Imagine a simple rural living situation and the lively background of a large family, where life is undividedly connected with music and dance. It's a family of good musicians and dancers where Phil Martin was raised up. He was strongly influenced by his father, a reputable bass player, who introduced him to all kinds of music like jazz, soul and funk. Phil Martin not only listened to music but also started playing the guitar and drums as a child. When he got a job in a recording studio, he got involved with synths and samplers. Here he started to create his own music with the use of his father's old collection of rare funk, jazz and afro beat records.



Phil Martin about DJ'ing

I started (seriously) dj-ing about 5 years ago. Around that time there wasn't any place in my hometown where I could dance to the music I liked. So I did what I thought was best: starting my own dance night together with my best-friend. We called it The Beat Club and now, many years later, it's the most successful monthly dance event around. The Beat Club reflects the way I think dance music should sound like. I call it roots music, music that comes from the heart, not the mind. It's music that has always got some jazz, funk, Brazilian or African roots in it. The most difficult question that people can ask me is: 'what kind of music do you play as a DJ?' I don't have a certain style I guess. I basically play any music of which I feel is 'real'. So when you hear me DJ-ing, you can dance to rare funk, jazz, dub, disco, hiphop, afro beat, samba, Latin. Roots music that is! So I guess I have a style after all! Yesss. I love playing with the whole band, but sometimes that's not possible. Still I love the interaction with musicians on stage, so I ask all these great musicians to play along while I'm spinning some records. It's really fun to do and the crowd goes crazy with it.