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Martin belongs
to those for whom music is much more than just an ear-pleasure.
To him, music is life, it brings people together in harmony, it
is a raw material that can take any shape you want.
Martin learnt
classical music as a young boy, but he really started to take part
of it when he got his first turntables at the age of 13. At this
time, DJs were only emerging and Martin gave his first shows at
friends' birthdays and weddings. However, his first big step forward
was in 1992 when he discovered electronic music. He's then hired
as a salesman in the legendary record stores Champs Disques on the
Champs Elysées in Paris. This opportunity widened his spectrum
of music and tought him the love of all music, which is essential
as a DJ.
At 18, thanks
to his job and support of Claude Monnet, Martin got his first residency
in the most famous club in Paris : Le Palace. He then moved on to
another legendary club, Les Bains Douches, where he got the chance
to spin his records with world top dj's such as Todd Terry, Roger
Sanchez, Mousse T… Martin had found his style and his popularity
got bigger and bigger with the [Pure] parties at Queen club, whether
on stage or backstage as Art Director.
Martin's love
for music is so strong that he knew Djing wasn't enough. That's
why he also started producing very early, and after a few tries
he released, on his own label Mixture, the classic hit "Heart
of Africa", followed by "Come with me". Those two
12inches set the tone and showed everyone that Martin wanted to
bring life to his tracks with the combination of real instrument
players and the inner strength of dance music : rhythm and efficiency.
Bob Sinclar invited him to join the "Africanism" project.
Martin knew he had to come up strong and that's how was born the
hit single "Edony". Ranked in every international chart,
the track, released in cd, allowed Martin to reach a wider audience.
Martin now
Djs in many countries but he keeps in mind what brought him where
he is : respect of the crowd, surprise and diversity in his productions
or behind the decks. His main influences are soul, disco, hip-hop,
French middle-of-the-road, African flavours and any form of drum-driven
music. Still, Martin is curious about anything that shows him a
new way of doing music. And though music takes a big part in his
life, he enjoys spending time with his fellow producers Claude Monnet,
Grégory, Bob Sinclar and Julien Jabre to share opinions and
discuss about his other passions : good wine, good food and movies...
The young 25
year old producer's debut album "Sur la Terre" is a good
overview of his past work. This LP includes his (so far) career
milestone tracks "Heart of Africa" and "Edony",
but also the soulful, powerful and kind of ol' school song "I'm
a good man". While "Someday" shows a little melancholic
side, "Linda" is a funny tribute to his masters : Fela
and Serge Gainsbourg. This album is unanimously praised and has
an unexpected buzz throughout the world that gives Martin many opportunities
to collaborate with international producers among the greatest :
Kenny Dope (Masters At Work) for "Linda", Gregory and
DJ Spen (Basement Boys) for "Someday", to name a few.
Other well established artists are now asking him to give an uplift
to their own works : from Cunnie Williams to Soldiers of Twilight,
and most of all Salif Keita's "Madan" which is now, thanks
to Martin's re-work, one of last summer's anthem in France. So far,
this remix has been compiled more than 60 times in 23 countries.
However, Martin
doesn't forget his friends and produced the chosen single from the
new Africanism project, "Heartbeat", that allows Martin
to show his skills in a more electro genre : You can be sure the
man still wants to shake the dancefloor ! Last but not least, his
latest tune "Rocking Music" will be out in stores late
2003, on Defected, and on Mixture and ULM for France...
Seven presents
Martin Solveig– Melbourne, December 3rd,
52 Albert Rd, South Melbourne
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