martín zaramán reykjavík

ES

Press

Press kit · September 2026

Short bio

Martín Zaramán is a bilingual poet and musician, born in Don Benito (Extremadura). After living in Madrid, he settled in Iceland in 2005 and, without ever losing his bond with the island, spent four years in Paris and a period in New York. Hiel · Sips of Gall is his first poetry collection: 24 poems written over more than thirty years and arranged by theme in four sections, from grief to hope. Hiel was born as a dual work: poems and music composed in parallel. With his label Ecos Boreales he releases that music in four volumes, in Spanish and English: guitar, Andalusian roots and blues.

Long bio

Martín Zaramán was born in Don Benito (Extremadura) and lived in Madrid before settling in Iceland in 2005. Later, without ever losing his bond with the island, he spent four years in Paris and a period in New York. That displacement (of language, of landscape, of solitude) runs through Hiel · Sips of Gall, an illustrated bilingual poetry collection in colour.

The 24 poems span over thirty years — some written at twenty, others two months before publication — and are organised by theme, not date: four sections tracing the emotional arc from grief to hope. Many of those texts had been written for a single person; recovering them meant contacting ex-girlfriends and friends to ask for them back. Zaramán walks alone for ten to fifteen days every year through the mountains of Spain with no phone or internet — something that works, in his own words, "more or less the same as writing a poem": a way to find yourself.

The project expands through Ecos Boreales, his own label, for the music composed in parallel with the poems: guitar, Andalusian root and a blues pulse. Four musical volumes: two in Spanish — Desgarro y Melancolía (Vol. I, streaming now) and Refugio del deseo (Vol. II, coming soon) — and two in English — Rupture & Melancholy (Volume I) and Sheltered Desire (Volume II), planned for 2027. They trace the book's emotional arc from grief to hope.

The project

Hiel · Sips of Gall — illustrated bilingual poetry collection in colour (watercolours by Martín Zaramán). Music in four volumes under Ecos Boreales: Desgarro y Melancolía (Spanish Vol. I, streaming now; 4K music video for Luz de mi sombra, 29 Aug 2026), Refugio del deseo (Spanish Vol. II, coming soon), then Rupture & Melancholy (Volume I) and Sheltered Desire (Volume II) in English.

Press release

Reykjavík · September 2026

Martín Zaramán has published Hiel · Sips of Gall, an illustrated bilingual collection in colour (author watercolours) of 24 poems. Madrid before and after 2005; Iceland as an anchor since then — always connected —; four years in Paris; New York afterwards. The music, composed in parallel with the poems, is released under the Ecos Boreales label: the first volume, Desgarro y Melancolía, is already on digital platforms; the second, Refugio del deseo, is on the way; the English volumes, Rupture & Melancholy and Sheltered Desire, follow afterwards. Lyrical intimacy, Andalusian root and Nordic landscape with guitar and blues — as he discussed on RÚV English Radio (July 2026).

Music video · Luz de mi sombra

Reykjavík · 29 Aug 2026 · Ecos Boreales

The music video for Luz de mi sombra is now on YouTube, in 4K — track 12 of Volume I, Desgarro y Melancolía, on Ecos Boreales. Two people who look for each other and find each other, and find each other again when they are no longer the same: the same light at the beginning and at the end. From the poetry collection Hiel · Sips of Gall.

Single · Hi ha dies tristos

Reykjavík · 10 Aug 2026 · Ecos Boreales

Hi ha dies tristos is out now: the Catalan-language version of Hay días tristes (Vol. I · Desgarro y Melancolía) on Ecos Boreales. The visual promo is an atmosphere reel filmed in Sitges (no official music video yet).

Single · C'est Paris qui agonise

Reykjavík · 18 Sep 2026 · Ecos Boreales

C'est Paris qui agonise is out now: the French chanson version of Es París que agoniza (Vol. I · Desgarro y Melancolía) on Ecos Boreales.

Single · Disperazione

Reykjavík · 16 Oct 2026 · Ecos Boreales

Disperazione is out now: the Italian version of Desespero (Vol. I · Desgarro y Melancolía), on Ecos Boreales.

Quotes (RÚV English Radio)

Quotable excerpts from the 6 Jul 2026 interview. Source: RÚV English Radio.

The first time I came to Iceland was 2005. I was not expecting to stay that long outside of Spain — the reality is I never came back.

Everything became deeper, in a way, since I live in Iceland.

When you become a father, you sort of think: maybe one day I'm not going to be here, and I would like her to know what her father was doing.

As a foreigner here you feel very lonely sometimes.

Blues and flamenco are more or less the same thing — a way to express how difficult your life is.

When you start thinking in another language, your brain starts to change the way you see things.

It was a huge move for me to contact ex-girlfriends and people in general — to ask them if I could get the poems back. Most of them did.

One poem is dedicated to my mother when she passed away. She went from this life too quickly. We were not expecting it.

I travel alone for a few days — usually ten or fifteen days — to a special place in Spain to walk alone through the mountains. No internet, no phone connection. To try to understand myself better. It's more or less the same thing as writing a poem — a way to try to find yourself.

I have a secret place here. I cannot tell you. It's in the middle of nowhere. No phone connection, no internet. There is a hut in there. No electricity.

The nightmares are in Spanish — I don't know why. The ones in English are usually nice. And the Icelandic ones are the weird ones.

My daughter is going to collaborate on the luxury version of the book. There are going to be paintings in there and she's going to be the one doing them.

Quotes (Canal Extremadura Radio)

Quotable excerpts from the interview on El sol sale por el oeste (24 Jul 2026, from ~9:50). Source: Canal Extremadura Radio.

Feeling usually comes from your mother tongue — in my case, Spanish. I can't think about feeling except in Spanish.

In one of the poems I say «te quiero»; in the English version it doesn't say «I love you» — it keeps «te quiero». Because it's not exactly the same.

I've been writing poems my whole life. There came a moment… I have a 10-year-old daughter, and I said: my time has come.

The fireplace, fried eggs with chorizo for breakfast, paprika, garlic… That is the essence of everything: my mind can't picture it in any language but Spanish.

Canal Extremadura Radio · El sol sale por el oeste →

Quotes (HOY Extremadura)

Quotable excerpts from the 3 Aug 2026 interview (Adrián Blanco Congil). Source: HOY Extremadura.

Extremadura is the root, and even though I write from the north that does not go away. I miss it — not as a postcard, but as an anchor. From afar you sometimes see more clearly where you come from.

Iceland was not an artistic destination chosen in advance; it was love, and then the country where I went on deepening my writing.

The English of the collection is another shore of the same journey, not a school exercise.

The first volume is the first blow of pain; the second moves toward something like hope.

HOY Extremadura · entrevista →

Quotes (Grada)

Quotable excerpts from the 27 Jul 2026 interview. Source: Grada.

The book is not a chronological diary, but an emotional arc. I didn't want someone to «read» the poem over a backing track; I wanted real songs.

Spanish is the language of origin and of the wound; English is the language I also think in, and the one Iceland has forced me to inhabit.

Extremadura is the root: the pulse, the memory, a certain emotional dryness. Iceland brings depth and distance. I don't offer easy comfort; I offer company in what is hard.

Grada · entrevista →

Media FAQ

Where can readers buy the book?
Illustrated colour edition (paperback, €19.90 on Amazon.es; ASIN B0HJX4D9SW · ISBN 978-9935-9911-0-2) and Kindle. News: /en/#noticia-hiel-libro-ilustrado. Deluxe Munken edition: Icelandic bookstores in November 2026 — not available yet.
Where is Vol. I available?
Desgarro y Melancolía on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music and other platforms (since 29 Jun 2026).
Is there a Catalan-language single?
Yes: Hi ha dies tristos (10 Aug 2026) — Catalan version of “Hay días tristes”(Ecos Boreales). Links, cover and Sitges reel are in the fact sheet on this page and in the ZIP.
Is there a music video for Luz de mi sombra?
Yes: official 4K music video (29 Aug 2026) — track 12 of Vol. I · Desgarro y Melancolía (Ecos Boreales). YouTube: youtube.com/watch?v=e_DCyjCMNPE. Fact sheet on this page and in the ZIP.
When is Vol. II out?
Refugio del deseo is in production; waitlist on the Music section.
Will there be English albums?
Yes. In 2027 come Rupture & Melancholy (Volume I) and Sheltered Desire (Volume II) — international versions with a blues pulse, as he discussed on RÚV.
What is Ecos Boreales?
Iceland-based publisher of Hiel · Sips of Gall. The music of Hiel is by Martín Zaramán, in four volumes — two in Spanish (Vol. I streaming now) and two in English (2027).
What is the deluxe edition?
Limited run on Munken Pure Cream with blind debossing; bilingual bookmark. Icelandic bookstores in November 2026 — not available yet.
Is interview material available?
Yes: interviews in HOY Extremadura, Grada, Canal Extremadura Radio and RÚV (~27 min); quotes on this page, covers, reels and audio previews. Contact: press@martinzaraman.com

In the media

Links

Social · figures

Updated: . Indicative figures for press.

Book details

Track listing · Vol. I

16 tracks · ~32 min · streaming now. Titles only.

  1. Sorbos de hiel
  2. Desespero
  3. Miedo
  4. Soledad
  5. Rabia
  6. Eras la nada de la vida
  7. Latidos
  8. Hay días tristes
  9. Allí estaré
  10. Tiempo ha pasado sin poder verte
  11. Es París que agoniza
  12. Luz de mi sombra
  13. Solidão
  14. Hi ha dies tristos
  15. C'est Paris qui agonise
  16. Disperazione

Vol. II · Refugio del deseo — 12 tracks · coming soon.

English volumes (2027)

Downloads

Covers at web resolution. For high-res assets, email press.

Download full kit (ZIP) →

Double-page samples

Spreads from the illustrated colour edition (poem + watercolour). English on the left, Spanish on the right.

Hiel · I · Herida y traición / Wound and betrayal
I · Wound and betrayal
Hiel · II · Nostalgia y ausencia / Longing and absence
II · Longing and absence
Hiel · Luz de mi sombra / Light of my shadow
Light of my shadow
Hiel · Aroma a mar / Scent of the sea
Scent of the sea
Hiel · Eternidad / Eternity
Eternity

Covers (download)

Audio previews (~30 s)

Reels (download)

Vertical clips ~40 s, ready for social or press use.

Album details · Vol. I

Roadmap · English volumes

Contact

For interviews, reviews or additional material:

press@martinzaraman.com

Also via the site contact section.