Matt Martinez came of age in a family of DJs—now he’s finding his own voice

Wednesday 05. May

“Not everyone grows up listening to Studio 54 on their way to Church,” Matt Martinez told me. But for this DJ, that was just another car ride as a kid.

Matt is one of the most distinctive new voices in the house music world right now. After only a year on the scene, he’s already landed gigs at clubs around the world including Ibiza and Miami. It’s the kind of rapid success you don’t normally see, even for some of the most notable talents.

Martinez has an interesting connection to this industry, though. Born in the Bronx, NY, his dad is a DJ and veteran of the iconic 80s and 90s New York Club scene. He made it a mission to bring this kind of then cutting-edge music into his kids’ lives at a young age, so much so that his older brothers, Steven and Chris, famously known as The Martinez Brothers, grew up to be some of the most recognizable names in house, with performances like The Met Gala After Party next to Dua Lipa or residencies in Ibiza under their belt.

There isn’t a DJ or musician that would say their relationship to music doesn’t have a unique backstory. Whether it’s a love passed down by a parent, a skill picked up at an early age, or a particular culture in which the artist is raised—upbringing always informs the ear. What makes Matt interesting is that his sound—despite all his family’s influence—is distinctly different.

One would think it’d be easy to let this sudden success and family renown get to the head. But when I sat down to talk with Matt for an interview, I was met with the opposite — a persona radiating gratitude for the opportunity to play music, a pure love for his family, and a confidence he’s still learning how to build.

Grinning ear to ear as he told me about his upbringing, his aspirations, and his inspiration, one thing was made clear: it’s not his family that makes him one of the most-watched DJ’s right now—it’s his ear.

PR: Matt, I want to first begin by hearing a little bit about your background as a DJ in your own words.

MM: My career is very short lived as of now. Last February was my first gig. Before that, I wasn’t even thinking about music. Like music was something that was always in my heart, but I was scared to go after it. In my mind, I was like, ‘You know what, I’m going to go to school, and I’m going to get a good trade job.’ And I ended up working on elevators. And, basically, I just wasn’t happy.

I was feeling all these ‘this can’t be it’ feelings, and I mentioned it to my brothers. They knew I liked music, but they just didn’t know I loved it. They never wanted to push me that way. They made sure it was my own choice.

I ended up going to audio engineering school and started producing my own music. Every beat sounded terrible in the beginning, but I had this whole DJ setup at the crib, where I couldn’t stop practicing … Then one day my dad walked in, and just said, “Oh, don’t tell me you can play too?”

Benny Soto, a promoter, heard me and wanted to get me in front of people immediately. I was not having it. I was so nervous. I really didn’t think I could do that. But then finally, last February, I agreed, and me and my dad played this club in Brooklyn. We played under “Father and Son,” because I didn’t even want people knowing it was me. But after that gig, we killed it, and I knew this was actually something.

 

PR: It’s clear you’re on the rise, Matt, just through even the gigs you’ve booked. You’ve already been to Europe. I’m curious why you didn’t initially want to pursue music. What scared you away?

MM: Because I felt like people wouldn’t take me seriously. You know? I felt like they would think that I’m just doing it because my brothers did—not because I truly loved it. That scared me away. That and the public aspect of it. It’s like people who are afraid of public speaking.

I loved music so much; I knew what I could do. But I just needed to experience life more and learn what I didn’t know; more things about myself too, to know this is really what I wanted to do.

But then I started playing, then I started making music, and I realized it’s all in my head. That was a big life lesson for me: don’t be uncomfortable with being uncomfortable.

 

PR: I want to ask, just because your family is so integral to your experience and your relationship to music, what was it like growing up in a family so heavily involved in the DJ world? How did it shape your style?

MM: The car rides, just the car rides, you know? Larry Live, David Morales, Disco classics, the golden era of New York hip hop, You know, not everyone grows up listening to Studio 54 on their way to Church.

I was so blessed to be able to hear this music, you know what I’m saying? And once you start hearing that music all the time, you start to figure out what you like, what you’re attracted to, and you start to figure out why it is that the music is making you feel that way.

And my dad was just a big, big music guy. My grandma got him really nice sound system, and all his friends would come over. They’d bring their vinyls; they’d listen to the newest stuff. And he was going out every single day, nearly every single day. I was like, “Oh my God, didn’t you work?”

 

PR: I relate to that! So much of what I listen to now is shaped by what my dad introduced me to, But it’s also clear  that you have a different sound compared to your family, your brothers, in particular. Where did that come from?

MM: There was a time when I wasn’t really listening to that much house music. I was listening to hip hop. J Dilla, A Tribe Called Quest, Neptunes, DJ Premier. I get so much of my inspiration from hip hop because it’s about taking something old and making it brand new. That’s what I want to do with house music.

And the way I make my own music too; it’s how I find the sounds that I like. You know, stealing this tone here, and the violin with the heavy drums, and the piano there. As I continue to make music I see my own personal taste and ear changing.

The more and more you look into the history of music, the more you get to find out about all these different genres that you probably didn’t know about and the more you get to distinguish what you like and what you can take from it. You don’t have to have a lot of things going on. You just have to have the right things going on.

Since I’ve been DJing, I’ve been searching for my own music, not just what my family knows. I take everything my parents played and what I found myself, then I’ll turn it into something new. It’s my own beat.

 
&nsbp;