If you walked into any house club worth their salt this year then you would definitely have heard the DJ drop a Doorly track. (Especially his output on Green Velvet’s Cajual Records have been hitting the dancefloor bulls eye more often than not) His sound is one that is fun and infectious, yet it always has a nod to the underground – and this dualistic quality in his music has caused his records to be playlisted across the board from Mark Knight to Josh Butler to Paul Oakenfold and beyond.

Really, if you need a bomb to detonate a stale dancefloor then reach for any Doorly record and watch things lift to another level.

Out in Australia for a massive 8 dates we took some time out with one of 2015’s biggest movers and shakers….

SR: Hi Martin, thx you for your time! So you’ll be heading to Australia over the glorious summer time! You seem to like Australia as you were out here not that long ago. What is some of you favorite places and activities to do Down Under?

D: I absolutely love Australia, it’s actually my favourite market worldwide right now. My last tour was a dream and this one I already know will be ridiculous. I always love being in Melbourne, its one my favourite cities in the world so I will be spending Christmas there with friends. Also I’m terrible at it but I love surfing so I’m going to try and get a little better at it on this tour in the gaps.

SR: There is no doubt that you have been on a roll of late with some killer productions. But let’s go back to when you started out producing – which track in your opinion is the one which really brought you to the scene’s attention and kick started your production career? Was a struggle for you at that stage to make things happen? Were you trying to make a career out of it or did it happen organically?

D: I guess my first big break into the production world was just after I had been given my first Radio 1 essential mix in 2002. I was playing most genres at the time as it was the 2 Many Djs-inspired era of the mash up, so I made a bootleg of Dizzee Rascal’s “Bonkers” on a train from a radio rip of the track and it blew me up over night! All of a sudden I was being offered thousands to play in china and USA and even Australia. It happened totally organically and it was all just a bit crazy. The one problem was that all of a sudden the world saw me as a dubstep artist, something I then had to spend the next 5 years convincing everyone that I wasn’t!

SR: You recently had a number one track on Beatport alongside Shadow Child, the huge ‘Piano Weapon’, which features a classic, old-school piano sample from a 90’s Nikita Warren track. Is there a story behind how that sample, or the track came to your attention? Are there any other tracks that you would love to sample?

D: Shadow Child and I were working on a few bits at the time as we have a side project (that we rarely have time to work on) called Avec with Jake shears from the Scissor Sisters, so this was an idea we started with that project in mind. We both knew the sample so well and wanted to make something similar so we dropped it in the track with the aim of replacing it with something similar, but it sounded so good that we struggled to find something better. So I naughtily played it on his Rinse fm show before it was finished and the hype was ridiculous. In the end we just had to release it due to popular demand. I love sampling and I’ve just done a track sampling Willy Wonka! : )

SR: What in your opinion is the track with the cleverest use of a sample ever?

D: Pretty much anything from any Daft Punk album. Those guys are the masters of the sample.

SR:‘Piano Weapon’ was also released with a remix by Aussie producer Nicky Night Time. We hear that you might be returning the favour with a remix of one his tracks. Can you tell us more about that?

D: Yep I just remixed his track “Flowers” which has some mega cool synth work in it that was really easy for me to switch into a late night 5am trippy banger. So I’m looking forward to that dropping this week I believe. Nicky is a great dude.

SR: From Flume to Tame Impala, Australia is currently teeming with some amazing musical talents. Is there anyone in particular that you rate or would like to collaborate with (if you haven’t done so yet)?

D: Obviously my buddy Sonny Fodera is always somebody I will collaborate with – he’s a legend. I’m also really into Harvey Sutherland and I’d love to collaborate with Late Nite Tuff Guy or Flight Facilities at some stage.

SR: Currently there is another Shadow Child collaboration in the works for you which features the Scissor Sisters’ main man Jake Shears under the Avec moniker. (With all due respect) but we have to ask, how did a DJ from Huddersfield team up with one of the most flamboyant men in New York? What can we expect from the upcoming project?

D: Haha we met in Miami and just randomly hit it off, he’s great fun and loves after parties as much as I do!  We have 2 other tracks in the works, but we started them like 3 years ago just before things really took off for both me and Shadow child (after Piano Weapon) – so much so that we just haven’t had time to finish the tracks. But I’m going to message him right now and make sure that we do!

SR:  It seems like you are currently doing everything from programming club nights in Ibiza to the UK, producing with Green Velvet, Switch, Idris Elba, DJ Pierre & Todd Terry, Gene Farris (and heaps more), playing on global festivals and also running residencies around the globe. How do you find the time to get it all done, and what do you do to relax?

D: My job is my hobby so I don’t really need time to relax as I enjoy what I do so much. It’s definitely hard to stay on top of everything but I somehow manage to get it done. As long as I make sure I do a few hours every day to stay on top of stuff even when touring then it’s all good. I tend to start all of  my music on the road, or feeling inspired after partying, I then finish them all in big blocks when I’m at home, sober and focused properly.

SR: In the winter times you have relocate to Los Angeles. It seems an interesting choice to go to just for the winter period. What about Los Angeles appeals to you?

D: I moved there from London because I was feeling incredibly uninspired by that city and British people in general who can be very bitter and negative  when it comes to music. Instantly after setting up my studio in L.A my sound took on a new dimension and I totally found my groove again. When I’m there I feel like I’m on holiday and all of my best friends are there and everyone is happy and positive so it’s a great place to write music in the sunshine. I have a really cool warehouse space with a great studio in there and a hot tub for breaks so there’s definitely worse places to be creative!

SR: And finally, anything we should know about that is upcoming, or anything we should watch out for?

D: Yep I have a huge collab with Switch coming very soon which is going to blow people’s minds, it’s insane! Also I just finished a remix for Carl Craig and Green Velvet which I think will be my next big underground record.

Doorly Australian Tour dates

Friday 18th December: Brown Alley, Melbourne
Saturday 19th December: Coco Lounge, Brisbane
Sunday, 20th December: Nautic Giants, Gold Coast (day)
Sunday, 20th December: Elsewhere, Gold Coast (night)
Saturday, 26th December: Chinese Laundry, Sydney
Sunday 27th December: Courtyard, Perth
Wednesday 30th December: Beyond the Valley, Victoria
Thursday 31st December: The Grand Hotel, Melbourne for Deja Vu