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Local DJ mixing it up with new Trap genre
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Music producer and DJ Brandon Martin has created a four-song EP of a new genre of electronic music called Trap.
The Youngstown-based Martin, who performs as DJ Dr. Goo, will release “Dr. Goo’s Office” Oct. 14. The EP is Martin’s first. It will be available at beatport.com, which offers products for DJs, as well as mainstream online retailers.
A record-release party has tentatively been set for Oct. 18 at Greyland Gallery, corner of Boardman Street and South Phelps, downtown.
Other DJs are the primary sales target for “Dr. Goo’s Office,” said Martin. “I’m most excited about it being sold on beatport.com because that’s where DJs look for stuff,” he said.
Trap mixes the rhythms of Southern hip-hop with the structure of electronic dance music (EDM). The genre has been around for only a year at most, but it is catching on.
“Trap is getting popular among listeners,” said Martin, who sees parallels to dubstep, another new style of electronic music. “What I like about it is it brings two different cultures together,” he said. “I DJ at places where people want EDM, but a lot of people don’t really get it. With Trap, you bring together the hip-hop crowd with those who understand the intricacies of EDM.”
Although a lot of DJs play Trap, Martin is among the few who make it. He uses a mini-controller — a DJ tool that resembles a keyboard — and other sound-mixing equipment to create the songs.
DJs can play the songs on “Dr. Goo’s Office” as is, or use them in other ways. “There is sort of a form to the songs, but the ultimate goal is for them to be played with mixes and in-between songs,” said Martin. While performing, a DJ will listen to another song on headphones in order to match the beat to the song that’s playing before seamlessly blending it into the show.