You started mixing on cassette tapes at age 8. What lessons from those early bedroom mixes still show up in your studio production and DJ sets today? Also I never had cassettes haha, so tell me about how that actually works when mixing cassettes?<\/b><\/h4>\n
That is when the early obsession was born with sound and arrangement. I didn\u2019t actually \u201cmix\u201d cassettes like a DJ would, but I would record from the radio, over them, rewind, layer things in crude ways, and that gave me a sense of how music could flow and transition perfectly. The discipline to wait by the radio all day after school with a blank tape, counting the beats \u201c1, 2, 3, 4\u201d and pressing \u201cREC\u201c at the perfect starting point, and ending the \u201crecording\u201c when it felt right\u2014on the right ending beat\u2014to be able to record the next matching song \u2018on beat,\u2019 creating a flowing, harmonic mixtape. The main lesson that\u2019s stayed with me is: trust your ear, not the waveform. Today, I still rely on how something feels before I let it go\u2014whether it\u2019s in a live set or a final master.<\/span><\/p>\n Social media is a tool\u2014nothing more, nothing less. It can help you build a connection with your audience, and yes, sometimes very few promoters use it as a metric, but for me, it\u2019s always been about the music and the energy I bring to a club. Personally, I\u2019d rather have 100 true fans who actually come to the gigs and buy the records than 100,000 who just double-tap. Authenticity always has a longer shelf life than algorithms. That\u2019s something I stand by.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n I love both. Creating alone gives me that meditative space where I can go really deep into my own world, which I enjoy a lot, but collaborations\u2014when they\u2019re with the right energy\u2014can be magical too. I think my strongest contribution in collabs is groove and arrangement. I can take a basic idea and turn it into a full experience on the dancefloor. If I had one option though, I probably would choose to produce alone.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d tell my younger self: Don\u2019t rush the process. Mastery takes time, and comparison will kill your creativity. What I\u2019d warn her about is chasing trends or trying to please too many people. When you make music that\u2019s truly you, the right audience will find you. Also, take care of your mental health\u2014it\u2019s easy to burn out when you\u2019re trying to \u201cmake it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n If I were commissioned to create a time capsule representing today\u2019s tech-house scene\u2026I\u2019d include a field recorder with hours of ambient sound from inside the world\u2019s most iconic clubs and festivals\u2014think sunrise timeless grooves on the beach in Sunwaves Mamaia, Romania, to hot Ibiza peak time, the low-end rumble from Fabric, or the reverb-soaked claps echoing through a warehouse in Berlin. Not just the music, but the crowd noise, the tension before a drop, the release when it hits\u2014that raw energy is what defines tech-house culture right now.<\/span><\/p>\n I\u2019d also drop in a worn-out pair of USBs and a handwritten tracklist from a sunrise minimal set. Because as much as we talk about gear and plugins, it\u2019s still about the human behind the decks, shaping moments in real time. A Sennheiser HD-25 headphone and a Polaroid with my crew.<\/span><\/p>\n And maybe a sweaty backstage wristband\u2014because if you know, you know.<\/span><\/p>\n Well, luckily nothing too significant has happened. I remember DJing in a country where \u201cbad words or foul language\u201d are considered illegal, and I didn\u2019t know most of the songs\u2019 break lyrics were going to shout illegal words. My face turned tomato red and I said sorry to the crowd, then turned around to the promoter saying sorry, with a very embarrassed look.\u2028Only to quickly change to the next track\u2026 with some similar raunchy lyrics by accident. Haha.<\/span><\/p>\n Also, there were many times I\u2019ve been stuck in cities through connections, sleep-deprived, and put on standby for the second leg of the trip\u2014up to 3 different flights sometimes. Only then to arrive exhausted, taking a taxi to a hotel that won\u2019t let you check in for another 4 hours\u2026 but that\u2019s the time you needed to sleep before your next show.<\/span><\/p>\n I never rely solely on certainty. Touring is beautiful chaos\u2014you have to stay sharp and be prepared for any and everything.<\/span><\/p>\n Usually Tequila before the set. Wine for dinner on weekends. Balance is everything. Though currently, I\u2019m enjoying an alcohol-free rider\u2014only Ginger Shots & Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic beverage of my Jamaican childhood).<\/span><\/p>\n It would be \u201cMamaia.\u201d That track feels like you\u2019re stepping into a parallel world where everything is familiar\u2014but shifted. A lot of light, and it hits differently. Time feels slower, and there\u2019s this sense of freedom and clarity through minimalism. That\u2019s what rebirth is to me\u2014not becoming someone new, but remembering who you truly are.<\/span><\/p>\n Haha, it depends who has a deadline! But honestly, we work around each other with a lot of respect. It\u2019s less about priority and more about flow\u2014if someone\u2019s in the zone, the other steps back. It\u2019s a rhythm we\u2019ve learned to dance together. Some of the best ideas happen when we share the space.\u2028However, I do use the studio much more than him since we moved in. It\u2019s definitely my happy corner\u2014apart from the sofa.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Funnily enough, I was fairly late to the game! But if I take it way back, I remember when my sister got her first iPod classic (at that point I was sitting by the wall, with my mini-disk plugged in ripping Sum 41 records onto it haha). She used to let me borrow it and listen to her collection which was extremely broad. I was lucky enough to have a sibling that was into music like I was, but who also shared artists that I hadn\u2019t heard of before. A lot of this was either Punk or 80s Disco. If I jump forward to around the age of 16 and going to house parties I was kinda considered \u2018that guy in charge of the Aux cable\u2019 hahaha. I didn\u2019t really know much about DJing at all – all that I knew was that I loved music and being in control of making people dance or be happy.<\/span><\/p>\n I was about 17 years old when I purchased a little Mixtrack Pro. It was just a midi controller that I hooked up with Traktor and used to play at house parties for friends. When I was mixing one track into another I knew DJing was for me. I didn\u2019t know people got paid for it though! I was so naive to all of that – I just knew it was a lot of fun.<\/span><\/p>\n I taught myself to DJ on various controllers. I actually still get \u2018memories\u2019 on Facebook pop up of me using the old controllers such as the mix track pro or a Pioneer t1 – so this is going back around 14 years. I was mixing either dubstep or books techno back then though! It wasn\u2019t until I went to Ministry of Sound for the first time when I was 18 that I met a guy called Harry Allen who was a music producer and had a studio in London – we got along and he invited me back to his studio and he showed me a couple things in Logic. From that day on I was messing around making loops and creating records.<\/span><\/p>\n When I was 22 I went to Point Blank in London, where I spent a year learning the fundamentals of music production and Sound Design. I had incredible tutors there and their passion was passed onto me, so I really do owe a lot to the team there. I even remember an assignment they gave us where we had to write an entire track only using Massive and sculpting sounds from white noise – no presets back then!<\/span><\/p>\n To keep things brief about establish DJs supporting me; I used to run some parties at University where I booked artists such as wAFF, Steve Lawler, Solardo, Latmun and so on. Me and Joe (Latmun) hit it off and became really close friends – he really started to push me and invited me to his shows and introducing me to key people in the scene. He already knows how much he helped me in the early days, but if you are reading this Joe – I appreciate you bro!<\/span><\/p>\n A big part of my early career was influenced by the sound of Music On in 2014\/15. I was obsessed with that straight groove tech house and that has definitely continued on in my career. I\u2019ve spoken about this before in another interview, but I remember myself and Latmun going to Music On one weekend and hearing Marco drop a version of Kerri Chandler\u2019s Heal My Heart and thinking – I recon I could do one better haha. I went home and made something 2 days later. Me and Latmun flew out to Ibiza the following weekend and stood in Amnesia when Marco dropped it. It was the most incredible feeling – I have goosebumps right now thinking about it!<\/span><\/p>\n Later on in my career I sent some music to Paco Osuna and we got chatting and have now become really close friends. He has been a great mentor for me over the last five years or so -and I cannot thank him enough for his advice and guidance in this crazy industry.<\/span><\/p>\n I think a lot of people know about my passion for Punk! Unfortunately I can only play the drums and not well enough to be in a band, so that went out the window early on lol. But I love heavy snares in punk rock music and the style of heavy compression that is applied to drums, so that has helped define my style and sound. My fans know me for my drums, patterns and groove – that love for punk rock has helped evolve my music over the years and made my sound what it is today.<\/span><\/p>\n When people say they have been making music for 10 years they often mean for a couple of hours a week. I have been making music for over 10 years\u2026from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep! So I have definitely taken the time to define my sound.<\/span><\/p>\n I was experimenting with playing techno and dubstep at the start. The dubstep influence can be heard in the weird noises and synth stabs I add into my records and the techno side can be heard in the heavy kicks that I have in my tracks.<\/span><\/p>\n To answer the last part of your question I am not sure how I settled on the current sound I have now. I just like it \ud83d\ude42 I make music for myself, if it resonates with others then that is a bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n Oh god I dunno! For a club set it\u2019s around 6-7 hours. But I used to loooooove house parties at University and I would be the DJ playing from the moment we started and would finish when the police came knocking haha.<\/span><\/p>\n The first official paid gig was for a promoter in Bournemouth who used to run a couple of festivals and an event called Treatment – to this day, it\u2019s still the best name for a party haha! I got it through blagging I knew how to use the latest CDJs (I didn\u2019t) and managed to play an entire set for them. I\u2019m pretty sure it went down really well as I continued to play for them throughout university. I think I was paid with a pack of cigs – I was happy with anything back then!<\/span><\/p>\n If you would have asked me this a few years ago I would have said producing. The reason for this was that I genuinely find traditional DJing quite boring. Most people can mix one record into another now and so I felt like DJing was becoming over saturated. I was playing with 3 CDJs and Soundbite Pro and I still wasn\u2019t enjoying it. The thing is I have ADHD and other \u2018isms\u2019 lol, so if my brain isn\u2019t working at 1000 miles an hour I get bored.<\/span><\/p>\n I now play on a fully hybrid-live set up, which is soooo much fun. There are so many different things I can do and create in moments of madness that just keeps things interesting when I am DJing. It is like I have finally found a way to bridge the gap between producing and DJing. So for sure, I much prefer touring and DJing now!<\/span><\/p>\n I was randomly really good at cricket when I was at school lol. I used to play in the U18s when I was 13 and I toured around the UK and India, which was crazy at the time. I was taught by the England cricket coach and I absolutely loved it. Unfortunately when I was growing up my ADHD was pretty bad and I would lose concentration very quickly when standing on the field for hours on end. When I came across DJing it was a game over. As you can imagine, my parents weren\u2019t impressed when I told them I didn\u2019t want to play cricket for my country and instead wanted to party in sweaty underground clubs with a couple hundred people!<\/span><\/p>\n But yeah, would have been either playing Cricket or a session drummer.<\/span><\/p>\n The industry is always changing and I am all for it. There are certainly things that I don\u2019t enjoy about it such as constant phones out in raves and social media in general\u00a0 but that is because I grew up not doing that. I would never take my phone out for a photo or take a video of a DJ (though I kinda wish I did now for a couple memories) – I would prefer to live in the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n I think the industry is moving in a positive direction for sure, but one thing that I think a lot of new artists lack is experience and time. They expect things to happen overnight, and then often resort to AI tools, social media and purchasing fame to speed that process up for themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n I can\u2019t compare it to 20 years ago, as I was 11 years old then lol, but in the time that I have been in this industry I have enjoyed it\u2019s changes and progression as it has only forced me to learn new things and push myself as an artist.<\/span><\/p>\n This is a hard one! Not that there\u2019s loads I would change, but because no one\u2019s ever asked me a question like this before hahaha.<\/span><\/p>\n Firstly I\u2019d shine a light on every talented DJ and producer, regardless of gender, race, location, or how many followers. Too much of the scene still favors who you know or where you\u2019re from. My Equal Exposure Beam would level the playing field, letting raw skill and unique sound take the spotlight.<\/span><\/p>\n Secondly, I\u2019d ensure fair pay across the board – from DJs playing packed rooms at 4am, to the underground producers fueling the scene with unreleased music. No more \u201cplay for exposure\u201d or getting paid a \u00a3100. Passion alone doesn\u2019t pay rent.<\/span><\/p>\n Lastly, I\u2019d have some kind of no-ego forcefield lol. I\u2019d cast a forcefield that basically deflects DJs shitty egos. The underground scene was built on community, not clout. My power would bring the focus back to connection, collaboration, and pure love for the music.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MELANIE RIBBE – Questions by Iglesias, answers by Melanie Ribbe You grew up between Germany and Jamaica. How does that heritage influence the actual sound design or groove in your productions? Growing up between Germany and Jamaica gave me this beautiful duality in my musical soul. From Germany, I absorbed precision, structure, and the hypnotic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":63832,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[108],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fiestaybullshit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250617-hi-martinez-brothers-opening-0053-5000x4000px-scaled.jpg\")
<\/b><\/h4>\nYou once spoke out about the value of authentic talent over social media metrics. What is your approach to social media, how do you feel it impacts or benefits your music career and do you think followers link to more bookings?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Do you prefer to make music alone or with other artists as a collaboration and when you do collaborate with other artists, what do you feel is your strongest skill set and area of the track that you bring to the table?<\/b><\/h4>\n
You mentor and showcase emerging talent through Ag\u00e1pe Muzik. Looking back to when you were learning production, what single piece of advice would you tell your younger self and what would you warn her about?<\/b><\/h4>\n
If you were commissioned to create a time capsule representing today\u2019s tech-house scene, which object, sound sample, or artifact would you choose and why?<\/b><\/h4>\n
<\/h4>\n
Describe your most bizarre \u201cmisplaced\u201d moment on tour, like showing up in the wrong city or gig, and what that taught you.<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/b><\/h4>\nTequila or a glass of wine?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Your album Phoenix is a narrative arc of rebirth. If a track on that album were your guide to a parallel dimension, which one would it be, and where would it take the listener?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Finally, you are married to one of the best techno\/tech house artists in the industry\u2014who gets priority over the studio at the house haha!<\/b><\/h4>\n
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<\/b><\/h4>\nIGLESIAS – <\/b>Questions by Melanie Ribbe, answers by Iglesias<\/b><\/h3>\n
At what age did you discover the art of DJing, and what inspired you to take your first steps into it?<\/b><\/h4>\n
How did you learn to DJ and produce, and in which order? Did you have any help with the basics at the beginning? And later on, did any established DJs or promoters from the scene support you?<\/b><\/h4>\n
Which DJs influenced you and helped shape your sound?<\/b><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fiestaybullshit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250729-hi-martinez-brothers-0062-5000x4000px-1-scaled.jpg\")
<\/b><\/h4>\nMany new artists take time to define their genre or musical direction. Did you experiment with other styles? For how long, and what made you eventually settle on your current sound?<\/b><\/h4>\n
What\u2019s the longest solo set you\u2019ve ever played?<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u2060When was your first official paid gig, and how much did you earn? (you don\u2019t have to answer if you don\u2019t want but transparency is beautiful too)<\/b><\/h4>\n
\u2060Do you prefer DJing or producing? I imagine you\u2019ll say both, but if you had to choose only one\u2014and both paid the same\u2014what would it be?<\/b><\/h4>\n
If you weren\u2019t a DJ\/artist, what other career path might you have taken realistically? And what job did you dream of doing as a kid?<\/b><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fiestaybullshit.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/20250729-hi-martinez-brothers-0035-5000x4000px-scaled.jpg\")
\u2060What are your thoughts about the music and dj industry, in all aspects, comparing it to the past and the present<\/b><\/h4>\nIf you had the power to change three things about the industry, like a fictional superhero with a power, what would they be?<\/b><\/h4>\n