Martin Virgo Talks Debut Solo Album, Favourite Instruments And More

Martin Virgo is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer who worked with musical luminaries such as Björk and Massive Attack in the early 1990s before going on to enjoy global success with his own band, Mono, later in that decade. Almost three decades on, Virgo is releasing his debut solo album. Entitled ‘Ghost Piano’. 

What is your earliest musical memory?

I’m not sure really, probably television music from the early 1960s.

The TV was always on in our house and I think I must have absorbed all that classic music from children’s TV programmes like Camberwick Green, Dr. Who, Randal and Hopkirk and of course, music from the Test Card.

In retrospect, I realise that this music has influenced my own musical character and, as I discovered later on, it was all written by incredibly talented composers like Vernon Elliot, The Kpm All Stars, Barry Gray and Ed Astley etc.

When did you begin songwriting?

Probably around about the age of twelve. I had formed a band with two of my school friends and we had to play an original song in a talent contest in Lyme Regis, so I wrote a song called “Mountains”. Obviously the song was complete rubbish, but we did win the contest!

You have your debut solo album ‘Ghost Piano’ is released on 21st August 2026. How did you want to approach the making of the album?

I had been involved in contemporary pop music for about forty years when I came to the point where I wanted to create something that was completely stripped of all the frippery and distractions of modern production techniques. I wanted to write music that had a sense of lineage, but within a very distilled style.

I wanted to take a break from digital audio production, so all the tracks on ‘Ghost Piano’ were recorded live by myself on an acoustic grand piano, with the live cello on the title track played by Nick Cooper from the Michael Nyman band.

Where did you record the album and who produced it?

At Last Eight Studios in Hackney Wick, London. It was produced by myself and engineered by Lucinda Gallant.

Do you have any interesting, funny or memorable stories from the recording sessions?

Not so much from the recording sessions, but while I was writing the album extensive building work was going on in the house adjoined to ours so I could barely hear my piano, which was situated against the party wall. So for about six months I was trying to write this contemplative ambient-style music in what seemed like a total war zone!

Did you use any particular instruments, microphones, recording equipment to help you get a particular sound/tone for the record?

Steinway Model B Concert Grand piano.

Neumann U87 (stereo matched pair), Brauner Phantom Classic and Shure SM7B microphones.

Last Eight is a dedicated piano recording studio, and Lucinda is a superb engineer with a very specialised knowledge of how to record an acoustic piano which was essential for me in order to get that contemporary “classical” sound I was after.

Which of your new album tracks hear you at your a) happiest, b) angriest and c) most reflective?

Well, to be honest, all the tracks on the CD are pretty reflective really. I suppose I was mainly in that frame of mind. I was going to call the album simply ‘Plaintive Piano’.

Does the album’s title have a specific meaning/significance?

Yes it does. In the liner notes to the CD, I wrote “In these simple evocative pieces you can hear the “ghosts” of Chopin, Debussy and Satie playing in the absinthe soaked atmosphere of late 19th century Paris”. So that is what the Ghost in the title refers to.

Was it a difficult album to write?

No, not really. Initially, I had this musical atmosphere in my head that I just really needed to hear but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I couldn’t find it in my record collection or scrolling endlessly through Spotify. It just wasn’t out there. So I decided to write it myself, and once I started it just seemed to write itself.

Who designed the album artwork?

The cover photo is ‘Le Vieux Montmartre : Passage Cottin’, licensed from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.

One of the tracks is ‘Paris 1889’. What was the story/inspiration behind the track?

The track is a homage to a collection of pieces for piano called ‘Gnossiennes’ by Erik Satie, which were published in Paris in 1889.

Where is your hometown and could you please describe it in five words?

Although originally from Woking, I now live in Whitstable in Kent which I would describe as bustling; artsy; quirky; windy and shabby.

Do you have any live dates planned in the UK/Europe in 2026?

No, not currently.

Do you have any favoured stage instruments, effects, pedals, microphones etc?

Well, it’s hard to find venues with decent acoustic pianos these days, so live I use my Nord Stage 2 digital piano.

You are given the opportunity to write the score for a film adaptation of a novel that you enjoy. Which novel is it and why?

‘Cakes and Ale’ by W. Somerset Maugham, because it’s set in Paris and Whitstable around the late 19th Century so would suit my location and musical style.

Who are some of your musical influences? Do you have any recommendations?

Well, on the CD you can hear elements of Chopin, French Impressionism, Erik Satie, Philip Glass and Brian Eno, so I am very influenced by classical music. However, as someone who was eighteen in 1979, Post-Punk and New Wave were also a huge influence on me.

Currently, I would recommend ‘Edyf’ by Cerys Hafana, a gorgeous record that combines traditional harp music with electronica.

Or, how about the Eber Pinheiro re-mix of ‘In a Glass House’ by Gentle Giant, a prog rock classic from 1973.

What makes Martin Virgo happy and what makes you unhappy?

Expectations are what make me unhappy. I subscribe to the old adage that “Happiness is life minus expectations”.

Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Red Sand PR

Martin Virgo’s debut solo album ‘Ghost Piano’ is out now digitally. The CD will be released on Friday 21st August 2026.

Bandcamp: https://martinvirgo.bandcamp.com/album/ghost-piano