Martin Døssing Ottosen is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the Aarhus-based folktronica ensemble Sorten Muld, which he formed in 1995 with Ulla Bendixen and Henrik Munch. The band broke through with Mark II (1997), earning eight Danish Grammy nominations and winning two awards. Ottosen's compositional signature - medieval Nordic ballads woven into electronic soundscapes - has defined the band's sound for three decades. Since 2021 he and Bendixen have also run the duo project Stemmer i Voks, which weaves early 20th-century phonograph recordings from the Jutland heath into new acoustic-electronic compositions.
Gaffa reviewed Stemmer i Voks album in June 2025 and described it as 'deeply original' - a side project to Sorten Muld with a distinctive coupling of phonographic recordings and new interpretations.
Stemmer i Voks album with Martin Ottosen and Ulla Bendixen was released on May 2, 2025 on GO' Danish Folk Music with 13 songs based on phonographic recordings from the Jutland heath.
Stemmer i Voks held a release concert at SPOT Festival in Aarhus on May 3, 2025, and Gaffa reviewed the performance.
Two singles from the upcoming Stemmer i Voks album - 'ETKsValse' and 'Svend Vanved' - were released on April 11, 2025.
Sorten Muld marked the debut album's 25-year anniversary with a tour in 2022, where the band played songs from the early years alongside new material from Mark IV.
Ulla Bendixen and Martin Ottosen from Sorten Muld revive century-old recordings from Jutland wax cylinders with pump organ, mandolin, and nyckelharpa.
Concert lecture with the duo Stemmer i voks blending live music, historical recordings and stories about the folklorist Evald Tang Kristensen and the Jutland heath.
Author Charlotte Weitze reads from her novel while musicians Ulla Bendixen and Martin Ottosen perform songs, both works rooted in the forgotten Danish folklorist Evald Tang Kristensen's collection of heath-community legends and songs.