Martronimous and Arami explore the nature of relationships in track “Lovers and Friends”

Marty Gottlieb-Hollis, under the name Martronimous, dropped a new song “Friends & Lovers” on January 11, featuring the vocals of Arami. Those who enjoy Gottlieb-Hollis’ trumpet skills will not be disappointed, and will even find themselves pleasantly surprised by another of Gottlieb-Hollis’ skills: production.

Over quarantine Gottlieb-Hollis has taken time to work on their mixing, and mastering abilities. This track is the culmination of those efforts, showcasing their talent as producer, beat maker, and, of course, trumpeter.

The song itself is wonderfully executed, blending the beat, vocals, and instrumental arrangements seamlessly. The content itself is about the role of, as the title implies, friends and lovers and the ways that those people impact our world. As Gottlieb-Hollis told us:

“Thematically, the track started as an exploration of relationships, especially queer ones, and the ways they can challenge structures that can really disconnect us from each other. That’s where the title came from.”

Certainly the song showcases the importance of relationships not just in its contents, but through its creative process. Once they had created the beat and settled on a theme, Gottlieb-Hollis invited Arami in to supply vocals and lyrics. As she puts it, the piece is “something [she] never would’ve made alone,” showcasing the importance of collaboration on this track. “I love how organic and natural it was,” Arami continues. “Literally came into the stu and Marty had 3 beats lined up for me, all of them different from each other.”

The song can be found on Bandcamp and will be available on Spotify as of January 19.