Hardwork Movement trumpeter Marty Gottlieb-Hollis releases two solo tracks as Martronimous, including one featuring rapper Joie Kathos

Earlier this month, local trumpet player Marty Gottlieb-Hollis released two new R&B tracks under the moniker Martronimous — one rich instrumental and one slow jam featuring local rapper Joie Kathos.

Gottlieb-Hollis is known for his work with a number of Philadelphia-based hip-hop, R&B and pop acts, including the bubbly nine-piece hip-hop group Hardwork Movement. Hardwork Movement have released two full-length albums, but Gottlieb-Hollis’s two new tracks “Renew” and “Incompleteness” are the first independent works he has shared as Martronimous. He calls this release Incompleteness, Vol. 1, and in a social media announcement he describes the music as “about growth, about being wherever you are, about stepping into the unknown. It’s my story of queerness, music, and chasing dreams.” He also credits fellow Philadelphians madamdata(aka Ada Adhiyatma) with production and St. Clair Simmons with trombone on the release.

On the instrumental “Incompleteness,” Gottlieb-Hollis sets vivid brass harmonies over shifty drum machines and wavy synth pads; he experiments with several different trumpet sounds, layering together some overdubs soaked in reverb and distortion. “Renew” finds the trumpeter trading phrases with Joie Kathos, who persistently reminds, “Just breathe.”

Check out the new tracks below, along with videos of Marty Gottlieb-Hollis playing with Hardwork Movement at World Cafe and Joie Kathos performing her own music at a GLBL VLLG event, both from last year. Martronimous plays Bartram’s Garden on Sunday July 21st for Tea & Tunes; more information can be found here. Hardwork Movement will perform at Johnny Brenda’s on Friday, August 23rd.