The Martinez Brothers @ Marquee NY 4/26 Reviewed
Photo credit: Pearcey Proper
It was a busy weekend for the Martinez Brothers. The boys started off Friday at the luxurious Marquee nightclub in New York City. In typical Marquee-an hospitality, the friendly staff quickly accommodated revelers so that by 12:30, the club went from crowded to packed; plenty of room to dance, though, as Patrick Grooves opened what would be another long and fabulous underground night.
The latinos came out to support their fellow DJs. Patrick hails from Argentina and TMB from Puerto Rico, but all three were raised in New York. The entire club was filled with the amusing chatter of Spanglish, “Oh my god, you’re from Ecuador? Soy de Colombia! Pero I live in Queens.” Meanwhile, Patrick Grooves was turning on the groove as he swayed back and forth between a fast beat and a slower tempo to the delight of the early crowd. Patrick’s longtime friend and Gran Manzana record label co-owner, Filsonik, also joined the party, along with the Basics, Michael and Begoña, and when The Martinez Brothers arrived, it was one big DJ party on the stage.
The Brothers went straight into their set with deep and tech house, and on vinyls, always pumping it up for the bouncing crowd. One particular track to stand out was Rampa’s “Everything,” with the vocals from Meggy booming from the Funktion One speakers, that made every single hand in the club go up and down to the beat. Allegedly, TMB also played a few unreleased tracks, to come out later this year (we hope!)
The night was completely conducted by the brothers; chugging along like a train on a track back to the 90s, with samples from hip hop and dance of the era, probably a childhood influence. The boys were raised by their father, an avid underground fan himself, who cultivated the deep house and disco fusions of his sons’ early years into the steady techno beat that was heard on Friday night.
Following their Marquee NY debut, which went on to as early as 5 in the morning, the brothers hopped on a plane to Miami where they performed at the underground night of the 5-month old Story nightclub, and then headed to afterhours at Space where they played until the late morning, before making a surprise appearance at Station lounge in Midtown. That’s 4 gigs in a span of 24 hours. Props to the Bros on a weekend well done.