Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Martinez.
Hi Juan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got my start listening to dance music as a 10 year old with unsupervised access to the internet. I would watch video after video of Tiesto performing and people rave dancing to electronic music. I just always wanted to dance with them. I was born in Long Beach, CA. A city with a heavy Latino raver energy but raised in Houston, TX where the culture wasn’t as big. At 17 years old I went to my first festival, IDentity Festival, and the rest was history. From that age I was hitting up underground rave clubs like Kryptonite every weekend and catching major artists at Stereo Live in Houston. I was averaging about 5 festivals a year as a promoter. Putting up posters and handing out flyers. Posting a lot on social media. I also was heavily into multiple rave dance styles and flow arts which I shared on social media. I very quickly began growing a network of peers in the industry all across the nation because of my dance videos and festival promotion. I moved to Austin in 2017. I was in love with the local dj culture for years already so it was my next step to live there. I was clubs like Kingdom, Ethics, Karma, Empire, and Vulcan 2-3 times a week.
I started dj’ing in 2019 after meeting my current partner who is also a dj. I finally had access to my first set of of equipment. I had always had dj friends and they would try to teach me but I don’t follow instruction very well. I tend to try to figure things out myself and follow my own interests in a quite intentional yet obsessive way. My partner was running Trance Family ATX after the mantle was passed to him from Old Austin Trance dj’s. His sonic ethos was similar to mine, other the classics and play modern tracks that respected the sound. My first set was a party we through at the park, like 10 of my friends showed up. With the DIY attitude deep in me I started the collective Texas Techno Troop soon after. Since I was already cemented into the local dance music scene it blew up quite quickly. We were setting up the sound, lights, and equipment before and after. Curating the line ups, themes, and flyer work. Booking the talent. Managing the venues. All for pennies at the time because we simply just wanted to play and listen to the music we wanted. At that time there was a massive amount of Tech House and not a lot of high energy rave music like Techno and Trance. Techno and Trance were my first loves and I just wanted to share it with everyone. I carried this energy until the COVID shutdown. The last event we had, before the pandemic shutdown, hit capacity before midnight and we had a line out the door till 2 am. The fire marshall even showed up. The people wanted to rave and they didn’t want to pay $30 covers to get in. They didn’t care if we didn’t have the sickest sound or lights. My dancefloors were full of experienced dancers who wanted the space to show off and I loved to highlight them. It was a magical time back then full of possibility.
Through the shutdown I kept the magic going by dj’ing on Twitch through my Shared Frequencies Radio residencies. When things started to open up again the market really changed. So much of Old Austin was gone not only from the clubs that shutdown but the weirdos that were priced out by everyone moving in for the lax laws and creative energy. Yet it felt like the people moving weren’t contributing the culture in the same way. It was more clean cut and preppy. The New Austin energy wasn’t weird. It wanted to be traditional luxury and class not the funky weird and creatively unique energy I was used to. After some adjustments I got my footing back and I began to play in different cities all over Texas. I became a resident dj for The Concourse Project back in 2022 when I was asked to curate a stage on the patio. The same year I flew out with Sara Landry to El Paso as her direct support at Function EP. I was regularly opening for Techno and Trance legends like Fatima Hajji, Nico Moreno, ATB, Giuseppe Ottaviani, Reinier Zonneveld, Carl Craig, TDJ, Darude all over Texas. All while regularly hosting my own local events. This later lead to be playing Seismic Dance Event in 2024. It was 4 pm on day 3 and I packed out that container stage and the crowd overflowed around it. The next Seismic I played a peak time slot at 9 pm on day 2 on the Technobus stage. I began to be seen as full fledged artist with a resume of opening slots, throwing my own events, and multiple sets on YouTube/soundcloud.
To bring you to where I am today it’s important to say that in the days of AI, attention stealing social algorithms, and far right politics taking over – I had to stop conforming to New Austin. I missed the Old Austin weirdness and I wanted to be the weird I wanted to see in the world. Summer of 2025 I decided to play less events and begin the long journey of music production. I didn’t want to sound like everyone else with the same Splice loops and Serum presets so I focused on self-teaching sound design, midi programming, sampling from live or rare sources, and general music production from scratch. I wanted to emulate 00/90’s rave music and challenge the current era of TikTok Pop Techno and Millennial Nostalgia Tech house. Now I am set to release my first album this June!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has always been an uphill battle for anyone trying to be an independent, local artist in an underground sonic scene. Especially in our current climate of big money taking over entertainment and adding social media manager to our work load. But it was honestly the adversity and struggles that informed my music and made me push along. If the music I wanted wasn’t already underrepresented then I would’ve never started dj’ing or hosting my own events. When I first started dj’ing, and still am, I was very eclectic in my taste and an artistic maverick which was not accepted very well in the dance music dj community full of artists who wanted surgical precision and homogenous sonic experiences. It was when I began DJ’ing with open format dj’s that my skills really began to shine through. Taking risks on the dancefloor. Learning how to make mistakes “work”. Learning to read a a dynamic and flowing crowd that didn’t know the first thing about what you were playing for them. To this day a lot of the dj scenes here in Austin are largely dominated by Cis, Straight, White males and they kept their bookings amongst each other. I set out to curate events with largely queer, femme, and BIPOC artists who played genre expansive sets – which lead me to create the party series “Genre Fluid”. I would have people tell me I shouldn’t play so hard or stick to one genre but that was my fuel. Now as a producer I am getting a very different kind of energy from other artists I hadn’t experienced before. My music productions have gotten much more sharp criticisms and “big bro/little bro” comments then any of dj sets ever did. The sentiment behind it feels much more pregnant with judgement. Many of the contacts I made starting out have simply not been supportive of my producer journey as they did when I was dj’ing. And honestly it all the same as before – more fuel, more direction.
Both the good parts and bad parts of my artistry are impacted by my neurodivergence. I am an AuDHDJ. My Austism and ADHD are why I am so dynamic and eclectic but also a deep diver and intentional. But they are also why I struggle with public vulnerability, rejection/criticism, and social interactions related to music and business. For a long time I use to self medicate with alcohol for the sensory and social overwhelm of the inconsistent rave experience. I had to learn self care and boundaries in the music industry. Which led me to quit drinking alcohol a few years ago. It was always available for free and cheap. Sometimes drink tickets and bottles are the only payment local djs get so I felt pressured to do so. When people loved my sets they would buy me shots. When I noticed it was impacting my mental health and how I saw a gig or a night out I knew I had to change. When considering if I wanted to go dancing I had to consider if I wanted a hangover or rebound anxiety the next day. I had to consider pacing myself during my sets so that my mixing wouldn’t be affected. Now I am so happy I can access the divine power of dance in an empty or crowded room totally sober.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a track selector and music producer that focuses on four on the floor music like Techno, Trance, and House but sprinkle in bass heavy sounds like Club, Breaks, Electro and Garage all with latin rhythms and vocals. I’m known for my high energy, cathartic sets because I love to embody the freedom of protected dancefloor while I dj. Since I’m a dancer first, a lot of my mixing is done by instinct in time with my dance movements. Catching the sonic movement through my body and letting it guide my hands. I’m a part of the controversial group of “dancing dj’s”. To put that argument to rest, if the dj can’t help but dance and look like they’re enjoying themselves then what are we even doing here? Imagine a rock and roll guitarist doing an epic solo and standing stiff as a board? I come from a punk world before I got into dance music which also informed rave music. My artistry isn’t meant to be polished and clean. I want it to be raw, evoke intense emotionality, and give people permission to break the traditional social rules.
My sets are heavily skewed towards playing music pre-2020. Classics and old school tunes with longer song arrangements and full themes/motifs. I’ve spent 20 years researching the origins of dance music, its evolutions, and iterations through a dj, dancer, and producer lens. I love deep diving for progressive and modern tunes that flow well with the old styles. I’m known for my namesake, JUAN40, because I love playing at 140 beat per minute. Fast enough so that the dancers are awake and alive but slow enough that they can go all night. When I got my start dj’ing playing at 140 bpm was considered too wild while the sound was largely 128 bpm house. Now in 2026 the biggest dj’s are playing 150-160 bpm and losing the groove. A lot of modern tracks sound so good when you pitch them down and give the rhythm and groove room to breathe. That’s sets me out because I’m not trying to play the hardest and fastest. I don’t comprise on my sound. It this dedication that has given me the opportunities to be one of the most prolific support dj’s in central Texas. I carry so much pride in this. To have the ability to morph creatively but not contort to the oppressive forces of capital and algorithms. To honor the black, brown, and queer roots of dance music by educating dance floors with the classics but also highlighting modern tunes that are pushing the needle or honoring dance music history.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
I love this question because people think I want to “make it” by becoming a superstar dj who is constantly touring the world but to me success is being able to play the music I love and create myself in clubs and spaces that I feel a sense of belonging to and for discerning dancers who I respect. I’d love to be a local legend like the many that live here in Austin that have travelled the world with their music for decades but carry a quiet sense of respect from their community. To be an Austin/Texas legend. To be regularly invited and booked to play in different corners of the world where they have the artistic ethos takes us back to the origins of rave music culture. But without having to generalize my sound mind and continue to appeal to the masses. To play events that honor protected dancefloors for real dancers and marginalized classes like the working class, queer folk, and people of color. To have my relationship with music inspire people to feel safe in their bodies and to buzz with spirit by dancing. Success for my music productions would be for the meaning to fully translate across and show people they are not alone in this world. That they don’t have to leave their worries at the door but bring them to the dancefloor and learn to dance with them. In this communion of dancing we share the heavy burden and our worries become lighter on our shoulders. That’s success to me. So pre-order my debut album “Problematic Smartphone Use” and stream it on all music platforms after it releases on June 21. I hope that my music triggers something deep in you that wants to be danced out!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juan401/problematic-smartphone-use/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juan40bpm
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1Cn8E9wVi5/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Juan40bpm
- Soundcloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/jET3ujkJo7iEoxIOIb
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/juan401/problematic-smartphone-use/
