House DJ Martin Landsky tells his coming of age story

For many DJs, it’s love at first sound, with some gatekeeper showing the way to the wonderful world of four-on-the-floor beats and trippy tweaks. For DJ-producer Martin Landsky, who plays Tango on Oct. 24, the flash of infatuation occurred at Hamburg’s Kultklub Front in 1988. However, his storied love affair with dance music commenced long before.

“When I started, house music didn’t exist,” Landsky explains. Instead, funk and early rap caught his attention, including the likes of classic MCs and beat purveyors Fatback Band, Grandmaster Flash and Kurtis Blow. “Electronic dance music is a development based on funk, disco and hip-hop roots where the ‘funky’ groove is the most important element,” he says.

But where did a white kid from Germany become enamored with black American dance music? Where else but the race-transcending epicenter of the music world: the dance floor. “When I was young, I spent all night on the dance floor.” As a teenager, Landsky busted “electric boogie” moves at local parties and began to DJ at the age of 14.

As house came into its own, so did Landsky’s addiction to it. Early influences–Chicago house, Detroit techno and New York garage–helped Landsky develop his unique sound.

Today, Landsky is best known for his work on the Poker Flat label, a Berlin-based shop full of house and tech innovators.Despite diving into DJing professionally, Landksy remains true to his roots, especially his connection with the dancers. “I mean it’s dance music, right? A DJ without the affinity to dance is like a chef who doesn’t eat, a sommelier who doesn’t drink.”

If so much of his past has dictated Landsky’s present, what about the future? “It’s always hard to tell what the future will look like, and that’s a good thing,” he said. While the future may be unwritten, one thing is predictable: Landsky’s love affair with music isn’t going to end any time soon.

Colleen Gargan

What: Martin Landsky
Where: Tango
When: Friday, October 24
How Much: ￥40-70