“Selene” by Martin Lloyd Howard embodies moonlight serenity in his latest solo guitar album

Martin Lloyd Howard re-emerges with Selene, an original work especially written for solo classical guitar, which showcases Martin’s subtlety of touch as well as his extensive musical knowledge. Based on the moonscapes which Martin’s wife has painted, Selene is named after the Greek Goddess of the Moon and aims to interpret this into music with a gentle sense of motion.

Selene is written in the key of G minor, which is an unusual key for a guitar composition. The composition tries to capture an image of pale and bright moonlight in the sky with clouds slowly drifting across it, and this has been manifested in the musical dynamics and phrase construction of the composition. The underlying feeling of this composition is one of calm reflection, along with a sensation of movement.

The song is played on Martin Lloyd Howard’s principal instrument, a hand-made classical guitar that is fifty years old. The warm and crystalline sound of this instrument is very integral to the character of Selene, and as such, it gives the song an eternal character that combines the classical tradition in music with a modern sensibility. In fact, this is in line with Howard’s vision to help fill a gap in the market that he recognizes as relating to original music for nylon string guitar that is simultaneously accessible and musical.

Martin Lloyd Howard was classically trained, but recently has ventured out into folk, blues, and rock, performing with or without electricity, as well as other artists, such as Mark Johnson, of the Midnight River Crew. His latest musical endeavor, “Selene,” can now be found on SoundCloud, YouTube, or Spotify.