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The Fifth Hammer, the fifth studio release for songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Martin Walker in the guise of Art Schop, finds him again at the intersection of emotional honesty, philosophical inquiry, and vivid storytelling. Walker populates his songs with characters that are tactile and evocative, whether it’s Pythagoras in a love triangle or a guy who uses his rejection of Leibniz as an excuse to be a bum. But through this realism he explores profound philosophical and existential questions, investigating subtle themes and inviting listeners into a richly textured sonic and intellectual universe.
Walker has written and published fiction, as well as a book of original philosophy that connects the nature of material existence to the meaning of life. His discography reflects this urge to tackle ambitious, wide-ranging ideas. His 2012 album Wolfswork was inspired by the destabilizing financial crisis and its eerie echoes of the rise and fall of the Greek Empire—wrapping the tale of Lycurgus, the apocryphal founder of the Stoics, in events of the day in an ominous anthropological unearthing. The Death Waits series (I and II) delves into the lives and works of artists from Michelangelo to Lou Reed, imagining the moments that shaped their creative paths. Starguide (2021) turns its gaze to the cosmos, exploring humanity’s place in the universe at a pivotal moment in history, as we grapple with the tension between individual and collective survival.
The Fifth Hammer draws its title and central concept from Daniel Heller-Roazen’s book The Fifth Hammer: Pythagoras and the Disharmony of the World, which examines the grand philosophical missteps of thinkers like Pythagoras and Kepler. Art Schop transforms these thinky essays into a set of deeply personal, grounded songs, widening the net to include figures like Wittgenstein and Nietzsche. Though the album’s themes are philosophical, the songs are intimate, earthy, and often surprisingly funny. Even when written from the perspectives of historical and fictional characters, the pieces feel fresh and personal.
With a degree in Physics from Oxford University and having served as the Information Services Director for the global law firm Debevoise & Plimpton, Walker is hands-on with the technology in the recording studio, and while his analytical side leads him to create music in which everything is essential, he values the contributions of ‘mistakes’ and spontaneity.
Recorded mostly solo, The Fifth Hammer was mixed by Mark Nevers, who also mixed Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s Master and Everyone—an album Walker counts among his all-time favorites. While the arrangements on The Fifth Hammer are richer and more expansive, they share a folky intensity and intimacy with Master and Everyone. The resulting album is both timeless and urgent, somehow refracting our own times through the mistakes of the past.
Walker is currently finishing up another album that digs into the life and philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein, a figure who seems to be the embodiment of paradox. Sharing a philosophical thread and a couple of songs with The Fifth Hammer, this new project extends Art Schop’s sonic palette into the dark blue hues of Heroes and Berlin while continuing his tradition of blending inexhaustible intellectual curiosity with a passion for the minds and hearts of his subjects. For Walker, music is not just a form of expression but a way of exploring the world and our place in it.