MARTYN

Martyn is at the forefront of the electronic scene these days, although D3K has been aware of his talent for some time now. Martijn Deijkers' groundbreaking drum and bass productions filled our record boxes many years ago, rather than the groundbreaking dub step techno of today. With his forthcoming LP ‘Great Lengths’ circulating record shops, we felt it was time to delve deeper into the man behind some of the most forward-thinking productions of our time.

So Martyn, you've got an LP about to drop, and are DJing non-stop... How’s it all going so far?

Certainly can’t complain at all! I've been very busy doing promotion for the album, playing gigs, and gathering ideas for future releases.

What inspired you to make the ‘Great Lengths’ LP. Is that an important way to move forward for recording artists these days?

Well, deciding upon making an album came quite naturally to me. I had done a good few 12 inches and remixes, and gathered some ideas for a full length LP. I took a few months away from gigging to sit down and make sketches, and before I knew it, a sort of ’story’ presented itself, which later became ’Great Lengths’.

‘Great Lengths’ is due for release in the spring of 2009 on your label 3024, which has been around since 2007. What would you say is the concept for the label, and what has been your favourite release so far?

The concept of 3024 really is ’anything goes’ - I like to find music that gives me chills when I hear it loud on a dancefloor but that also has more than enough elements that are interesting to listen to over and over at home. I’m not sure what my favourite release so far is but number 3, with Flying Lotus' and 2562's remixes, is very special to me just because these guys are so incredibly talented, so I was proud to be able to put that 12 inch out there.

You’ve actually been involved in the music scene for a good while, originally promoting D&B parties in Holland and then going on to release D&B material. Can you tell us a little bit about your past and also where you see yourself in the future?

I’ve been buying and listening to all sorts of music from a very young age, I love playing good music out to people in clubs, and I just like to take things as they come, drawing from all sorts of musical influences and trying to construct my own take on them.

A lot of people try to pin down what genre of music you make. They’ve even gone so far as to coin the phrase ‘Martyn-step’. How do you feel about that and how would you describe your music?

I certainly would not call it Martyn-step!!! But the fact that people find it difficult to pin me down in a certain genre I suppose is a good thing, as it would indicate that whatever I make has my ’sound’. I like to describe my sound as ’music for a warm but rainy day’.

You've become known for successfully remixing other people’s music. Is this something you value as much as producing your own original material?

Yes, when it comes to remixing, the original track needs to have something that sparks an idea in my head, and then I try to expand on that idea and make it almost into one of my own tracks. I take remixing very seriously. There are a lot of cases where real good original tracks just don’t work for me as a remixer.

When you’re at home in the studio writing music, what’s your favourite piece of equipment to use ?

My coffee machine.x

There’s a lot of random, sparse, earthy noises in your productions. Is this intentional or part of the process with your equipment?

A little bit of both: I love to make ’field recordings’ to try and capture the sound of a certain space or surrounding. When making music I like to add that ’earthiness’ even if it is barely audible.

Those who have seen you DJ speak of your long 3 minute mixes; it’s quite a spectacle. If you had the choice to DJ for the rest of your life or produce, which would you choose as your first love?

I didn’t know I was known for ’3 minute mixes’:) It is impossible for me to answer this question though. I love both DJing and producing, they serve different purposes. It sounds a little pretentious perhaps, but making tracks is like writing short, to-the-point poems with a condensed emotion, while DJ sets are more like novels with a beginning, an end and an epic adventure in between.

Finally, there’s a lot of good music out there. Give me your favourite artist or record from the past and present, and also who or what to look out for in the near future

There is a lot of great stuff around at the moment. Some people I’m feeling are: Flying Lotus, Mike Slott, 2562, Dorian Concept, Roska, Kode9, Adam Marshall, Ben Klock, Marcel Dettmann and Shed.

Promotional links:

» http://3024world.blogspot.com » http://www.myspace.com/martyndnb » http://www.youtube.com/user/3024world