GHETTOS & GARDENS: Justin Martin’s Debut Album

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GHETTOS & GARDENS: Justin Martin’s Debut Album

It’s rare for an established artist to wait years before releasing a debut album, but for Dirtybird’s fan favorite Justin Martin, it’s all about the build up before the break down. His very first artist album, Ghettos & Gardens, was released today on Dirtybird Records after nearly a decade of transcendent EPs, 12″ singles, originals and remixes that few producers in the industry could match – save perhaps his legendary label mates.

Justin came of age musically alongside the rest of his crew in their collective development of the unparalleled Dirtybird sound, so it’s only natural that his first album would drop after so much time spent refining his individual style in conjunction with the label as a whole. The ethos of Ghettos & Gardens represents the oddball artistic integrity Dirtybird has flaunted since their start, but it’s also the perfect encapsulation of his own stylistic idiosyncrasies and genius. Brimming with dualities and complementary contradictions, Ghettos & Gardens speaks to Justin’s embodiment of the “sad clown” — fun-loving and happy go-lucky on the outside, but also deep and soulful within.

As co-leader of San Francisco’s golden egg, hatched in partnership with the birdbrain behind it all, Claude VonStroke, Justin Martin has become the West Coast’s ambassador of brilliant bass lines and mournful melodies. “Hood Rich,” the opening track on Ghettos & Gardens (and also his favorite) sets the tone, beginning with the banshee-like but also operatic use of vocals, reminiscent of that infamous bellowing wail from “Mr. Spock.” But before things get too freaky, he throws in dramatic drum kicks and mellifluous violins, smoothing it all out with the goofy snaps, crackles and pops that we know and love him for.

The album’s title track is laden with harmonious synths and foghorn wobbles, maintaining the theme of gorgeous grime. “Butterflies” flutters through fields of fat, farting syncopation, while his remake of Goldie’s “Kemistry” interplays heavenly strings with screeching, pulsating basslines. Midway through the album, Justin sprinkles in his infectious sense of humor with “French Kisses,” a quick sound byte from a voicemail two Frenchmen left him requesting permission to remix his “Robot Romance” EP, explaining: “We want to make all the French club sounds, and I want to beat the club with a beech…like you said in your song, ‘I beat that bird with a beech’…big keesses from Fraaance.” You can hear Justin laughing in the background — it’s a great little gem to lighten the pensive mood of the first few tracks.

The second half of Ghettos & Gardens includes a few collaborative tracks, like Justin’s re-edit of the massive tune he made with his protégée Ardalan, “Lezgo,” and a trippy, funky track he did with his brother Christian (aka Leroy Peppers) called “Riding Spaceships,” which is also the opener to his recent spring promo mix Below the Bassline. “Night Calling” is another example of Justin’s inventive use of vocals and audio clips, beginning with a few lines that seem to describe the Dirtybird philosophy: “What we do is not a job…what we do is a calling…we make people happy.” The haunting outro “Ladybug” concludes this uniquely inspired collection with a masterful balance of beautiful and bizarre, pairing a mellow melody of stings and piano with vocal hiccups, giving it his signature fun, unexpected twist. This is an album to be enjoyed over and over in any setting, and it was so worth the wait.

We had the amazing opportunity to talk to Justin in person at Dirtybird’s Miami BBQ party at Villa 221 during Winter Music Conference a few months back, and he shared his inspiration for the album: “People always describe my sound as “tender and tough” and I wanted to make an album that you could basically listen to at home or on the dance floor – to have lots of beautiful melodies, but to still have that Dirtybird bass. So Ghettos & Gardens, it’s 2 opposite ends of the spectrum, but just 2 completely beautiful things. On a more literal level, we play in the park, where we started our Dirtybird BBQ, which is like a beautiful garden area, and then also cities all over the world. There’s a lot of meanings behind it; I just wanted to make some music that was from the heart and a little bit of everything.”

Read the full interview here, and make sure to take a listen to Ghettos & Gardens as well as Justin’s recent Crackcast mix and his BBC Radio 1 spring mini-mix.

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