Egyptian DJ and producer, MARTINA, stands as part of a new generation of talents who have been actively involved in pushing for an alternative underground electronic scene in Cairo. A member of artist collective, Dhamma, her sets are a patchwork of various sounds and musical styles, going as easily from balie funk to deconstructed club and left-field bass, often, if not always, imbued with punchy edits of Egyptian shaabi or rap bangers. It’s like everything, everywhere, all at once, constantly shifting, and chaotic in the best of ways. She has done her rounds at parties across the globe, including the UK, Spain, UAE, and played at Uganda’s iconic Nyege Nyege festival, and XP Music Futures in Saudi Arabia. Her sets have been aired on international radio stations, such as Stegi Radio and Echobox. Additionally, MARTINA has previously contributed an original track to ZULI’s Places: Egypt compilation on Air Texture, and co-produced records with electroneya for Barcelona-based Le Shapeshifters, along with composing music for the Egyptian comedy ‘The Gentlemen’. For our Select 378, she steps in with an open-format radio set that drifts away from her usual club selections to explore heavy, distorted, bass-driven music and abrasive noise, interspersed with flourishes of soothing ambient pads. The set opens with a gritty edit of Grimes’ Genesis, ending with one of her original productions, Forever, and featuring a premiere of an unreleased joint track with London producer 3xoj, titled ‘TANG’. Speaking of the set, MARTINA says, “This is a set for anyone who feels angry at the world but still holds a little bit of hope.”
