Dutchman Martijn Deijkers returns with his second album, after signingto Flying Lotus’s LA-based label, Brainfeeder. Through 15 years ofDJing, Martyn has only been a producer for the last six, honinghis sound which explores the area of electronic music somewherebetween techno and dubstep.
Since his move to Washington DC, hisoutput seems to have absorbed more of a house influence. His 2009debut album Great Lengths was an interesting affair, testing outmany styles, but perhaps felt a little disjointed. On Ghost People he presentsmuch more of a polished product, and the programming is of anexcellent standard.
It opens with the mellow swirling Love And Machines with spoken wordfrom Spaceape. Viper follows which uses a deep synth chord as theaggressive bassline in an moody work out. Masks takes on a US housefeel, and the thumping beats of Distortion pulse through in apeaktime dancefloor cut.
Popgun is darker in nature, with a touch ofmenace in its distorted beats. The title track is the highlight -infectious tribal tech beats create a powerful vibe, with a nod torave, and the tabla laced breakdown works extremely well. It isfollowed by another club track – Twice As which leans heavily onearly UK garage, with its monstrously heavy 2-step bassline.
The slightly lower points are Horror Vacui with its lashings ofbass, but overly brooding and a touch ominous in its approach.Bauplan has an ’80s cinematic feel to it, somewhat akin to Vangelis,and perhaps slightly oddly placed in the middle of this LP. We AreYou In The Future ends the album on a high, with lush futuristicbreakbeats and atmospherics, which then morph effortlessly into ’90swarehouse rave territory, capturing the energy of the scene in a trulysincere manner.
Martyn is still defining his sound, and this is a snapshot of thatartistic process. It demonstrates his considerable talent as aproducer, for he has crafted a cutting edge album that is extremelyengaging and enjoyable.
Martyn MP3s or CDs
Martyn on Spotify
