Long standing UK DJ and producer Martin Ikin steps up to make his debut on Solardo’s Sola imprint, with his Good Feelings EP. Praised for his signature hypnotic melodies, driving beats and summer-time grooves, his latest offering doesn’t disappoint. DMCWORLD checks in for the lowdown with the main man…
Congrats on the upcoming release on Sola, it’s a big track for sure! With this being your first release on Sola, tell us, how did you get involved with the label?
Thanks guys. I was actually doing a mini US tour late last year and a couple of the gigs were with the Solardo boys in Chicago & Atlanta, I’d been playing it in my sets and the lads heard me dropping it. I still had a few tweaks to do once I’d got back off tour. So as soon as I’d done them I sent it to the guys and it was signed to Sola!
What was the inspiration behind the track?
Actually Fader Pro asked me to do a tutorial on how I build a track from scratch and this is pretty much that track. I made a few changes and additions to what I did on the video but it’s 90% the same. So if anyone wants to know how I made this track then go check that out. Inspiration wise I remember just wanting to have a really cool warehouse style stab driving the track. So the first thing I did was make a synth stab on the Arturia – Jupiter 8V and that’s how the whole idea started really.
What approach do you tend to take with your productions? Do you have a set method or do you take each track as it comes?
Definitely each track as it comes, because they all usually start from different ideas. Like this one was born from the stab idea I had, but it can be anything, a bassline idea, a vocal sample idea or a synth sound, so each one is usually a different starting place. But once the idea starts, I then have my own production methods that I use.
What’s your favourite gear to use when producing?
My favourite thing is making sounds and noises, so any synthesizer, I love em!! I have a few classic synths that I always use, like my Minimoog, but it doesn’t have to be hardware, I also use a lot of software synths too, like the Arturia stuff that I mentioned earlier. It’s cool to mix the old and the new I find.
Your history in the scene and the list of artists you have worked with over the years is an impressive one. Who would be your dream artist to add to that list?
Two of my absolute musical idols are Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock, so either of those two and my life would be complete haha.
Which artist/s inspired you the most growing up?
As above, definitely Stevie, Herbie and the jazz pianist Oscar Peterson, I could be here all day talking about all the great music that inspired me, there’s so many. But If we’re talking House music it would definitely be the absolute masters – Kevin Saunderson, Derek May, MK and all those early pioneers that just blew our minds back in the late 80’s with all that amazing, brand new House music.
With day to day life being understandably disrupted right now, tell us, what is a day in your life like at the moment?
Luckily for me it’s not too different, I’m in the studio everyday so that’s exactly the same as normal. The only difference is obviously no gigs or touring at the weekends. But one upside is my studio has never been this clean. I even took my Mackie mixing desk apart and hoovered all the dust out of it and now all the leds have started working again. Result!
Right now it’s important for everyone to do their part but that doesn’t mean we can’t get excited about things to come! What are you most looking forward to doing once life returns to normal?
Oh I can’t wait to get back out there and spin all these new tunes that I’ve been working on, I really miss that crowd interaction. And obviously getting to visit and see all the wonderful places while touring. I was supposed to be on an Australia tour with Fisher in March and obviously that got cancelled so I’ll be really buzzing when we can get that rescheduled.
What would you say is the most valuable piece of advice you could give to an aspiring producer?
Never give up, Ever! It may take you a long long time to get where you want to be in this game, and people may get there much quicker than you, but never let that distract you from your path. If you really want it, and you put the necessary work in, there is no reason you can’t get there! Keep going.
Thank you for speaking with us today Martin! Obviously events are out of the question at the moment, but musically, is there anything coming up from you that we should keep an eye out for?
Thanks guys, it’s been a pleasure. Yes obviously GOOD FEELINGS is out on SOLA 5th June, then lots and lots of new music and exciting projects coming out this year too. Can’t wait for you all to hear them. That’s all I can reveal for now.
Peace & Love, M.x
Martin Ikin ‘Good Feelings’ is released 5th June on Sola Records
