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Justin Martin is a cool cat from San Francisco whose profile soared in 2003 with the release of 'The Sad Piano', a huge goosepimpler on Buzzin' Fly. A couple of years down the line and he was the first to release a track on dirtybird, the label he has a hand in running with Barclay Crenshaw, aka Claude VonStroke (who has already completed a DTPH session). The track was called 'The Southern Draw', produced with Sammy D, and Justin has been a regular on the dirtybird roster ever since. He's laid down solo cuts like 'Cicada', remixed and released with CVS, collaborated with his brother Christian as The Martin Brothers on a range of tracks, including 'Stoopit' and 'Duck Face', and dropped a trio of remixes entitled the Re-Make EP.

Besides his dirtybird output, Justin has released on such imprints as Classic and Utensil Recordings, and remixed Radiohead's 'Nude' and Marshall Jefferson's 'Mushrooms'. And now, as dirtybird celebrates five years of service, many of Justin's tracks feature on its triple-whammy anniversary release, including his latest bass-heavy blast 'Robot Romance', plus he mixes a disc too. A good time, then, to take a stroll

Down the Production Hole with the impassioned, yet not so serious, club rumbler to find out why he thinks doing the wrong thing is often right...

First, can you tell us something about your frames of reference/what you think makes for a high quality electronic sound recording?
I love sound; I really am in love with it! And I find that some of the most striking and memorable recordings that I have heard in electronic music have been ones that can really shake a soundsystem. There are lots of things I listen for: recordings that are crisp and clear in the highs and have all of their bass tones resonating properly in their correct frequencies... Producers that know how to make things simple and still catchy... But the thing is it doesn't always have to be the highest quality recording ever to still be a good song, just as some of the highest quality sounding stuff out there I could give two sh*ts about if the song itself is whack. So the obvious goal is to make a dope song and make sure it's mixed down properly.

What's your current music production set-up like?
I work on a Sonica desktop PC, which is an absolute beast of a machine! I have the older Mackie 624 monitors. I really love these things, very flat and accurate. I also have a Korg R3 (super fun), a Virus B (that I rarely use), and a basic MIDI keyboard. I have a simple DJ set-up with two Technics and a Rane mixer, and Serato Scratch. For software I use Sound Forge for sampling, and Live rewired with Reason for tracking. And everything is running through my PreSonus FireBox soundcard. It's a pretty simple set-up but it works for me. My next investment is definitely gonna be a Moog... I was playing around in Barclay's studio and those things make some beautiful noises!

What is/are your most essential tool/s of the trade within that set-up?
Man, it's hard to decide. My set-up is quite simple so just about every element is absolutely essential. I've been using my Korg R3 a lot on tracks lately because the vocoder is extremely fresh and fun to play with. I love Reason. People would always be shocked when I told them that's what I used for software, but it's the simplest program for the way that I like to work. I sample almost all of my sounds so if you plug your own sounds into it instead of using the internal synths you can really make some creative sounding jammy jams.

Can you reveal a secret about your production technique/s?
There really isn't much to my technique. I usual round up a bunch of samples I like, chop them in Recycle, and load them into Reason. Ironically, I find that playing with samples instead of playing synths you can come up with much more original sounding stuff. It's more raw. I love sampling vinyl because you know that that crackle behind the sample is unique to only your particular record. Now keep in mind you want to make sure you alter the samples enough so that their source is unrecognisable (I've been caught a few times, oops!). The important thing to remember is that you are stealing sounds, not ideas.

Do you have a general top tip for budding producers?
Pleeeeease be creative! Challenge yourself and don't be afraid to take risks. There is so much f*cking boring music out there that all sounds the same... Do you really want to add to that pile? Think outside the box and make something that stands out. Add something to your song that sounds 'wrong' just for the hell of it; it just might be the most 'right' thing you have ever done. And, most importantly, work your ass off. Only you can make it happen for you.

Finally, what's your take on the future of electronic music production?
I really don't like to think too far into the future. Trends and genres come and go and my vision has never focused on that stuff. I just want to make some music that will end up timeless. But I am enjoying now and as long as I am enjoying now and what music has to offer now then I am a happy man. I hope that dance music stays strong so I can keep doing what I do, because I love it.