Martijn Helle
Tempted Audio since 1995
The commitment to listening, collecting, selecting and mixing music is relentless. Each addition to the collection documents a short moment in electronic music’s development and reflects club culture and its freedom.
Building a Vinyl Collection and my Signature Sound.
It’s 1995. I’m 17 years old and in my bedroom I tune in to the live radio broadcasts of Chemistry from Amsterdam’s Escape nightclub as often as I can. This introduction to the sound of house and techno makes an huge impact on me. So that very same year I take the first steps towards building a personal vinyl collection: a few borrowed records from labels like Superstition, EDGE and Guerilla, some early purchases from Cyber Records in Leiden. From nights dancing at Club Roxy and the MTC parties, I get a glimpse of club culture. It’s here, in the nineties, that a lifelong connection to electronic music is born.
1996–1999: Mills, Young, Broom and Craig
Over the next few years the collection really starts to take shape with a growing focus on industrial and harder-edged techno. Frequent visits to London’s Fat Cat Records, where I discover artists like James Ruskin and Oliver Ho of Blueprint Records and key figures from Birmingham’s techno scene: Regis of Downwards Records and Surgeon of Dynamic Tension. Records from Adam Beyer's Drumcode, especially early works by Cari Lekebusch, are important additions during this period.
These sounds also heavily influence my early DJ sets. I get to play club gigs, opening for none other than Jeff Mills, Claude Young, Mark Broom and Carl Craig.
2000–2002: Rush Hour Education
Entering the 00’s I get a job at the freshly opened Rush Hour recordstore in Amsterdam. This is where I’m introduced to the deeper and more elegant sound of techno and house. Hours and hours of shop listening sharpens the ears. My record collection grows substantially, with labels like Environ, Sound Signature, KDJ, Planet E, Headspace and Peacefrog. All to this day obvious landmark labels for a reason.
2003 – 2009: Rotterdam to Café d'Anvers
After relocating to Rotterdam, I find myself naturally drawn to the Berlin sound that is emerging at the time. Producers like Steve Bug, Tiefschwarz, Henrik Schwarz and Âme blow my mind with a stripped-back blend of techno and deeper house. I play gigs locally and abroad, at private LOFT-like parties and at home. An absolute highlight is being invited to perform at Antwerp’s Café d’Anvers 10-year anniversary party.
2010 – 2022: Sound Beyond the Booth
Moving to Amsterdam brings a new wave of inspiration, marked by the atmosphere and programming of Club Trouw with the Muting the Noise family leading the way. Around this time, my focus gradually shifts from DJ gigs towards building a career in sound design for motion pictures. While continuing to collect jazz records, I open my own sound studio, creating a space for sound, picture and creation. To this day, the studio mixes and masters many feature films and documentaries each year.
This decade also brings more experimenting with digital DJ setups, exploring new possibilities. But the love for the tactile connection of vinyl never fades.
2025: Time to Share and Dance
So, after 30+ years of collecting and mixing records, it still feels essential — a direct line back to those early nights, glued to the radio with headphones on, dreaming. But I also strongly feel that something is missing: the mutual joy of sharing the music in my collection. Playing and dancing together. So I'm getting back on my stomping feet and playing out again. Hopefully, I’ll catch your ear soon — on a dancefloor somewhere anywhere...