Martin Dawson on JUNE: best lobster & skinny dipping

What are you working on at the moment?
100 things at once it feels like... haha. I have a deep house project called Two Armadillos with Giles Smith from Secretsundaze and we are starting our live show in July at Watergate in Berlin so we are getting ready for that, which is a lot of work. I have been busy in the studio with remixes and I have got my first solo EP coming in June just before the festival on Moodmusic plus new tracks for Pets Recordings and Hypercolour. Busy, busy, busy, but all good!

Golden Age Thinking Part 2 seems to be quite successful. It was also Beatport's Pick Of The Week. Hwoow was it for you to collaborate with Giles Smith; you had to make a lot of compromises or was it more like a symbiosis?
I have known Giles for years and he is a very dear friend of mine. Our working relationship is definitely a symbiotic one. He has amazing taste in music, which I love and I am a massive studio geek so that works together really well.

"Repetition is the killer for me," you said in one interview. So where did your musical path take you in 2012 so far?
Very much sticking to that idea I have been working with Catz "N Dogz, Glimpse and Jay Shepheard on new originals and remixes. I just finished a new album project called Different Marks which is a concept project by myself and Catz "N Dogz again. Then in between all of that I am working on solo material, some clubs, but a lot more alternative.

You have been to a lot of countries like Russia, Brazil, Australia, also some parts of Asia. What have Sardinia and San Teodoro that others don't?
Well when I played for June on the first party I had one of the best lobster dishes in my life so for sure the food is good there. The beaches are very relaxing and of course on this party I will also get to hang out with lots of friends like Axel Boman & Smash TV.

Probably a lot of people don't know that you are a passionate guitar player. Are you going to bring your guitar to the JUNE?
Haha. I am passionate about guitar music and still I buy a lot of this music. I played guitar heavily from the my 10th to 20th year, but my skills on this instrument now are more what I would call "studio ready" but definitely not live performance ready. So I won't bring my guitar... Maybe next time.

What are you preparing for your JUNE set?
I have had a great year of live shows and I probably could say that I have got a lot better since I played at June in 2010. That's why I am looking forward to having a good blast with lot of new and unreleased music.

Any fun stories you can share from your exploits there so far?
Well there was definitely a bit of skinny dipping after a fun night of partying there and getting pretty smashed. I think it was a private beach as well but we didn't care.

What is your fav track of the moment?
East Everything "Jagged Edge' on Pets Recordings. AMAZING!!!

What are your plans for the summer in terms of work/holidays balance?
Some fun trips to Barcelona for Sonar, Ibiza for Zoo Project, Brazil for Warung! Oh, it's a hard life!