Interview with Martinez ahead of Filth's first Warehouse Party

We caught up with Swedish DJ Martinez ahead of his appearance with Butch and Uner at FILTH's first Warehouse party on September 10th.

After years of packed-out parties at the illustrious Mint Club, Filth have made the bold decision to take their party somewhere new, but just as illustrious… namely the history soaked, legendary rave space that is The Warehouse, Leeds,  on September 10th.  

The party will be headlined by Butch, UNER, NTFO and Martinez. Martinez is a dancefloor specialist – his hard hitting tech house and huge drops propel crowds as long as he is in the booth. Often playing his own steely cuts, he also releases on Moon Harbour and Cadenza and is one of the most dexterous DJs we know. As such, we caught up with him for a quick chat before the event…

What sounds did you grow up around in Sweden?

Music wise I grew up around a lot of jazz and opera, as my father was always listening to these things. When I got a bit older I ventured into guitar rock - like every pre-teen boy I guess. Later developing into indie rock and pop, and when I moved to Helsingborg I started to be around a lot of people that was into this new “rave” and “trance” thing, so that was how I started to have electronic music and dance music around me. When around 16-18 years old I was pretty much already DJing as a hobby and had a lot of Chicago House and Detroit Techno around me.

Was there a scene there that influenced you at all? Does it still?

Yeah, quite a few scenes were influencing me at that time. First of all there was the Britpop and indie scene. I was also into Soul and Jazz for a long time. Later on the whole rave thing, going to techno parties in warehouses and just dancing and getting lost to the music. I think this scene (although at probably a more sophisticated level) is still influencing me.

What do you think it is about that country that has given us such strong electronic acts (yourself, Beyer, the House Mafia, Style of Eye)?

Well, I don’t think it's special for Sweden to have this; if you look at every country they all have their scene, their sounds and influences, and you can probably drop the same amount of acts or even more. So, in general I think each place on earth has their own scene and are as strongly influenced by their environment around them as anywhere else. However, when asking what it is about Sweden that made these acts come to be, I think one of the reasons is that there was a very strong techno scene in the early 90’s. Some of the real proper rave parties took places there when I was really young. Then the stuff like Adam’s Drumcode label as well as Hybrid, Svek, Planet Rhythm and all that was a key inspiration for me back then, it really got me into what I am doing now. I think in Sweden people are very dedicated to their arts and skills, which results in this fantastic music.

What do you think is the most difficult aspect of the music production?

I would say, to keep your focus and not be disturbed by the “market”, “sales”, “trends”, “charts” etc… I think the best music happens when you get lost in time and space and just let your imagination take over and see where you end up. When the music is hard to place in a genre, then its usually really good. It’s sometimes very difficult to end up there when you get too caught up with what is the “right thing” at the moment.

What have been the highs and lows of your music career so far?

Well, it all goes in waves and some periods are better than others, but I can’t particularly say which points has been the highest or lowest. I try to only see how I can improve and get better, so I stay looking forward and I think the best highs are definitely yet to come.

How do you find your own voice/style when anyone with a PC can make music?

By being creative and thinking outside the box. Always keep testing new things and don’t get caught up in what it's supposed to sound like. It is always supposed to sound like you want it to. I think if you put enough of your personality in the music and tweak sounds/synths in your own way, then you will always have a personal sound.

Who or what influences you now?

Everything around. All that happens in my life, as well as lots of different records and music I listen to at the moment. Anything from old jazz, classical music to a new tech-house record can give me inspiration or influence me.

What are your current top three tracks?

In my itunes list is says:

1.     Miles Davis – “So What”

2.     Ryuichi Sakamoto – “Chanson (instrumental)

3.     Pulshar – “Da Creator”

So I guess these are the once I listen to most when I am not Djing!

What are you working on at the moment?

Right now I am working on a bunch of new tracks. It has been a while since I had time to work on my own material due to a lot of touring and remixing. So these tracks should hopefully compile a few nice EPs and 12” coming out in the next 4-8 months.

And what can people expect from your set at FILTH, Leeds?

Leeds is always great, I love the crowd over there, so first of all the can expect an excited Martinez ready to give them a proper driving hypnotic dance floor set. I got loads of new music and cool tunes/edits and remixes, so should be a good show. I am very much looking forward to it.

What else you got coming up?

There is a new EP from me coming out on Steve Lawler’s VIVa Music at the end of the month called, “Flabbergasted EP”.  

Who are you on the daily outside of music?

(Laughs), well music is pretty much 100% of my life, but I do take a day away from it all every now and then. In these moments I am usually cooking a lot with friends that are not into this musical scene.

Tickets are no longer available for this event