Santiago Martinez
Santiago Martínez is a musician, DJ, and producer born in Mar del Plata and currently based in Buenos Aires. As a DJ, he has become a key figure in Argentina’s underground scene, being part of the collectives CHAAV and Piramide Selva, performing across the country and at major venues in the capital. He has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Satoshi Tomiie, DJ T, DJ Koze, Cabanne, Acid Pauli, Lawrence, Audio Werner, Franco Cinelli, Damian Schwartz, Deadbeat, and Justin Miller, among others. Santiago has also been featured in the lineups of prominent festivals such as Mutek BA (2018), Sonar BA (2017), Creamfields BA (2012/13/14), Robot Festival (2014), and Lollapalooza (2022/23/24).
In addition to his DJ career, Santiago has composed music for three films, one of which earned him a Cóndor Award nomination (2020), as well as for two series directed by Martín Piroyanski (Tiempo Libre and El Galán de Venecia). He has also collaborated on various plays and performances by the duo Lolo y Lauti, both domestically and internationally (Emperatriz IV, Cumbres Borrascosas, among others).
Over the past decade, Santiago has worked on the sound identity of the international design festival TrimarchiDG and its associated projects.
As a keyboardist, he is currently a member of Isla de Caras and Silvestre y La Naranja, two cornerstone bands of the new generation of Argentine rock and pop, with whom he has toured Latin America, the United States, and Europe.
“A DJ and producer surprises with a dance record infused with human swing” – Rolling Stone Argentina.
In 2017, Estamos Felices released “Lo Artesanal” (EF040), his first full-length album. Mastered at Scape (Berlin), it can be interpreted as a cinematic journey, a sequence of stories where each track has its own narrative, sound palette, and characters.
“Lo Artesanal” is a difficult album to categorize by genre, staying true to its creator’s philosophy. It should be approached as an individual journey, where the gaps are filled in by the listener, much like a mystery film where the audience solves the puzzle alongside its protagonists.
In July 2020, he released the EP “SG 02” through the Berlin-based label Sociedad Gánica. It consists of two summer dancefloor-oriented tracks and a remix by Ana Helder. The EP stands out for its playful use of repetitive sampled basslines and a Balearic counter-mix created in the legendary Palito Ortega studio in Luján.
In July 2024, Santiago released Discovery, his second vinyl EP, through Psyfunk, the label owned by Franco Cinelli, who contributed a remix for the release.
Other releases include appearances on compilations from labels like Micra Recordings, Música Lunar, and Psyfunk.