Doc Martin
FEW other people embody the definition of ‘West Coast house’ like Doc Martin, who has been fusing together his musical influences and unleashing them on dancefloors worldwide for more than a quarter of a century. Also an accomplished promoter, record label head, producer and even record shop owner, the celebrated US DJ needs little more introduction — so we’re going to let him do the talking...
What’s up, Doc? How’s it going? “Things are great! I just got back from the BPM Festival where we did a live PA and DJ set for the Innervisions party. I’ve started my monthly in Vegas and am getting ready to do the Road To Ultra party for the SuperBowl in New Orleans.”
Let’s take a quick run through history. What was your musical upbringing like when you were growing up? “Growing up in SF in the early days, I was exposed to all kinds of music including hip-hop, funk, punk, ska, new-wave, electro, disco, reggae, rock and everything in-between. I was heavily into any and all beat and bass-driven music, like Eric B & Rakim, Tackhead, Black Uhuru, Nitzer Ebb, Parliament and Cabaret Voltaire to name a few. I’ve got the 20,000- plus records to prove it! “I initially did a hip-hop megamix with DJ EFX that seemed to sell more in Miami than California at the time. When I started to discover house records, there were elements of all the things that I liked in them, like new-wave synths, lots of drums, heavy bass, rapping, singing and this sound with no name at first that eventually became known as acid house.”
What was it like first coming up in the San Francisco scene and then moving to LA? “I started out DJing and promoting shows in SF from 1987-1989. My first show was with Master C+J (Liz Torres). We hosted Inner City three times, Craze, Fast Eddie, Tyree Cooper, Jomanda, Kyze, D-Mob and too many others to remember. The show that blew things up a bit in San Francisco was Deee-Lite at Re-Cess. Re-Cess was a night that I started that catered to a mixed crowd. We had circle dancers, drag queens, goth kids and people from all walks of life. Crowds didn’t really mix at that time, but this was before ‘Groove
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Is In The Heart’ had come out and we still had a thousand diverse people come out on a Thursday night, which was unheard of at the time. “I moved to Los Angeles in 1990 to witness a healthy warehouse and underground party scene that was being formed. Lots of characters showed up, there were themed parties and even an occasional movie star or two. My first show in LA was with A Guy Called Gerald and Adamski. The energy was unreal! I said that I would give LA a try for a year, and never left. I have tons of love for both of these west coast cities! I also spent some time in NYC as well.”
You’ve also been throwing your legendary Sublevel party for well over a decade now, right? “Yeah. Sublevel originally started out as a record label when Lillia and I recorded a few singles in the UK in 2001. Fast forward to New Years 2002, when we decided that, instead of travelling, we should stay at home and do something for our own local community. We didn’t want to do our party in a club, so we got a loft and did our own thing. I played for twelve hours and Sublevel, the party, was born. Since then we’ve done roughly six to nine events a year in ballrooms, churches, movie studios, warehouses, theaters, lofts, rooftops and anywhere really that’s off the beaten path. “It’s a lot more work when you do something outside of the clubs — setting up lights, sound etc. Yet it’s a great feeling to know that you’ve created something from scratch. “We’ve had Secretsundaze, D’Julz, Dennis Ferrer, Craig Richards, Luke Solomon, Daniel Bell, Wicked, DJ Pierre, John Tejada, Blakkat, Melon, Douglas McCarthy (of Nitzer Ebb), Droid Behaviour, Kevin Saunderson, Three, Marques Wyatt, Mr C, Sunshine Jones, H-Foundation, Diz, Alix Alvarez, Mr V, M3, Audiojack and a slew of others grace the decks for us. “We tend to have a wide variety of DJs play for us, as we are into many types of music. Now we have people who come from all over the place to come get into the vibe at Sublevel.”
You opened a record shop, Wax Records, in LA in 1997. How was that whole experience? “I’ve worked in record stores since I moved to LA. It’s part of my obsession with the music. I really enjoyed turning people onto new
sounds. It was good to have all the DJs meet up there every week, and tons of friendships were formed at Wax. I would go to England and bring back bundles of records for the shop, which gave us an unfair advantage over most of the country. DJ Harvey was our disco buyer for a minute there! “As far as struggles, it’s hard to be involved in a record store when you’re on the road so much. I salute the stores who are still going strong!”
Lastly, what’s coming up for you over the next few months? “We just released the new Sublevel
record, ‘Just As’, which includes a DJ Sneak remix. As well as the next few Sublevel releases, I’ll be doing remixes for Florian Meindl, D’Julz, Reverse Commuter, Alcatraz and Jay Tripwire. I have upcoming DJ dates in Paris, Tokyo and Ecuador, as well as my residencies in LA, NYC and Las Vegas. DJ Sneak and I will be doing our 2x4 thing on a few select dates — that’s always a blast. I’ll also continue working with Stussy on our t-shirt line. Basically, I’m just getting ready for a great year with many late nights and early mornings!” ZARA WLADAWSKY
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