Ephemeral Objects —09: Martyn
Ephemeral Objects —09: Martyn
We live inside a culture that has monetized restlessness. The algorithm prioritizes novelty. The whole apparatus runs on the continuous production of ~next~. (Is this just a projection of my ADHD mind that always looks for the new? Yes, possibly, and no, absolutely not.)
There’s beauty in being devoted to anything. For Martyn, it’s a steadfast fidelity to music and the scene he’s been so integral to. All of these things he’s involved in are to build human infrastructure around what you love and to pass it on.
Martyn grew up in the Netherlands and, while in uni, became obsessed with mid-90s jungle and breakbeat music coming out of the UK. Buying records and throwing parties with friends in small bars and learning as they went along. The parties may have stopped, but what was born was a more self-assured form.
Fast forward to today. Martyn has lived in America long enough to understand what it means to build something without a safety net. His label, 3024, operates on the incredible strength of the music alone. And he’s given back to the community, passing on lessons from himself and other producers in his 3024 mentorship program and writing via his own newsletter, Four Things.
So what happens when you stay true to a version of yourself you formed in your late teens/early 20s in a field or a basement or a bedroom with headphones on? When you stay loyal to the music you fell in love with and then build a community around it?
Turns out, devotion is the whole point (it usually is). Martyn, basically.
In Ephemeral Objects —09, Martyn brings us 4 items that point to a long history within the scene and how sometimes the creative act is about relinquishing control.
Be sure to check out his label’s releases via Bandcamp, his newsletter, and mentorship program.
Look closer, stay a while
OBJECT 1:
“SUB SUB, WORDS WORDS” (SPACEAPE and KODE 9, photographed by GEORGINA COOK)
This object is important to me on several levels, first of all the subjects, it is a great photo of two people who are very dear to me, Kode has been a good friend and one of my staunchest supporters in the early days of my music making journey. And Spaceape was a good friend who was taken from us far too soon (he passed away in 2014). I often miss his smile, and lightheartedness and his intelligence, and the amazing conversations we had via Skype back in the day. The photo also signifies how close to death I feel myself sometimes, if that makes sense. Georgina Cook aka Drumz of the South who took the photo is to me one of the chroniclers of the dubstep scene from its inception. Her photos show she is both a music head and an artist with an exceptional eye. Lastly, I also love having artwork in the house that’s made by artists I know personally or who are close friends. It’s a nice feeling to be surrounded by so many inspired people.
https://www.instagram.com/georginaccook/
https://www.instagram.com/kode9/
OBJECT 2:
Religious Trinkets
Most of these come from traveling and touring. I’ve slowed down a lot with gigging but when my schedule was a lot busier I used to make a point of visiting churches, cathedrals and other religious sites wherever I went. It felt like a nice counterpoint to the fast paced life of hotels, airports, clubs ; to be able to enter a place of silence and devotion, where life unfolds along a different timeline, and where I would find a few moments to mentally recharge. I’m not tied to any religion or spiritual worldview but wherever you are among people on that wavelength - you feel the energy for sure. Art is the expression of individual and collective spirituality, and there’s so much amazing work made out of pure devotion, sometimes of an almost supernatural quality. I once went to see The Ecstacy of Saint Teresa in Rome and just could not believe I was looking at something made by a human being.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecstasy_of_Saint_Teresa
OBJECT 3:
Watercolor
A lot of my (recent) work, as a musician but also as a writer and mentor/teacher for others, is about process and workflow. In the early pandemic I started a mentoring program for musicians and while working on sessions and topics for the program, also started to examine my own creative process. What are the things that work for me to see projects through to the end, stay inspired, get into flow state etc. One of the things that’s central to my work is that music (or any art for that matter) is a daily practice rather than artists sitting around doing nothing until an idea comes to them. Every day, you engage with your work, stay focused and generate ideas. It doesn’t even matter whether ideas are good / bad, it matters that there is constant creation. When I was tired of making music for a while, I took on watercolor painting as a daily activity, together with my little daughter who was home during the pandemic. Just to stick to this very simple activity, and learn something every single day was so invigorating. It really helped me when going through a bit of a crisis, where I was teaching a lot but also saw my own personal musical ideas fade away. What I learned from painting (although I was never very good), is how you let the paint find its own way on the paper rather than trying to control it. You are the facilitator but the painting paints itself almost, similarly to how the best tunes almost write themselves. Some of the stuff I am most proud of as an artist, I literally have no recollection of how it came to be.
mentoring: https://martyn3024.com/mentoring
about flow state:
OBJECT 4:
KRACKFREE SOUNDSYSTEM Ceramic Hangers
These ceramic hangers were made by Nanda Smits, an artist who emerged from the same creative scene as myself and Jeroen Erosie (we do 3024 together), in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. They were made as promotional material for Krackfree Soundsystem, one of the country’s premier systems, also with very strong Eindhoven roots. You may have heard the system at Rupture in Melkweg Amsterdam or at Dekmantel’s The Nest stage. The guys who run the system are like brothers to us.. We did so many events together over the past three decades, from the most sketchy underground squat parties to large festivals. They’re always just a phone call away and I am so thankful for having a few people around me, across scenes, generations, genres whatever who I can rely on and who can rely on me. A little while ago we did a listening party for my album “Through Lines” - A nice warehouse space full of friends, the massive system Krackfree sound in all its glory and just a single turntable playing the record - it was such an amazing experience, I wish I could listen to my music in that setting all the time!
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