Doc Martin Mixtapes

A collection of mixes from one of the West Coast's most enduring and respected figures in underground house music - a DJ who has been doing this longer than almost anyone, and never stopped getting better at it.

Doc Martin grew up in a musical household, his mother sang with Bay Area icons Jefferson Starship, but it was the emerging electronic subcultures of the late 1980s that captured his attention. He began spinning house records in San Francisco in 1986, quickly winning a cult following among warehouse party denizens for his eclectic tastes and skill at mixing the crowd with the music - masterminding legendary eight-hour sets at clubs including Flammable Liquid and Sunday Love. In the early 1990s he relocated to Los Angeles, where he quickly integrated himself into the city's thriving rave scene, and soon became one of its defining voices. He went on to become the first West Coast DJ to hold residencies in New York, appearing at clubs including the Roxy, Twilo, and the Tunnel. What set him apart then, and still does, was a refusal to be boxed in. While most DJs stuck to a single subgenre, Doc's sets moved fluidly between deep house, acid, funk, tribal, and classics, while having it all make sense.

These tapes capture him at the height of his powers, playing the West Coast underground circuit that he helped build from the ground up. Essential listening for anyone serious about the history of American house music.