Martin Ikin has stood as one of the most influential figures in house and tech house for more than three decades. As a trained jazz pianist, veteran studio engineer and pioneering producer, the UK-based artist’s catalog spans releases on labels like Toolroom and Catch and Release.
Martin Ikin continues to push boundaries with an unwavering commitment to fresh, innovative production. Also known through aliases like Soul Purpose, Indigo and DJ Mayhem, he has received acclaim as a trusted remixer for the likes of Chris Lake, Jamiroquai and Mariah Carey. Today, his passion and drive are as inspiring as ever, and he remains a groundbreaking force in the industry. In our exclusive interview with Martin Ikin, he talks about his experience with endolymphatic hydrops, navigating industry shifts, his newly established record label KNOW WHERE RECORDS and more.
You’ve been releasing music since the early 90s; through vinyl, digital, streaming, and now the algorithm era. What’s been the biggest mindset shift for you as an artist across those decades? 
As an artist you try not to let those changes get in the way of the creative process. They should be separated. But as a person trying to make a living out of music then it really does make a difference. There’s Pros and Cons for how it used to be versus how it is now.
I think the downsides to this current era are obvious. Music has almost become throwaway and undervalued since streaming took over. Prodigy recently said it’s now like fast food. Someone else recently posted that they had sold 4 vinyl records and that had added up to more money than 20,000 streams. That’s wild.
But the pros are you don’t have to walk around with 2 very heavy boxes of records now. You can make something that day and play it that night. It’s much more accessible now for people to make music. You don’t need a studio full of expensive gear. And because of social media the scene is much bigger than it ever was, meaning there’s a lot more work for us DJ’s.
So I think that’s just life. Nothing stays the same. Some things are better now, some things aren’t.
You’ve been quite transparent about your recent diagnosis of endolymphatic hydrops. How have you managed to stay grounded or optimistic during the healing process?
It’s been tough to stay optimistic at the worst points, especially as it’s taken years for me to get an actual diagnosis. But now we know exactly what I have, we know how to treat it and manage. And that has been a revelation. Medication, lifestyle changes, diet changes and great people around me are all helping to keep things looking positive and on the up.
Reinvention is a massive part of being an artist. What does artistic evolution mean to you, and how has it translated into your recent work?
I don’t think reinvention is something I do consciously. But what I never like to do is be lazy with the creative process. I never like to make the same thing more than once. I never use the same drums, not even the kick drum, more than once. So I think by being strict with yourself like that it almost forces you to move things forward slowly but surely.
Is there an old Martin Ikin track you’d re-approach with a different mindset, and what would you do differently?
Oh there’s a few I’ve been eyeing up haha. I’d just like to bring them up to date drum wise so they’d fit in my current sets. I won’t say which ones. I might surprise you with some re-vamps in some of my sets 😉
How has your experience as a jazz musician shaped the way you build a track?
In all honesty, when making tech house, it doesn’t really come into use that much. There’s very little harmony in this particular genre (most of the time). But when I’m making something more musical or song/chord based (like my recent track ‘RUSH’) then it really helps especially writing chords and melodies.
House and tech-house have gone through a mainstream boom, do you think we’re at a creative peak or due for a reset sometime soon?
It had a good few years of boom now (and lets hope it stays that way) but that normally points to a natural change happening. The hard part is figuring out what lol.
You’ve played everything from small clubs to massive festivals. What’s the funniest or weirdest thing that’s ever happened during a DJ set?
Erm haha well one time before a gig in Dubai, the promoter took me to a very posh Indian restaurant and I stupidly went for the hottest thing I could find… And you can guess what happened when I started to DJ!! I had to ask someone in the DJ booth to play a couple of tunes while I ran down to the only toilet in the whole place and begged the person in there to let me in.
It was an emergency.
What’s next for Martin Ikin?
Well I recently started my new label KNOW WHERE in collaboration with Toolroom, so I’m going to be releasing a lot on there. And we’ve got some really dope merch in the works too. Looking forward to getting them available.
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