Martsman

Drum n' Bass / Electronica / Experimental

Karlsruhe/Berlin

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About

Electronic bass is a component that has seen exploitations for over a quarter of a century. When Jungle transisted to Drum&Bass, there was one variant which meddled with the makeup of several a matrix; the modulated wobble. With an eye on post 2000, it had spawned aggro LFO: raging around a Breakcore airfield like nunchucks ready to smash skulls. Mellow LFO: whispering in the midst of relaxed drumwork patterns, too chilled for shedding sweat; a silent film affair. There was neurotic LFO: making prophecies in boarding the mothership of Borg or Braindance, accompanied by agents Reese and Resonance; in a distillate built on two steps. Gurner LFO meanwhile jumped around with airhorns at major raves, doing its nut in the dance; making noise in close proximity to your face.

Then there was the subversive LFO, which had ideas to integrate. An LFO with affinity for intransigent IDM tangents. Syncopating, swing-beating, drums off the beaten track. Turning that fixed wobbler frown, upside down. Bringing in a glitch to twitch the senses; to surprise! Feelings to lighten the heart, chewing on technicolour candy floss, without going full out Krusty The Clown, wall of sound on us. But this LFO walks seldom with the UK crowd. Confined to the headphones or internet fetishes, at inception, it had nowhere to express them sensibilities to the fullest.

What was it to do? Sulk that it had lost Squarepusher's friends at 174BPM? In 2003, one such LFO decided to depart from UK shores. Knotting one last bow in its knapsack, Sonar Circle & Alpha Omega LPs its main companions for the trip, it ended its trek in Berlin; and that's where Martsman took this LFO in. Feeding it his own production smarties - and stopping to share influences from Full Cycle, "Ago" was the first fusion sent to service Drum&Bass' factory line; appearing on Offshore Recordings and Commercial Suicide's second split twelve inch, in November 2005, and perforating just about any discerning eardrum with its off-centre, deviantly calibrated construction. "My approach on writing 'Ago' was mainly influenced by being in contact with a constantly increasing amount of producers, focussing on the breakbeat-orientated side of D&B" he recalls, "a steadily growing subgenre, which is often known as 'drumfunk' nowadays. That track was my attempt to integrate my own vocabulary of sounds into Drum&Bass music; a framework in which I consider anything goes."

Far from solely engaging in the studio for resbite, Martsman's party animal interior later crept out to entertain club entrants, in national exteriors, such as Breakbeat Journeys, Leipzig, in the June of 2006. "I had a really great night there" he remembers. "Con.Struct, the guy who runs the parties is very commited, and concerned about introducing the music he loves to the people in a careful, yet distinct way. It is definitely one of the most important institutions in Germany, in my opinion."

"My approach to DJing is very eclectic" he continues. "I am very excited about new and fresh sounds that purvey influences external to Drum&Bass, whereas on the other hand I have a fable for tunes which take a traditional leaf that has not been used for years - 'Renaissance' Drum&Bass if you want. For me, mixing is about cross-connecting different times and spaces. Don't get me wrong, some DJs are representing the current status quo in a very proper way, and the scene most definitely needs DJs like that. That said though, I always find there's a vibe that can't be reproduced by playing records from the last couple of months again and again, and that vibe in particular is what I aim to showcase through my sets."

A vital outlook perhaps, as Martsman would then go on to rock bigger blocks - such as Chris Inperspective's world-reknowned Technicality in London, and then smaller provinces - i.e NuKillaBeats, in Ireland; all with that unique freaking, in all but the space of a year. While all of this activity occurred, however, Martsman had already issued his earliest efforts on Plainaudio, the netlabel he runs in conjunction with Cycom, Iaka, Flowpro and Buzz. In truth - and to this day, it's where the largest percentage of his releases lie. "Plainaudio is a platform for all kinds of electronic music, but the focus has always been leftfield and experimental Drum&Bass. Since the label's relaunch in 2005 we have put out over 20 releases in digital format, all of which can be downloaded on the website for free. In our roster, we have been graced by established figures - Cartridge, Alpha Omega and Macc to name three, and also catered for new or younger musicians - like IJO, and Hi-Lar. Being free from financial expenses and distributors means that we can put out the music we really love, though promoting a release and an artist properly is hard work when we all have time consuming jobs - those which are independent from the music."

Innovating insofar of limited experience, further solo spurts have gone on to rattle more vinyl catalogues as Martsman's production prowess increased. 2007 efforts "Antifunk" on the Netherlands' Counter Intelligence, and its less oxymoronic namesake, "Jump Funk" on Leipzig's Alphacut forwarded that disorderly streak into brighter musical fields: the two attracting enveloped LFOs to that former lonely traveller, and bundling them into a washing machine filled with Autechre and Aphex Twin's autonomously coloured laundry; wringing out that Bristol bass rinse, on top of tumbling processed loops. This lack of prescript may yet flex the best from his Buzz-powered software belittlements of D&B conformity, although by what he's to say about the rest of the year, it seems to all be taken humbly in his stride: "There are a few split and solo 12's coming in the following months on imprints like Offshore, Breakin', Lightless, Med School, Trust In Music and Warm Communications." Martsman reveals. "I am really happy and feel honoured that all of these labels consider my music worth releasing. There are also a few collaborations planned with artists from inside and outside the D&B scene, and I am really looking forward to those as well!"

So, who's up for a game of Jump Funk? Unlimited players, symbiosis over stimulants, well crafted breaks, no toys from prams. Sounds good to me. What about you?

(Words by Muttley - muttley_subversion [at] hotmail [dot] co [dot] uk)