4. MartynGreat Lengths
I was back in London to study at university. I was still an MC at the time as I had left singing quite early, and I was part of a dubstep crew. I had been going to quite a few raves in Nottingham previously, where I saw Skream, Rusko and people like that, then coming back to London I started getting more into DMZ. My first experience of Martyn was at Brixton Mass at a DMZ night. Again, I was intrigued by this ‘other’ music – he came with these garage tones and adapted those sounds to the dubstep palette. It was my favourite set of the night and he was mainly playing tracks from Great Lengths. It really stood out for me. He had come at it a little bit differently and it really excited me at the time. I had been to a talk by Pearson Sound about the new sounds and new formulas his peers had been developing in the UK funky era. This was all the music that dominated my interest – this idea of ‘new formulas.’
Martyn showed genre doesn’t have to be so rigid. I know there are different forms and different feels that come under one genre. I know where to find it and cut between genres to find different approaches. Every artist has a story and a different way of engaging with existing formulas. Their practices are slightly different, so the results are different. You can go into most genres for different things, and find different things depending on your approach as a listener and participant.
