Martyn - Ghost People (2011) - Hoxton album launch

Dutch producer Martyn is an electronic music pioneer and always puts on a banging set, and to celebrate the hotly anticipated release of his new album Ghost People in October, a big night was in order. Fortunately the line-up didn't disappoint, and with sets from Dbridge (Exit/Autonomic) and Hyperdub label boss Kode9 it was always going to be a corker.

Set in a sparse basement deep in the underbelly of Hoxton (with the venue remaining almost worryingly mysterious until the last minute), 3024's visual maestro and fellow Dutchman Erosie's artwork adorning the venue was a fitting backdrop for Martyn's unique fusion of techno, dubstep, funky and house.

After Manny Z warmed the room, including an awesomely leftfield remix of Blue Monday, Dbridge stepped up. Dbridge is a veteran who never disappoints, and tonight was no exception - with an eclectic bass driven set of melodic drum & bass, dub step and some jungly beats it was a floor filler. I think I lost about a stone brocking out.

Martyn's set raised the roof, and the crowd seemed to embrace the more housey direction of his new tunes, which he's discussed elsewhere. No Natural Selection or Vancouver here, this was the set of a DJ who clearly feels comfortable when constantly moving, shifting, defying expectations.
It would have been a great night ending after Martyn (the room was roaring) but it was topped off with the legendary Kode9 dropping some absolute bangers for his garage-filled finale. Awesome night.

Here's a taster of the album, but it has to be seen live.



Can't wait to session the album properly and hear where Martyn's headed. Ghost People is released on Brainfeeder on 10th October 2011.

Update: some great photos of the night over at Brainer mag

-L