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10 questions with Christian Martin
One of the leading lights of San Francisco's resurgent house scene, Christian Martin is best known for his Trapez productions and globe-trotting adventures on Claude Von Stroke and elder brother Justin's Dirtybird label. We sent our intrepid eye, Barry McManus, to talk dubstep and sub bass with the main man.
What's been the highlight of your year so far and what have you got coming up?
I was really excited to be a part of Trapez’s 100th release celebration, remixing the classic UND track ‘Fox in the Box’. They were so pleased with my remix that they signed an EP of mine which will be out in early 2010. As far as Dirtybird goes, I just finished remixing Claude Von Stroke’s ‘Monster Island’ from his new album. My original track ‘Polar Bear’ will be included on the Dirtybird 5 year compilation, due out in February 2010.
Who's currently rocking your world as a producer and why?
DJ Koze, Robag Wruhme, L-VIS1990, Sei A, Voodeux, Maetrik and my brother Justin are all making tracks that amaze me when I hear them. Everything from their structure to their basslines and sound quality are head and shoulders above the rest of the music I come across these days. Outside of the house realm I’m a big fan of Synkro, Joker, Rustie, Burial, Benga and Untold. The hip hop junkie in me loves dubstep – some of those guys are pushing the genre in really creative directions.
Describe your typical workflow on a track and is it different when you produce tracks with your brother Justin Martin as the Martin Brothers?
When I make my own tracks I set a loop over 16 or 32 bars, build a beat, and program the main drop of the track – the section that kicks in immediately after the build. When I've got that I work backwards and deconstruct the song into its intro and outro beats. The actual build is usually the last thing I do: it takes me the longest to tweak and get right. When I'm working on the build I'm always thinking about its momentum on the dancefloor and working out how to keep the energy and tension in the track building even as elements are dropping out.
When I work with Justin I go to his studio with a folder full of chunky samples: toms, subs, fills, hip hop instrumentals, strange synth stabs and so on. Then we go through them until something catches our ears and start from there.
Do you mainly use analogue or digital soft synth sources? Do you think analogue makes a difference?
I mainly use soft synths. Right now I’m really into Rob Papen’s Sub Boom Bass: it has some really thumping tones that are easily malleable. I don't mind where a sound comes from, as long as the result is great. For example, there’s an iPhone app synth called ‘Bebot’ that sounds surprisingly massive considering it outputs through a 3.5mm jack.
Any advice on monitoring? Quiet? Loud? Do you prefer flat and boring speakers, headphones or big, phat and chunky monitors?
I work with my monitors relatively low to avoid ear fatigue, but I start the day listening to tracks that sound huge on club systems. This way I’m tuned into what I know works in a club environment and can mix with that sound in mind without blowing my eardrums.
What's your opinion on processing the mix bus? leave it clean or drive it to the extreme?
I prefer to leave the main bus clean and ensure that every musical element has its own space in which to shine. I’ve started incorporating a bit more sidechaining into my productions but I’m not a huge fan of grating, overdriven synths at the centre of tracks. It seems like a musical cop-out.
When building a track how do you normally work? Start with the drums and build your way up from there?
I usually start by looping a kick and clap then build the groove on top of that. If the kick is short and punchy I like to fill the sub space with a booming 808-style bassline. I’ve been getting into some Miami Bass-influenced tracks lately. Because of their huge kicks there’s a lot less room in the mix for a bassline, but plenty of space for creative mid and high-level lead patterns.
How do you see the dance music industry developing over the next two to three years?
I think we’ll see a lot more dance music producers working with established pop stars, following in the footsteps of Diplo, Switch, Guetta and Tiesto. Also, it’s inevitable that the hip hop industry will start turning to the elite dubsteppers. Snoop paved the way when he jumped on Chase & Status’s ‘Eastern Jam’. I also wouldn’t be surprised if iTunes acquired Beatport.
Any advice for aspiring producers out there?
Pick a track that you love and figure out exactly why you love it. Strip it down and copy its structure. Your track will turn out very different from the one you've copied but it will kick ass and you’ll end up with a greater insight into your own musical taste and abilities.
Which sounds do you find are the hardest to create from scratch?
Interesting lead/melodic sounds that don’t sound like you’re plinking with one finger on a keyboard. I have to shout out the Sub Boom Bass again: I’ve coaxed some really live and organic leads out of it. Sometimes it can be tough getting the kick and basslines to play nicely together without clashing, but Sub Boom Bass seems to make it easier.
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More from Christian Martin: www.myspace.com/christianmartinmusic
(c) 2009 Sounds/To/Sample