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The French producer and DJ THEOS releases his new EP Turn Up Marty, an eclectic opus of 4 tracks on the English label Shall Not Fade.
He is one of the French producers to follow closely. At just 19 years old, THEOS signed a first release of 7 tracks, We Miss The Crowd, on the prestigious English label Shall Not Fade in June 2021. 6 months later and after a smashing success, it is Turn Up Marty who succeeds him with 4 new tracks released last Friday.
Just like his training in jazz, hip-hop and funk with D’Angelo, Moods or Georges Duke, then his passion for electronic music and inspirations such as Josh Butler, Toman and Brame & Hamo, THEOS continues his desire to compose with various influences. “Since I was very young I have always played with music software. When I was 12 years old I was layering loops on my dad’s computer on GarageBand,” recalls Theo. “I produced my first track when I was 15, an assembly of loops and drums in MIDI. I never published it of course (laughs) “.
Behind the booth, THEOS also mixes turntables and machines to create rich, hybrid sets. “I mix my favorites and compositions into a DJ set, and I bring my live touch by improvising on the keyboard,” he explains. “It allows me to let my inspiration out into the field and make my performances unique.”
TURN UP MARTY
This singularity is what convinced Shall Not Fade to entrust him with one, then two EPs. This famous London label created by Kieran Williams in 2015 has already signed artists such as Mall Grab, Bonobo, Adryiano or Black Loops, a guarantee of an influence on the international house scene that is no longer to be proven. “Generally speaking, I am pleasantly surprised by the place of music in the English, which I consider more sacred than in France for example,” concedes Theo.
Turn Up Marty is a mixture of minimal, jazzy and house sounds. Captain Lulu’ opens the ball with a heady bass and rhythmic synths, followed by the jazzy track ‘Broken Ring’. The B side unveils the eponymous track from the EP ‘Turn Up Marty’, made for the club with its incisive bass and scratch samples. Odd Goblin’ closes the opus with a powerful bass, composed with the producer VieLaJoie. “I left room for the spontaneity of my inspiration”, concludes THEOS.
The Frenchman has many more projects to come. The next few months will unveil an EP in collaboration with the French trio Oden & Fatzo, but also an EP in collaboration with his brother and singer El Rod, or an album in duet with Camilee.
Turn Up Marty is available on all digital platforms, and on vinyl on Shall Not Fade’s Bandcamp.