STREAMING AUDIO INTERVIEW

The Australian branch of Ministry of Sound are having a thundering year, delivering releases that cover nearly every different corner of local dance culture, and they’ve taken this one step further with their The Underground 2009 compilation, a release that explores the different flavours of underground house and techno holding sway in the clubs. And to help put it together they’ve recruited the talents of none other than Justin Martin from San Francisco’s Dirty Bird label, who mixes a disc alongside Style of Eye and Klaus Hill.

“Ministry of Sound contacted me and asked me if I was interested in being part of the Underground compilation, and I’m always down to taking advantage of cool new opportunities,” Justin told ITM. “It’s something that reflects what I play when I DJ. I’d done some mixes in the past for Buzzin’ Fly which had been a little bit deeper, purely made for listening, whether it’s downtime, or you’re chilling with your girl. This time I really wanted it to reflect the energy that I have during one of my DJ sets.”

The best thing about Justin’s Underground mix is that if you caught any of his recent excellent performances in Australia over the June Long Weekend, you’ll have a pretty good idea of the quality you can expect. He actually compiled it in the studio during the week that he had off between gigs! Here Justin talks to ITM’s Angus Paterson about showing us around his underground…

The Underground 2009, mixed by Justion Martin, Style of Eye and Klaus Hill, is out now through Ministry of Sound and Universal.