Studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen for a short period between 1984 and 1985 and designed most of the covers to his record- and book releases throughout the eighties. Worked with several Danish theatre groups during these years as well as writing and directing multi-media projects and theatre performances with his own ensemble The Art Ensemble Of Copenhagen. Performed several concerts for The Danish National Radio as well as conducting his own Requiem in the Taksigelses Church in Copenhagen. Established his own label, Mind And Media, in 1989.
Received the Honoury Award of DJBFA (The Danish Association Of Composers) in March 1995 as well as the very prestigious 3-year grant from The National Fund for the Endowment of The Arts in April. Released his long awaited solo album Random Hold in February 1996, an album regarded as his best record during the nineties (the title continues to figure on various encyclopedian lists over the most important Danish music releases during this decade). During 1999 and 2000 MH wrote the music for the Danish theatre ensemble Operanord's performance Gilles' Requiem, the score for Gud Bevare Danmark by Ole Bornedal (writer and director of the Hollywood film 'The Night Watch') and the music for Danish director Claus Bohm's film Digter (Poet).
In March 2001 he released his highly acclaimed diary Kommunikaze concurrently with the album Metropolitan Suite. In September MH was given the honour to write the music for the opening of the Swedish artist Ingvar Cronhammer's grand scale building work Elia in Herning (a Danish city), and in October he created the exhibition A Hospital Room at Ystads Konstmuseum (Sweden), a sound- and image installation based on a series of conversations with a dying hospital patient. Wrote and produced the score for Gladsaxe Teater's major 2002 launch, the theatre version of Lady of the Camellias, Camille (Original Soundtrack), which was proclaimed as one of his finest works ever by an unanimous press.
Included in Kraks Blaa Bog (Krak's Blue Book) in May 2003, a prestigious book of summation of the most important people in Danish art and culture. Founded his new label, Panoptikon, the same year on which he released Das Mechanische Klavier in 2004, a piece of work combining songs performed by the mezzo-soprano Andrea Pellegrini and narratives read by the German scholar Herbert Zeichner. Released his long awaited major novel Den Sidste Romantiker ("The Last Romantic") in August 2005, a monumental 700-pages piece of work reflecting a young man’s journey from the summer of 1980 up until present day. Apart from getting brilliant reviews, the book also constitutes Hall’s literary breakthrough.
In February 2006 MH launched one of his principal works, his first solo-album as a singer in seven years, Facsimile. In Denmark, the album has been met with astounding reviews, praising it as finest work in 25 years.
Major parts of MH's works have been released in Germany, Holland, France, England and Italy.
Cradlemoon
Martin Hall Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sons and the daughters seemed to give it all up
They get too tired of the waiting, too tired to believe
In the promises that nobody keeps
I've seen a generation coming, I've seen a generation go
And the more I see, the less I know
I want to go to sleep
I want to touch the sky
I want to lie down and die in the cradlemoon of the night
So I followed the shadows by the trail of the waste
And it lead me into the heart, to the heart of these days
Never wanted to remember, never wanted to believe
But you don't ask why when the thunderheart beats
All I wanted was a reason, what I got was so much more
Couldn't turn my back on the things that I saw
I want to go to sleep
I want to drown in the deep of the cradlemoon
I want to touch the sky
I want to lie down and die in the cradlemoon of the night
In a world full of stories, there's a time in the night
When the sky seems to break by the blink of the eye
The lyrics in Martin Hall’s song “Cradlemoon” suggest the singer is struggling to come to grips with the state of the world, feeling a mixture of fire and water in their blood. The sons and daughters of this world have given up, becoming too tired to believe in promises that nobody keeps. The singer has observed generations come and go, and in doing so has lost some of their own sense of certainty about life. With the weight of all that they’ve seen and experienced, they just want to surrender to the cradlemoon, a symbol of peace and comfort, and disappear into an eternal sleep.
The singer has followed the shadows of wasted opportunities to their source, and finds himself facing the heart of these days. He doesn’t want to remember or believe any longer, but the beating of his own heart demands that he face the truth he’s been avoiding. In the end, the singer finally comes face to face with the reality of the world – and finds it both beautiful and painful. The sky may seem to break by the blink of an eye, but what’s left behind is a world worth living in, despite its flaws.
Line by Line Meaning
The fire and the water keep mixing in my blood
The intense emotions and contrasting feelings inside me are in constant turmoil.
The sons and the daughters seemed to give it all up
The younger generation appears to have lost their enthusiasm and motivation to strive for their goals.
They get too tired of the waiting, too tired to believe
Their patience is dwindling, and they struggle to maintain their faith in the future.
In the promises that nobody keeps
They are losing faith in the reliability and sincerity of the people who make promises they can't keep.
I've seen a generation coming, I've seen a generation go
I have witnessed the cyclical nature of generations come and go, each with their unique experiences and struggles.
And the more I see, the less I know
Although I have witnessed the cycles of life, the more I see, the less I understand.
I want to go to sleep
I crave a state of rest and peacefulness to escape the chaos of my thoughts and feelings.
I want to drown in the deep of the cradlemoon
I long to be enveloped by the tranquil stillness of the night, where I can lose myself completely.
I want to touch the sky
I desire to reach for the impossible, to touch the heights of the unknown and see what lies beyond our grasp.
I want to lie down and die in the cradlemoon of the night
I yearn to experience ultimate surrender and complete detachment from the world, the ultimate rest in the tranquil embrace of the night's cradlemoon.
So I followed the shadows by the trail of the waste
I embarked on a journey, following the hidden paths and detritus of life that once were abandoned and overlooked.
And it lead me into the heart, to the heart of these days
Through that journey, I came to understand the essence of the present age and discovered its true character.
Never wanted to remember, never wanted to believe
I have always avoided acknowledging the painful truths, and turned a blind eye to the harsh realities of life.
But you don't ask why when the thunderheart beats
In moments of intense emotional reaction, you do not question the why, and simply succumb to its power and impact.
All I wanted was a reason, what I got was so much more
I was looking for answers and explanations, but instead, I found a deeper understanding and meaning behind what I was experiencing and feeling.
Couldn't turn my back on the things that I saw
Despite the difficulties and harsh realities, I could not ignore what I had witnessed, and had to face them head-on.
In a world full of stories, there's a time in the night
In a world abundant with narratives and tales, there is a particular moment of the night where something extraordinary happens.
When the sky seems to break by the blink of the eye
An inexplicable and fleeting moment when the sky reveals something sublime and elusive, beyond human comprehension and understanding.
Contributed by David F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.