Martyn

Martyn’s unique strand of bass defies easy categorisation – to his fans and admirers, it’s known simply as ‘Martyn Music.’ With a sound that has become emblematic for all that’s forward thinking in dubstep Martyn pushes a defiant out-of-the-box mentality into his every artistic venture, scorning genre convention and relentlessly embracing the new. Informed by a love for Detroit techno, Chicago house and hip-hop, encountering drum & bass in its mid-90’s golden era was the catalyst for him to develop his musical ideas and begin to lay the foundations of his career as a DJ & Producer.?? In 2005 Martyn’s own productions began to surface in the drum & bass scene, with releases on Play:Musik and Marcus Intalex’ Revolve:r imprint. The following year saw a radical shift in sound with the “Broken” / “Shadowcasting” 12”. Drawing on techno and house as much as a still fertile Dubstep scene the release heralded Martyn’s arrival beyond the world of drum & bass, with his new direction supported by DJs ranging from Kode 9 to Gilles Peterson.

Building on this momentum with releases on labels such as Tempa and Applepips, the appearance on Hessle Audio of his remix of TRG’s “Broken Heart” catapulted his profile to the next level. Alongside 2008’s re-versions of Black Pocket (aka Steve Spacek), Flying Lotus & Shed , the last 18 months have seen widely acclaimed new mixes for Maximo Park and Fever Ray plus a pair of stylistically opposed but hugely successful reinterpretations of Efdemin’s Acid Bells.

Teaming up with old friend Erosie (one of Europe’s most celebrated street artists), Martyn launched the 3024 label in late 2007. June 08 saw the “Natural Selection”/“Vancouver” 12” released to an avalanche of critical acclaim and dj/radio play. Swiftly followed by two inimitable remixes by Flying Lotus and 2562 the next step was a debut LP, released in April 2009 to a rapturous critical and commercial reception. Common consensus was that ‘Great Lengths’ had set a new standard in the fragmenting dubstep scene for long players. Showcasing every element of Martyn’s sound the album’s refusal to tie itself into a readily identifiable genre resonated far beyond dubstep, repeatedly occupying top 10 spots in end of year poll’s including #2 on Mixmag’s albums of the year chart.

A series of album launch parties at legendary venues including Plastic People, New York’s Cielo and Arena in Berlin underlined Martyn’s progression into one of the most versatile and kinetic DJs in electronic music. His raw yet adventurous style has seen him play iconic spots including Berghain / Panoramabar, The Roxy in LA and DMZ @ Mass as well as festivals like BLOC, Mutek, Iceland Airwaves, Bestival and Sonar. 2009/2010’s marathon international touring has seen regular appearances at Flying Lotus’ Brainfeeder showcases and increasingly legendary back to back sessions with Kode 9.

A regular at London’s clubbing institution fabric from early in his career, Martyn was approached to mix their landmark 50th mix CD towards the end of 2009. Released the following January to reviews hailing the appearance of one of the finest mixes in the series long and illustrious history the CD added yet further to Martyn’s reputation as a guaranteed floor filler, helping further expand an ever growing international audience eager for the currently under construction LP #2.