Gotta Be Big: Justin Martin

Some of the most interesting records to have emerged from the US this year have been on Claude VonStroke's Dirtybird records, based in San Francisco.

By successfully merging minimal with house and funk with techno, Claude has risen to become one of the hottest names in dance music.

But now a new cock is crowing in the Dirtybird nest - Justin Martin, a producer and DJ who's just as talented as VonStroke.

Dirty Bird

"Probably 75% of the music I play is either mine or Claude's," revealed Justin to DJmag.com.

"We have a lot of music no-one else has yet, making our sound very unique. I also know this really cool DJ trick called the trainwreck - all the cool kids are doing it!"

At the moment, Justin has two residencies in San Fran, one at a Dirtybird party at Shine club, and a monthly residency alongside Claude at the city's End Up club.

DJ Skills

It's at these two clubs that Justin has started to make a name for himself, by honing his DJ skills and being able to test out new productions on an open-minded crowd.

"I'm definitely a 'fly by the seat of my pants' kinda guy," said Justin.

"I used to figure all my mixes out before my sets, but I quickly realised that this doesn't always work because you never know what the crowd is going to be like.

Dirty Techno

"I just love everything from deep house to dirty techno, and lately I've been heavily influenced by our parties here in San Fran where we're able to blur the lines between genres."

It's only lately that Justin's skills have started to be appreciated in the UK.

"Ben Watt has really taken me under his wing," said Justin, who is putting the finishing touches to his first artist album to be released on Watt's Buzzin' Fly Records in the near future.

"Every few months I also play at the Buzzin' Fly party, at The End, in London, which is truly insane," added Justin, a DJ destined for the big time in 2007.