

The title is taken from a line in October Kind. I've had three or four different songs over the years that I called Halloween Dream as it's just such a beautiful, evocative phrase. Finally something is actually being released with that name and it suits the collection perfectly.

2. You’ve maintained a DIY approach, producing, recording, and promoting music entirely from your kitchens. How does that intimacy and independence shape the creative process compared to a traditional studio setup?

Firstly we look at it practically. Home recording means we have zero studio expenses. We don't make any money so we need to be in a situation where we don't lose any money either and creating everything at home allows that. Creatively it's the most freeing thing in the world. Whatever we want to do, we just do it. If we feel like making a track inspired by '80s metal, we do that. Same if we want to make a ten minute ambient sound collage. There's just no consideration of what we "should" be doing, what's "worthwhile" and there's no consultation of anyone outside the two of us. If an idea seems particularly overambitious or ridiculous then often that's what we'll go with, because we have that freedom. If we fancied making an orchestral spoken word double album then we'd at least give it a go, no matter how foolhardy a venture it might seem.

Releasing and promoting everything ourselves is an extension of that. If we want to put out a track we made over the weekend then we can, and then we only have ourselves to rely on to get it out into the world and have it heard. We love the process - we have a mantra of "Write, Record, Release, Repeat". It's not like we enjoy emailing radio stations and blogs but I know for a fact that we are doing a better job for ourselves than a paid company would, because we care about what happens to our music and people who are paid to care are ultimately just pretending for money. Independence is one of the most valuable things you can have as an artist and it's available to anyone willing and able to put the work in.

3. The video for October Kind has already drawn attention — how do visuals play a role in expressing your music, especially for this EP?

It's another extension of the DIY ethos. If we want music videos then we have to do it ourselves, so we need to learn new skills and employ them. Jon has done that with production, mixing and mastering. He's learned on the job, and that's what I’m doing with the music videos. If you watch our videos then you're actually watching me learn to edit while trying to express something about the song, or my attempt to subvert the song through visual language. Jon always creates these very striking cover art images, and the videos sit alongside that, offering a different visual perspective.

I think with the October Kind video it's connecting with people because we all feel nostalgia, we all want to feel like we're part of something, and hopefully we've captured that wistful autumnal feeling of home through the song and the video. I fell in love with some of those strangers as I was putting together the footage, folks partying in 1929, smiling at us in 2025. I've rarely been happier with something I've made.

4. You’ve described yourselves as “genre-agnostic and algorithm-resistant.” How do you navigate staying true to your vision in a music industry increasingly driven by trends and metrics?

There is absolutely no problem at all with staying true to your vision as long as you don't expect anything in return. We are content with making our art together and making music that we both love. We release and promote our music because we think a small number of people might connect with it if they get to hear it.

As soon as you start expecting something back from the music industry you start negotiating with yourself to feed someone else's desires, and then you're lost. If you do this to make money you will become very disillusioned and very bitter very quickly, and your work will suffer. We won't chase trends and we won't modify or compromise what we do in a vain attempt to grab some mythic brass ring. That means very few people will hear us, and that's absolutely fine by us. We understand that's a consequence of the choices we make, and we're ok with that.

5. Childhood friends turned long-term collaborators, you’ve evolved from a Nirvana-obsessed high school band to this adventurous, experimental sound. How has your creative relationship changed over the years, and what keeps it fresh?

We spent a good number of years apart. Musically I went down one path, indie rock and experimental bands, folk music, and Jon went down another with synthwave, funk, acid jazz. When we regrouped we both had this wealth of knowledge and experience that were almost entirely different to one another—but we still had that common ground of the bands we bonded over as kids.

So we build on that common ground with our differing skill-sets and experiences. We found that we had tessellating talents, so one lays the brick, the other lays the mortar and soon enough you've got a wonky, Aphex Twin-inspired house. We're both passionate about ideas, about pushing ourselves, finding the next style and the next sound, discovering what will serve the songs we have in our heads. It's very hard for things to get stale when you're always pressing one another into trying something new.