Martha Van Straaten Interview

We hope you enjoy this intimate interview so you can also get to know what sparks joy in her heart and find out a bit more of what you can expect next Sunday 13 November.

"The patchwork of a thousand joyful days in the sun. With fond love for colorful tunes from all over the world, she blends the musical treasures she discovers on her never ending journey"

She dives deep into the local culture and absorbs the patterns, habits and sensual sensations of her surroundings just to translate all of these well collected influences into a multi-ethnic collage of sound.

You have been touted as a "Musical nomad". Can you talk about this and how music has enabled you to explore music & travel simultaneously?

First of all Hola and thanks for these lovely questions.
I am very much looking forward to meeting y'all soon at the Mahico Garden Fiesta!

It’s funny to be touted like that these days, because by the time I started playing around with turntables I was about 20 years old and hadn’t traveled a lot and never outside of europe! I was just coming out of school and didn’t have much money, and all  I basically invested in was going to festivals, meeting other crazy people from all over the world and dancing my ass off with my eyes closed, which was my kind of traveling in those days.

Music always gave me the chance to leave my current location and fly away, first only mentally but later on also physically. Coming from more electronic music, like classic Berlin techno and house music, I soon discovered Chancha Via Circuito and Voodoohop, a collective from Sao Paulo which organized free street parties and mixed Brazilian folk music and MBP with electronic sounds and rave music.

That sound was so new for my untravelled ears and made me curious, discovering new ways of inner traveling and connection to other cultures and movements. Since I was so hungry for other cultures and ways of living, that music really hit a spot for me. We got in contact and they invited me to Brazil.

Ever since that trip I have spent my winters traveling. It’s so ironic that all these travels in the past years became possible through my longing for different cultures and landscapes, which I channeled  through music!

Your music interweaves many sounds from different cultures and there is an evident element of storytelling in your sets. Can you tell us about your approach to mixing and interweaving these sounds?

My approach to mixing these sounds is to show the beauty and diversity of this planet and humanity. 

Ideally I can take the audience on a little 3 hour trip around the world with a mix. A trip that takes your whole body, soul and spirit into a communal moment of celebrating the richness of our existence.

I come from a land with a horrible history of racism and separatism and I can still experience this in many places around the world, also in Germany. With my mixes, the tracks and the samples I collect and put together, I want people to experience that music and life only get richer when we mix things together and that usually even things that seem far away or totally different can have something in common.

We are really looking forward to welcoming you to Bundjalung land in Byron bay! Where have your previous travels in Australia taken you both musically and geographically?

I’ve toured twice in Straya so far, this will be my third trip to this magic land. I've only toured in the South East so far, including some wicked festivals such as Strawberry Fields and Subsonic. Both tours were put together by a collective from Sydney called Mixagi. A group of friends with multicultural roots from Colombia, Brazil, Morocco and Italy. All their residents are bringing their own unique styles from perreo, cumbia electronica, hiphopish tunes to brazilian classics and downtempo. 

I was really impressed also with the Melbourne jazz jam scene with kind of trip hop influences, playin the most amazing impro livesets. I also found an Afro influenced jam scene and have admired Digital Afrika from Melbourne since my last trip to Australia!

One of my biggest discoveries was definitely Gordon Koang originating from South Sudan. I saw  him performing  at Strawberry Fields. He was playing with his cousin and a combo from Melbourne and they literally made me cry while dancing and being filled up with their positive energy.

We have a strong connection to and are advocates of Latin culture here in Northern Rivers. There is a definite latin influence in your music. How does Latin culture resonate with you?

When I traveled to Brazil in Latin America for the first time in 2014, I definitely felt what I was missing all my life growing up in Germany. Everything was just more intense, more dramatic, euphoric, more gratitude for being alive and in the moment, and music plays a really big role in that.

I have now visited several countries in Central and South America and I can definitely say that my soul found its home somewhere between Mexico and Chile.

My whole life in Germany I've wondered why people on the street ignore each other, easily feel offended and don't even try to make each other feel good. Being in latin culture makes me feel much more in my natural element, closer to humans, animals and nature, more able to express myself and feeling less separation and more gratitude for life and that very moment.

Lastly, what are 3 tracks that are floating your boat currently that we can expect to hear at Mahico Garden Fiesta Nov 13th?

⫷ Bushbby & Swoon - Agua Viva feat. Kantiqeuna (Carthnage)⫸

⫷ ShiShi - Mowgli (Atropolis remix)Igena-carthnage-remix ⫸

⫷ Maugli - Baksheesh ⫸