Kevin Martin (British Musician) - Early Life

Early Life

Martin first became interested in music as a teenager going to Handsome Dick's, a record store in Weymouth, England, UK. At the same time, he was introduced to Joy Division, the Sex Pistols, Captain Beefheart, the Birthday Party, and Throbbing Gristle. He has described his initial interest in music as stemming from his difficult family situation during his childhood, and said, "It seemed like everything that I hated about English conservative monoculture was being burned and turned upside down through music," and, "Post-punk music was tearing up rule books and asking questions of everything, particularly structure in terms of music, art, politics, you know, the law."

Martin first began making music because he was attracted to a do-it-yourself (DIY) aesthetic. He first worked with a four-track recorder and effects pedal, and said, " was interested in everything that wasn’t harmony, melody, and conservative musical structure. Dub seemed to tear everything to shreds, burn it up, and rearrange the embers." (referring to dub music). He described his early experiences of music in London as being very influential for his style and appreciation of music, especially experiencing Iration Steppas and The Disciples in the early 1990s. He described his experience in the London music scene as taking a while to sync his ears up to ragga and digital dancehall, two genres of music for which he has become well known.