Over the course of a career that’s spanned in excess of two decades, Martin has dabbled in a number of different dance genres, both classic and modern; dubstep, dub, dancehall, jazzcore and industrial hip hop have all, over the years, come to help shape the sound that Martin can now consider his calling card. He’s embarked upon a wide range of different musical projects in addition to The Bug, including GOD, Techno Animal, Ice, Curse of the Golden Vampire, Pressure and King Midas Sound. He’s also a keen collaborator, and the diversity of musical approach is evidenced by the broad and eclectic range of musicians that he’s worked with over the course of his career, including the likes of Vast Aire, Warrior Queen, Earth, Keith Levene, Mark Stewart, DJ Vadim, Anti-Pop Consortium and El-P.
As The Bug, Martin has focused particularly on the dancehall and reggae roots to his sound, and between 2001 and 2004, he rose to prominence for his work with UK reggae veteran The Rootsman on a slew of limited edition seven-inch singles. Since 2006, he’s run a monthly reggae club night in London, alongside Loefah, by the name of BASH. He released his third full-length under the moniker The Bug, ‘London Zoo’, in 2008.
The Bug – aka Kevin Martin – has provided the HEAVIEST sets I have ever seen. The London DJ-producer has performed under lots of names and is also part of the acclaimed King Midas Sound, but it is The Bug that Martin is best known as.
The Ninja Tune-affiliate produces oldschool dubstep, the kind that actually has a dub vibe, with elements of dancehall and hip hop. Most of his tracks – at least the ones I know – feature grimy MCs, reggae singers or UK rappers, and are all driven by heavy, industrial bass. His DJ sets can be pretty eclectic and are not unlike those by Mala, Coki and Loefah.
However, The Bug’s live show is something else entirely. I first saw the live set up when he brought it to Camden’s Electric Ballroom, in support of Death Grips, when it seemed to be still finding its feet. However, a bit later on I witnessed The Bug live again at the Roundhouse and they smashed it. Essentially, the live show it Martin spinning grimy dubstep while vocalists – including Flowdan and Daddy Freddy – MC over the top, spitting aggressively opinionated raps about politics, the street and youth culture, among other social topics. Nobody makes this kind of grimy dubstep better than The Bug (although DMZ may make it just as well), so if you want to have deranged and wobbly night out book to go see The Bug live.