A Lowlands emigre, Martyn is a true citizen of the world.
Continually in demand as a DJ, the producer's travels continually feed back into his music. Refusing to be pigeonholed, Martyn's work flutters somewhere between bass and techno, left field electronics and the sweetest of melodies.
Working with Ninja Tune, new album 'The Air Between Words' is a marvellous return. Hooking up with Four Tet and former Hype Williams cohort Inga Copeland, the results include some of Martyn's most enticing, most progressive music to date.
Flying into the UK at the end of May, Clash invited Martyn to piece together a playlist of his current stereo staples.
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Stasis - 'I Think It's In Here'
"Working on my album I listened to a lot of 1990s Warp-y, Artificial Intelligence-like techno things, such as Autechre, B12, Polygon Window, LFO. This is a great example of that sound."
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Anthony Shakir - 'The Fake Left, Go Right Plan'
"Shakir for me made the connection between Detroit techno and (creative) sampling, opening up so many possibilities beyond the 808/909 and analog synths. Massive influence on my music from way back when I started with drum 'n' bass to today."
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David Bowie - 'Subterraneans'
"David Bowie and Brian Eno's greatest work for me is 'Low', and I have listened to that record during various stages in my life, both real bad times and really great times. It always provides me with comfort and has been a massive inspiration musically."
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Japan - 'The Art Of Parties'
"One of my favorite bands is Japan. They have great songs, David Sylvian has an amazing voice, Mick Karn is a badass on bass, their synths are the best, and their style rocks. End of."
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Rahsaan Roland Kirk - 'Say A Little Prayer'
"I used to collect jazz records fiercely, but have not bought much in recent times. One of my favorite players is Rahsaan Roland Kirk. This rendition of 'Say A Little Prayer' is so great, the total spiritual devotion and musicality is beautiful to see and hear."
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Patri Satish Kumar with Ustad Zakir Hussain
"I go on YouTube tangents sometimes and got really enthusiastic about all these amazing Indian percussionists. The 'language' they speak, their attitude towards music and the passion and intensity of their playing is really inspiring. One of my favs is Ustad Zakir Hussain who you see here battling it out with Patri Satish Kumar."
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HR - 'Life After Death'
"I used to be really into punk bands like Bad Brains and Fugazi, and now I find myself basically living down the road from where all these great bands recorded their music in the 1980s. HR is Bad Brains' singer and this solo album of his is one of my favorite mixes of rock and dub. Dedicate this to my friend Paul Randolph!"
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Charles Hayward - 'Lopside (A JD Twitch Optimo Espookio Version)'
"One of the most intriguing records released recently that I can't stop listening to is this double pack with two Charles Hayward songs, and amazing remixes by DC native Maxmillion Dunbar and Optimo."
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Tom Tom Club - 'Shock the World'
"This is a bit random but I started to listen to this record again after hearing it on XM Radio in the car. Pretty mean groove, if you ask me!"
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Boreal - 'Canopy Target'
"Vancouver's Forbidden Planet label have been coming on strong with records by D'Marc Cantu and Breaker 1 2, and this new one by Boreal and Lnrdcroy is really great!"
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'The Air Between Words' is due to be released on June 16th. Find Martyn online here.
Martyn is set to play the next instalment of secretsundaze in London on May 25th - ticket link.
Related: more Playlist features on Clash
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