In the half-light of sweat-drenched dancefloors, under disco balls throwing shards of silver across bodies in motion, Doc Martin (Martin Mendoza) has been a constant presence for more than three decades. From San Francisco’s acid house basements to Berlin’s Panorama Bar and Ibiza’s open-air temples, he has carried the heartbeat of underground culture with him, shaping it as much as he has preserved it.

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Along the way, he has shared the stage with icons who defined eras in music. As tour DJ for Deee-Lite, he rode the wave of their worldwide success, delivering the sound of house to packed theaters just as “Groove Is in the Heart” was reshaping pop culture.

 

He has opened nights for James Brown, playing house music before the Godfather of Soul himself took the stage, a living bridge between funk and the electronic underground. At Coachella, he played alongside Fatboy Slim and the Chemical Brothers, when electronic music was beginning to break through to massive festival audiences in the U.S. He has held down sets with Moby, Grace Jones, and even Daft Punk in their early days, bringing his West Coast sensibility into the same orbit as artists who would go on to redefine the global soundscape.

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What ties all of these moments together is Doc’s singular ability to make the dancefloor feel like home — whether a sweaty basement in San Francisco, a warehouse in Los Angeles, or the world’s most iconic festivals. His story is not just a career but a lineage, one that connects the roots of house and techno to the present moment and beyond.

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Musical Journey :

Early influences: Raised in San Francisco, Martin grew up around music, including his mother’s performances with Jefferson Starship. By the mid 1980's he was immersed in record shops, exploring acid house and techno, and began DJ'ing house in 1986.

 

Move to Los Angeles :

In the early 1990's he relocated to Los Angeles and quickly became part of the city’s rave culture. His career soon expanded into Europe where he became a regular at iconic clubs.

 

Global presence:

His performances have brought him to Fabric in London, Circoloco and DC10 in Ibiza, Panorama Bar in Berlin, Coachella, Movement Detroit, Desert Hearts, CRSSD, Ocaso, SXM, and many more.

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Sublevel:

His label has been active for more than 20 years, releasing music from Joeski, Dubtribe, Rob Mello, Blakkat, DJ Sneak, with projects from Radioslave, D’Julz, and Andreas Henneberg (The Glitz) coming next.

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Artistic Style :

What makes Doc Martin so enduring is his ability to span time and sound in a single night. He is equally comfortable building with deep house vocals, sliding into funky tribal basslines, dropping acid squelches, or pulling in electro-inspired edges. Every set feels alive, as if the past, present, and future are being braided together track by track.Crowds never quite know what is coming next, but they trust him implicitly. That trust is the hallmark of his artistry. His audiences follow him from small backrooms to vast festival fields, because Doc does more than play music — he narrates the journey of the dancefloor.

 

Legacy :

Doc’s career is not just long, it is living proof of house music’s resilience. He has played through every era — from vinyl-only nights in the 1980s, through the rise of CDs and digital DJing, into today’s streaming-driven world — yet his reputation has only grown. He remains both innovator and elder, someone who has continuously released new music while keeping alive the ethos of underground culture.He is also the force behind Sublevel, his label and creative hub for more than 20 years. Sublevel has released records from Joeski, Dubtribe, Rob Mello, Blakkat, DJ Sneak, and carries forward projects with Radioslave, D’Julz, Andreas Henneberg (The Glitz), alongside his own original productions. For many, Sublevel is more than a label; it’s a statement of intent, a declaration that underground music can thrive without compromise.

 

Residencies :

Output (Brooklyn)

Fabric (London)

Twilo (New York)

Sound Factory (San Francisco)

Roxy (New York)

 

Tours and Special Events

Deee Lite (Full Tour DJ)

Daft Punk

Basement JaxxJ

ames Brown

Grace Jones

De La Soul (2x

)Fatboy Slim at Coachella

Chemical Brothers (2x)

Moby

Inner City

Douglas McCarthy (Nitzer Ebb)

Democratic National Convention 2008 for Barack Obama (Denver DJ

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Places Played:

Circoloco (Ibiza, 7 yrs), DC10 (Ibiza), Sunwaves Festival (Romania), Panorama Bar (Berlin), Houghton Festival (UK), Coachella (4x), Fabric (London), The Rex (Paris), Womb (Tokyo), Gatecrasher (Australia), Hacienda (Manchester), Pacha (Ibiza & NY), Ministry of Sound (London), Lost Beach (Ecuador), Electric Forest (US), Cityfox (NY & LA), Avalon (Boston & LA), Privilege (Ibiza), Amnesia (Ibiza), Café Del Mar Festival (Ibiza & San Francisco), The Love Parade (San Francisco), Burning Man, Creamfields (Daft Punk Arena), Perfecto with Paul Oakenfold (Las Vegas), plus many others worldwide.

 

Labels Recorded For :

Crosstown Rebels, Classic, Jive, Atlantic, Mute, Knee Deep in Sound, Selador, Get Physical, Poker Flat, Visionquest, Bass Culture, Soul Clap, Ovum, VIVa, Robsoul, NRK, Music for Freaks, Warner Brothers, Moxy Music, Bambossa, Superfreq, Imperial Dub, Sublevel

 

Artists Remixed :

A Tribe Called Quest, Moloko, Perry Farrell (Jane’s Addiction), Mighty Dub Kats (Norman Cook), Alcatraz (“Give Me Love”), DJ Pierre, Marshall Jefferson, Blaze (2x), Dubtribe, Marcus Nikolai, Aaron Carl, Eddie Amador, Florian Meindl .

 

Extra Media and special events :

The Prodigy (3x), Plus 8 Showcase (Richie Hawtin), Dubtribe (Tour DJ)Broadcasts: BBC Essential Mix (2x), Boiler Room London, Mixmag Lab NYC, Mixmag Lab Los Angeles, Defected Lab LondonCDs: Fabric 10, Sounds You Can Feel (Classic), Unlock Your Mind (Moonshine), United DJs of America, Flammable Liquid (URB

Magazine)

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 BRAND COLLABERATIONS::

Stüssy (9 design collaborations), Dr. Martens, Fresh Jive, JNCO Jeans, Technics Japan .