Dolphins into the Future
Bio
Lieven Martens works with sound as both composer and recorder. For him, sound, or music, functions first and foremost as a conceptual framework rather than a fixed medium. His practice explores ideas, methods of thinking, and ways of questioning perception, moving fluidly across field recording, ambient composition, and musique concrète.
Working both under his own name and as Dolphins Into The Future, Martens is a distinctive voice within the contemporary ambient and composition landscape, driven by process, context, and speculative listening.
Martens holds a Master’s degree in Social Sciences and Welfare Studies. In his widely praised thesis on the social dimension of the urban soundscape, he developed an innovative analytical tool that actively involves underrecognized groups, reflecting his interest in sound and listening as social and political constructs.
His works appear on recordlabels such as EM Records (JP), RVNG (USA), Not Not Fun (USA), Fonal (FI), Ultra Eczema (BE), and Kraak (BE). He also curates the imprint Edições CN, known for its carefully assembled catalogue of adventurous international artists shaped by strong conceptual identities.
Beyond his artistic practice, Martens builts communications for an NGO in Eastern Congo, extending his belief that artistic thinking can operate as a form of social engagement and advocacy.
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Press Quotes
Lieven Martens is well known for his work as Dolphins into the Future in which he was a leading figure in the noise boom of the early 2000s and was associated with Exotica using early synth and electronic music and new age influences. I hope we will hear a lot more of his music on UK Radio in the ensuing years. He really is a major talent. BBC Radio 3
Martens is a prominent figure in the international post-noise network. (…) has fastened on one rivulet in the torrent of ex-Skaters output and developed it into a distinct and more fully realized sound-stream. Dolphins Into the Future is a significantly more electronic proposition, touching on just about every decade of its history. Simon Reynolds
Field recordings are often more about listening than recording, and nobody listens like Lieven Martens. As Dolphins Into The Future, he blended new age, early synthesizer music and tropical field recordings making one-of-a-kind soundscapes during the noise boom of the mid-2000s. Now, under his own name, his music is even more poetic. FACT
And that’s part of the allure and brilliance of his work here. “The Habu” could be a soundtrack to any number of genres and fit in just fine. Lieven Martens work continues to be an important touchstone and with “The Habu”, he shows there’s so much more to come. Foxy Digitalis
Selected Discography
Katharina AW with Miaux and Luc Dockx (Edições CN, BE 2023)
Riding Fences with Matthew Sage (Edições CN, BE 2022)
Serrisme with Christina Vantzou & Jan Matthé (Edições CN, BE 2021)
The Habu (Poole Music, USA 2021)
KAGIROI with Sugai Ken (Edições CN, BE 2021)
Lips with Roman Hiele (Ultra Eczema, BE 2018)
Three Amazonian Essays (EM Records, JP 2018)
Idylls (Pacific City Sound Visions, USA 2017)
Songs Of Gold, Incandescent (Edições CN, BE 2015)
Music from the Guardhouse (Kraak, BE 2013)
Canto Arquipélago (Underwater Peoples, USA 2012)
Eternal Landscapes with Ada Van Hoorebeke (Aguirre, BE 2011)
Ke Ala Ke Kua (Kraak, BE 2010)
The Music Of Belief (Release The Bats, SE 2010)
On Sea-Faring Isolation (Not Not Fun, BE 2009)
These albums were reviewed in
The Wire, Foxy Digitalis, Fact, Tiny Mix Tapes, Gonzo (Circus), Humo, The Quietus, Pitchfork, ...
Lieven Martens toured in
Europe, North America, Mexico, Japan, Australia & New Zealand
He performed at
Centre Pompidou Paris, ISSUE Project Room New York, Café OTO London, Oshiai Soup Tokyo, Aural Mexico City, WWW Tokyo, Blä Oslo, AB Brussels, Theater Aan Zee Oostende, Bozar Brussels, Wiels Brussels, Fylkingen Stockholm, ZDB Lisbon, Kraakfestival Hasselt, Aalst and Brussels, ...