The Martinez Brothers

The Martinez Brothers, an American DJ duo (Steve & Christian Martinez), are two of the most recognizable global stars in house, techno, and club culture. Introduced to disco and house by their father from a young age, they come from the roots of New York's legacy club, The Paradise Garage. While producing a plethora of music, they also run their own music label, Cuttin' Headz and Tuskegee with Seth Troxler. Since first hitting the road at ages 15 and 17, they have gone on to sell out some of the world’s largest venues, performing regularly in hotspots like Ibiza--quickly rising to become leaders within dance music's new guard. ------------ "It's not our fault we were born after the Garage closed!" Crank up the computer and Google ..the Martinez Brothers,.. and you..ll be directed to chatrooms containing comments like ..Oh my god, can these two kids rock the house.. and ..They can mix their asses off....not to mention postings along the lines of ..They are the cutest ever... Such accolades would be impressive for any DJ, considering the backbiting that is the norm in the online dance-music community, but when you realize that the subjects of those notices, Steve and Chris Martinez, are still in their teens, it..s remarkable. And considering that the Bronx-born and -raised sibs are working in the world of traditional, NYC-style soulful house..a scene generally populated by relative graybeards..it..s downright mind-boggling. Within the last year, the duo has been rising through the ranks by rocking some of the city..s top soulful house shindigs, including Shelter (a soiree that was born the same year as the 15-year-old Chris) and Danny Krivit..s 718 Sessions. They have further been invited to play at the longest standing soulful house party in Paris, Cheers in December and their names will be added to a list of DJ legends such as Timmy Regisford, Quentin Harris and Carl Craig when they headline Dublin..s Surface event the same month. ..It was our father who really got us into this,.. says Steve, who..s all of 18 years old. ..He..s an old house head who goes back to the days of places like the Garage, but he had stepped away from the scene for a long time. Around three years ago, he played us a lot of the music and we both just fell in love with it... Still, few kids follow the lead of their folks when it comes to musical taste, and there was something about soulful house (beyond the parental seal of approval) that caught the brothers.. attention. ..We..ve both been playing music, starting with percussion, since we were really young, like around six,.. Chris says. ..We were performing, playing at church and stuff like that... (The two have since added keyboards, bass and guitar to their repertoire.) ..That..s what first got us into the whole music thing and sent us in the direction toward where we are now,.. Steve adds. ..The soulful-house sound is pretty much the most musical kind of dance music out there. It..s not as computerized, not as obviously done on a machine, as a lot of other sounds out there. You actually have to know how to play instruments to make a soulful-house record; you need a real vocalist to do a soulful-house record...Steve and Chris..s musicality is evident in their DJ sets, which tend to combine electronic ..techie.. tracks with more traditional NY flavored deep, vocal house and classics. Their sets are frequently augmented by the brothers.. own instrumental work as was the case at both Shelter and to a greater extent 718 Sessions. ..Some of the time, my brother will be on the keys and I..ll be on the decks, and some of the time I..ll be on the keys and he..ll be on the decks,.. Chris says.