On his second album, the Dutch producer delivers a sparkling blend of house, bass, dub, 2step and electronica…
He’s come a long way since he got bitten by the electronic music bug in the early nineties: Martyn, real name Martijn Deykers, a Dutch producer who has managed to crawl to the upper regions of the bass and dubstep genre with a slew of uncompromising and very diverse releases. Many still mistake him for being a dubstep producer but his sound actually stretches far beyond this, as elements of techno, 2step, bass and house often make up a far bigger portion of his music. However, only a fool would try to pigeonhole his sound, so let’s refrain from doing so and let’s look at this album the way it is: pure, honest craftsmanship by an incredibly talented producer.
When compared to his debut album Great Lengths (2009), Ghost People can be seen as an example of creative development first, and a solid representation of futuristic bass music second. Across its playtime we are exposed to a great number of genres, many of which are coated into single tracks, with the result being a very adventurous and daring LP. From the solid intro Love And Machines (ft. Spaceape) onwards, the album listens like a sonic journey through electronic futurism. Viper blends 8-bit videogame sounds to menacing bass without adding a single beat, while tracks such as the 2step-meets-deep-house-track Distortions and the fuzzy Ghost People see Martyn flirting with the dancefloor. But what really makes this album worthwhile is the structure of each track in which each sound, as tiny as it is, helps to shape the colorful canvas that is Martyn’s music. Ghost People is a leap forward into next-level music production for both Martyn as the experimental bass music scene.
Our verdict: Martyn’s second album is an impressive snapshot of the man’s elusive music. Each track shows a different side of the producer, with the album as a whole being a story-telling trip to the farthest corners of experimentalism. A worthy addition to the still relatively small amount of high quality releases in this niche.
Rating: 8.2/10 Label:Brainfeeder Release date: October 10th, 2011
Tracklist: 01. Love And Machines (ft Spaceape) 02. Viper 03. Masks 04. Distortions 05. Popgun 06. I Saw You At Tule Lake 07. Ghost People 08. Twice As 09. Bauplan 10. Horror Vacui 11. We Are You In The Future
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