Two hours before the start of the fifth gig of his headline tour, Martin Grech seems quietly composed. Dressed in ripped flared jeans, a ripped gothic top with a near-shredded stripey shirt flung on top, the 20 year old makes a striking statement as artistic and individual. Behind the facade of youthful assuredness is a clearly confused, flustered and naive musical prodigy.

'I often don't know where I am... I often don't know myself.' - Push
He doesnt' yet believe that he has achieved success but even at this low-profile level in the music business, Grech is feeling the pressure, to release the right singles, to sell albums, to maintain a healthy level of success. He finds it difficult to keep positive but the need to make music is what keeps him going. He has no expectations of fame but just wants to have fun making records. A quick learner in the jargon of the music industry, the "smile factor" is what keeps him in the recording studio.

'Joking aside. This means everything to me.' - Tonight
Looking like an indie-kid with darker musical urges, and with an album of eleven eclectic tracks, Redbrick wonders what influences this msuical melting pot. 'Radiohead' Grech replies without hesitation. His favourite album? 'Kid A.' Three years in the making, Open Heart Zoo was being created as Radiohead released this album, forcing Grech to scrap a lot of initial material. Yet the album sounds so far from the electronic-based indie of Kid A, with guitars leading the way. Lyrically, his influence of Radiohead is more obvious, resting easily in the 21st century style of lyric-writing, fragmented and abstract: 'Bite down on cables. And choke on the wires.' from Dali. He claims to leave thought out of the process, allowing the lyrics "to fall out rather than forcing them out." In creating songs, the lyrics come last. He mouths vowel sounds to his music, then finally the words come through. In doing this Grech believes he's "trying to sneakily open the door to [his] subconscious." (sic) His laughs a little as though to suggest irony in his Freudian compositional methods.

'I'm the one you've been looking for.' - Here It Comes
Where does Grech fit in the music genres of 2003? He freely admits that the state of music today is "not very good." He likes some nu-metal, but the ancestral, pseudo-goth style rock such as Korn, Deftones and Rage Against The Machine. This comes across in his live performances especially the no-holding-back finale of Dali - the surreal, yet structured outlet of his emotional intensity. He is disappointed in the emergence of the Papa Roach / Limp Bizkit category, invading our airwaves at every angle. He is intolerant of rock n' roll type bands, like The Strokes and BRMC. Music is not about lifestyle. He lives the rock n' roll life on stage only. This is not hard to believe. Looking completely homesick right now, on stage Grech comes into his own, immersed in his music.

'I need you to open up to listen please.' - Twin
So new to the business, Grech's naive opinions on the workings of the music industry are yet to be fully formed. Downloading music is "great that people can get stuff" but it has an "adverse effect" of record companies panicking that money is not coming in. The culmination of pressure from his record company and of what music sells, convinces Grech that the chances of securing his record deal for a second or third album is minimal. His naivety is decreasing through his increasing experience. He is grateful that 'Open Heart Zoo' was used on the Lexus advert, as it sparked off his career, allowing him to begin the gig circuit with headline tours. However, he is reluctant to be "tagged with THAT track." He may be grateful but he hates it now, even claiming to have smashed his guitar in frustration whilst rehearsing it the night before.

'See in through both sides. Wants more to life.' - Open Heart Zoo
Naive and confused, Grech remains ambitious, if not necessarily optimistic. He sees himself in music, whether headlining gigs or "busking in the streets!" In ten years' time, he would like four albums enabling him to be independent in his music direction. And is that direction likely to change? It varied within three years of making the first album, so he expects to develop greatly within the next ten years. At the end of the interview he goes back to the sound check, his jet-black curly hair flopping shyly over his forehead as he bounces along, head down. Martin Grech deserves recognition as a soul consumed by emotional and artistic propensity. He is the future of British music.

Farrah Jaumbocus