Legendary Guyanese musician and composer Dave Martins yesterday launched ‘At Home,’ his first new album in over six years.

The new album, which was composed entirely in Guyana and features local musicians, was launched at the National Communications Network (NCN) Studios, where Martins was accompanied by engineer Burchmore Simon and music director, Oliver Basdeo.

Martins described the 12 tracks as a mix of rhythms, while saying the songs are Guyanese-focused. He said the album also marks his evolution as a songwriter. While there are funny songs there, he said, others deal with who we are as a people.

Martins said he spent a year and a half working on the songs and approximately two months on the album.

The album was sponsored by the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company (GT&T). Nine of the tracks were recorded at Kross Kolor Records, while three tracks, ‘Turn back,’ ‘Is we own’ and ‘In this place,’ were recorded in the Grand Cayman. The three singles were added to the album since they did not appear on previous albums.

Meanwhile, Martins explained that his choice to record in Guyana was to “confirm that good recordings can be produced here” and also to highlight that “abundant local talent exists to play on any genre of music.”

Apart from Basdeo on keyboards, other local musicians on the album include Remo Bowen on bass, Roger Dyal on saxophone, Travis Griffith on trumpet, Jaimangal   “Jai” Sookram on tabla, Osley Hopkinson on keyboards, Rosemary Noble on cello, Trevor John on keyboards and Simon, who did the drum sequences.

On collaborating with Simon, Martins said that he was easy to work with and commended his taste in music, saying he had a “good ear.”  Simon, meanwhile, said that it was easy working with Martins, who already knew what he wanted to do, thereby completing half of the work.

Simon added it was a joy to have worked with such a legend and described it as refreshing, while praising Martin’s open mindedness.

Meanwhile, commenting on the state of copyright laws in the country, Martins admitted that he was taking a risk but stated that if musicians wanted to address the issue they should “get into it professionally.”

He suggested that persons form a group and approach the government. While he agreed that copyright needed to be addressed, he stated that it needed to be approached reasonably.

At Home will be available after Easter at Matt’s Record Bar and at Mike Charles’ Shop at the airport at a cost of $1,200. It will be launched in New York and Toronto, Canada mid May.