Already 10 years into their journey as DJs, and still only in their mid-20s, The Martinez Brothers have achieved a career’s worth of accolades.
As two of the most recognizable global stars in dance music culture, The Martinez Brothers empire and experience is vast – a headlining residency at Circoloco,‘#1 DJs in the World’ honors from Mixmag, designing for New Era, and revolutionary record imprints, Cuttin’ Headz and Tuskegee (with Seth Troxler). Since first hitting the road in their teens, The Martinez Brothers have gone on to sell out some of the world’s largest venues, rising to become one of the leader’s of clubbings new guard.
Here, anticipating the guys huge 24 hour event at Space Miami to close down 2017’s Miami Music Week, Steve Martinez dishes on the event, Miami, Amsterdam, public speaking and more.
“We were always respectful kids and that has carried on to now.”
Tell me a little about your first time traveling down to Miami to play what, at that time, was still Winter Music Conference?
The first we time played, I want to say, was 2006 or 2007. We had a party with Marques Wyatt at Opium Garden. Dennis Ferrer and us were the guests. That party was the catalyst for everything that came after. Just the fact so many people were there from around the world it started this whole buzz around us. There was a video posted on Defected, which went viral and our careers started.
As a teenager, theres a big intellectual difference between that age and now being in your mid-20s. Ive spent enough time in Miami to know that the party scene can be a bit intense for many. How has the experience changed for you then to now?
Like you said, we were young and traveling with our dad. We were super sheltered at the time. I mean, we would get into some parties but we’d also get kicked out of some. Then we stayed at the Shelborne. Now we have an apartment on South Beach we can go to and relax. So the experience has changed a lot. When you’re 15, your dad won’t let you go out and party in Miami on your own, so it was all super chill. It was our introduction into the scene, so I actually thank god for that kind of upbringing. It helped us go into this whole thing with a steady head. When you have your dad there you always got to act right so it gave us our personality. We were always respectful kids and that has carried on to now. Those days were pretty innocent to be honest with you.
Well, you’ve definitely come a long way from then until now with this huge 24 hour event at Space. How did this event come together for you guys?
It had built up over time and makes sense to do it right now. We’ve built a reputation in Miami for playing long sets so this 24 hour party is something that had to happen. Last year Loco Dice had this event and we showed up just to hang out. After Dice, Cocodrills got on and they invited us to play alongside. We ended up playing for 17 hours. That was the real start of it. We thought it was dope. Fast forward to Art Basel, we played Heart for 20 hours or so. Now, this is just a natural progression. Its the last party of MMW and everyone is going to want to be there so we’re going out with a bang!
Tell me a bit about the lineup you’ve curated. There are two rooms with a distinct sound to each. One more techy and one more “melodic”. How did this come together?
One thing that’s always been great about MMW is the diversity. Everyone from around the world comes to check out all kinds of dance music. For a 24 hour party, it’s important we include everyone. Space helped us put this together so we will have a nice crowd and a lot of our homies come through. At the end of the day, we’re all going to be going from one room to the another. That’s the fun of Space. It’s so big so you can just wander around and get lost in it.
26 March | 24 Hour Party: The Martinez Brothers, Carl Craig, Andhim & More | Tickets | Space Miami
