Twofold

The names chosen by musicians come about in all manner of different ways. For Martim S. Almeida, all he had to do was glance at a graffiti-covered wall in an alley in South London. The word depicted there caught his eye – Twofold.

His love of music came about at home where his favourite pastime, before he could even read, was flipping through his father’s vinyl collection, completely enthralled by the artwork. The glacial psychedelic soundscapes of Pink Floyd, the introspective pop stylings of The Cure, and the abrasive guitar-led wall of sound of Led Zeppelin were the accompanying soundtrack to a happy childhood and the lessons learned within the grooves of each record would help shape his path for the future.

As he entered his teenage years, with a guitar in hand he joined several garage bands. However, at the same time, his interest was piqued by something on the far end of the musical spectrum, a sound that was a world away from the rock and roll of his formative years. Twofold slowly started to discover a world where a synthesizer could sound just as abrasive as a guitar and where different rhythms and BPMS were the order of the day. Floored by Daft Punk’s debut album “Homework” and The Chemical Brothers’ “Exit Planet Dust” he quickly graduated from listening, to buying a mixer, a couple of decks and a pair of headphones. Nights out became pilgrimages and, more often than not, you could find him hanging out near the DJ booth observing everything, learning not only how to splice tracks together but how to infuse his sets with a sense of self.

The urban struggles described in the Hip Hop of Mos Def, the late night battle grounds evoked by Roni Size’s Drum & Bass, the earth shaking electro of Soulwax, the classic house music played by Carl Craig, the blissed-out grooves of Kruder & Dorfmeister, and the Indie Rock of the likes of Blur; They all helped lead the way to the elegant, tuneful, minimalistic techno grooves in which he now plies his trade.

The first records he heard by Kompakt or Border Community were decisive in the young DJ’s next step. In 2007 he moved to London to study sound engineering at the world renowned SAE. It was also here, in Europe’s music capital, that he played alongside some of the most interesting names in underground electronica such as Dan Curtin, Serge Santiago or Timo Garcia, among others.

He returned to Portugal in mid-2009 to show the country’s club kids that fervent dedication allied with hard work, professionalism and talent are the keys to a burgeoning career. And it shows, in the past year he has shared the decks with some huge names such as Nathan Fake, Dave Clarke, Superflu, Mark Henning, Samuel L. Session and Jon Hopkins. He has also played alongside many of Portugal’s biggest acts including Stereo Addiction, Expander and DJ Ride. In September of 2010 he was invited to open for Goldfrapp when their tour passed through Lisbon.

His degree in sound engineering, which he passed with hugely impressive scores, served as the basis for his first foray into producing. His first track, a remix of the tune DK/NR for Buggy Freaks made in collaboration with good mate Thomm, was released by the Berlin-based Aromamusic.

Twofold is gearing up to wow clubbers in Portugal and beyond with his powerful fusion of hypnotic melodies, huge beats and minimalistic percussion. He will definitely be one to keep an eye on in 2011.

Twofold @ Antena 3 (02/02/2011)

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Os nomes escolhidos pelos artistas para designarem a sua carreira de Dj nascem de variadíssimas formas. Para o jovem português, Martim S. Almeida, bastou passar os olhos por uma parede de graffiti num beco sem saída em Londres, para criar a sua identidade - Twofold.

O interesse pela musica começou cedo, em casa, com o fascínio pelos vinis coleccionados pelo pai. Na altura, o psicadelismo dos Pink Floyd, a introspecção dos The Cure, e as guitarras abrasivas dos Led Zeppelin fizeram a banda sonora de uma infância feliz e começavam a traçar o caminho do artista.

Com a adolescência veio a típica passagem por algumas bandas de garagem e é nesta altura que Twofold começa a interessar-se por ritmos com outros “bpms” como é o caso de “Homework” dos Daft Punk ou “Exit Planet Dust” dos Chemical Brothers. Da paixão por estas batidas à compra de dois pratos, uma mixer e um par de headphones não demorou muito. As saídas à noite eram feitas para, literalmente, ver como se “passava musica”, olhar para os dedos dos Djs de serviço (os que admirava, claro) e ver como se fazia “aquela arte”. Era mais fácil encontrá-lo perto de uma cabine de Dj com o olho em cima da mixer, do que perto do bar.

O jovem saía à noite com o objectivo de aprender e observar como viria a ser o seu modo de vida.

Foram as batalhas urbanas retratadas no Hip Hop de Mos Def, no Drum & Bass de Roni Size, no electro poderoso dos Soulwax, no House de Carl Craig, nas batidas relaxadas de Kruder & Dorfmeister ou no Indie Rock dos Blur, os responsáveis pelo surgimento do estilo musical de eleição de Twofold – o Techno.

As melodias hipnóticas dos primeiros discos de editoras como a Kompakt ou da Border Community foram o factor decisivo para se mudar para Londres em 2007 e inscrever-se no curso de Engenharia de Som da famosa SAE. Foi também nesta “cidade da musica” que fez as suas primeiras actuações com alguns dos nomes mais interessantes da electrónica underground como Dan Curtin, Serge Santiago e Timo Garcia entre outros.

Regressou a Portugal em meados de 2009, para mostrar ao publico dançante do seu país, como é que alguém com talento, dedicação e profissionalismo, pode vingar no mundo do Djing e da produção musical. E tem-no mostrado da melhor maneira, ao lado de artistas que sempre o inspiraram e com quem teve o privilégio de partilhar a cabine, como é o caso de Nathan Fake, Dave Clarke, Superflu, Mark Henning, Samuel L. Session, Jon Hopkins, e de tantos outros artistas nacionais, como Stereo Addiction, Expander, Ride. Em Setembro de 2010 chegou o convite inesperado de fazer a primeira parte de Goldfrapp no Coliseu dos Recreios.

As disciplinas do curso em Londres como electronic music production e sound engineering, onde tirou notas muito acima da média, foram a base para começar a produzir e editar a sua própria musica . A sua primeira faixa – uma remistura do tema DK/NR dos Buggy Freaks feita em colaboração com Thomm - foi eleita pela alemã Aromamusic.

Twofold será um nome inevitável no panorama da musica de dança nacional e não só. Um nome que iguala melodia mais batidas fortes e percussões minimalistas. Uma conta fácil e bonita de se fazer.