International DJ Juanjo Martin talks superstar sets, growing up in Madrid and partying with Paris Hilton
Juanjo Martin is one of Spain’s most dynamic and exciting DJs! He’s been ubiquitous on the international electronic music scene since the late 90s, and is responsible for some huge floor-filling hits, like Shooting Star, Illusion and Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough. And he’s played iconic venues and festivals like Space, Pacha, Sonar, Circuit and more.
Now, Juanjo is putting on his sunglasses, pouring himself a vodka and jetting over to Vauxhall! Well, not directly INTO Vauxhall. He’ll probably get a shuttle bus from Heathrow to Vauxhall. Mind you, you never know, maybe he has a helicopter. He might land it on top of the MI6 building. That would be camp. Anyway we digress.
Juanjo is here for Beyond’s Easter Saturday special. Not familiar with Beyond? Time to GET familiar. They’re one of London’s biggest weekly gay club nights, hitting Vauxhall every Saturday night in a sparkling glissade of salacious sequins and frivolous feathers. It’s all about hot boys in harnesses, swinging lazers and vodka Red Bulls.
Here are some words from Juanjo, with a bit of info about him and what we can expect from his set! We asked if he was top, bottom or vers but he didn’t tell us. Sad.
“Hello everyone! My name is Juanjo Martin. I was born in Madrid. I love my country, Spain. I think it’s the best place to live. I’ve been interested in electronic music since I was little. I started my first mixes at 9 years old with a double-tape radio cassette, recording the songs that played on the radio. At sixteen, I had the opportunity to start playing at a very small club in Madrid, and since then I’ve been lucky enough to be able to make a living from DJing.”
“London is one of my favorite cities to play. The people there are special; they love electronic music, and they love to have fun and dance.”
“I’m playing at Beyond Carnival next Saturday. I love Beyond, and it’s many years since I played there, so it’s going to be very special. With the tech house and tribal of today, I always like to raise and lower the rhythm of my session so the crowd can savour every last one of my tracks. In my set, you’ll hear a whole spectrum, from the purest house to the most forceful tribal, always with vocals so that we can all sing and dance.”
“London is a very special city. Maybe one of the three most special cities for the electronic music scene. Dance music was born in London. Garage and house come from cities like London, and it is a pride and satisfaction to be able to play in a city that has seen electronic music grow. Every time I come here, I learn something new. I love walking through Berkeley Street, listening to vinyl, spending hours talking with the record vendors sharing experiences and enriching my culture.”
“I remember a Friday six or seven years ago in Ibiza, in Privilege, I was playing and Paris Hilton came to see me. It was a very wild experience, because we started dancing together and she asked if I wanted to go out with her later. But I was very I concentrated on my set and nothing really happened and I finished my set and went home. Without Paris. LOL.”
Beyond Carnival is on Saturday 31st March at Fire, South Lambeth Road, SW8 1RT. 11pm onwards. For more info and tickets, head to orangenation.co.uk
ANAHITA: Meet the queer DJ who put on underground parties in Iran
