ORIGINS: Martyn

One day, while working in his studio, Martyn Deijkers’ heart stopped. It was an experience the Dutch artist feared may someday happen: he has a genetic heart defect, which caused his father, a former professional footballer, to die suddenly of a heart attack aged 56. That day in the studio, Deijkers collapsed on the floor and lay there for a full minute before his pacemaker kicked in and saved him. It was a moment that caused him to reflect on his life, his family and his music. When he was able to return to the studio, he realised something had changed. “It was clear I had to musically go back to where I came from,” he told us.

In this film, we trace Deijkers’ musical origins, exploring the roots of his passion for drum & bass, which led to him starting his own party in Eindhoven after making pilgrimages to the now-legendary Metalheadz events at London’s Blue Note. And we learn how Deijkers’ heart defect has defined him as a person—”Maybe it’s why I prefer broken beats,” he joked, in reference to his irregular heartbeat—and how his brush with mortality brought a freedom to his creative process that inspired this year’s excellent Voids album for Ostgut Ton.