Martyn

Despite an unfortunate technical fault in the middle of Deadbeat's set, a swift recovery kept the dance-floor at Société Des Arts Technologiques primed for Martyn. Eager attendees hovered around the front of the stage as delays forced the Dutch-born DJ off the stage. Martyn eventually started his set with what appeared to be a mini Kaos Pad, delivering large swooshes over the audience until they were filtered down to a powerful sub-bass. Vocals repeatedly echoed over the rumble: "This is Martyn," they warned, as if the room had a brief moment to evacuate. The intensity was short-lived though; the well-planned intro rashly transitioned into what felt like a house samba and Martyn, who is known for setting a higher than average tempo, kept things at a curiously moderate pace. Classic garage and 2-step rhythms filled the concrete room, featuring soulful vocals, twisting acid drips and shuddering 808s. Perhaps sensing the evening's conclusion, Martyn flipped a switch more than an hour into his set, upping the tempo by belting out jungle and drum'n'bass beats at only a moment's notice. It was a challenging pace to uphold. Perhaps impaired by a slight programming oversight, Martyn's set fell shy of maintaining the intensity established by a Deadbeat performance showered in driving techno.