Regal alien

alienInFlux head Justin Martin reveals the secrets to proper party promotion

BY ELIZABETH MITKOS

Justin Martin, the mastermind behind alienInFlux, is like an architect. He's passionate about constructing art installations at parties, like a maze in a nearly pitch-black room or the pyramid at this year's Harvest Festival. For Martin, space and a sense of community are the two elements that matter most in building his parties with like-minded Toronto collectives Promise and Fukhouse. Without a solid space, electronic-music events just don't work for the long-time promoter -- even if the music is good.

Take techno, a spatially influenced sound that doesn't quite feel right in a sleek, new nightclub. With his love for warehouses, dark rooms and exposed brick walls -- like The Mockingbird on King West -- Martin nurtures techno's minimal, sometimes cold, raw elements in small, packed spaces where the heat is nearly suffocating.

"The venue is number one," explains Martin. "The music is super-important -- we all know it. But we give the music way too much credit. A good event is about achieving a balance between the music and the environment."

But that's the main problem Martin faces. Ever since the city shut down underground parties and raves, and with the rapid development of condos, all those cool, hidden spaces to throw parties in are gone, leaving Martin with the ongoing challenge of finding interesting venues.

"It's really hard to find a venue I want to throw a party in because I don't want to throw parties in clubs," he says. "I can understand why so many people have taken that route. The city has changed so much that clubs have become the easy way to do a party since there aren't obscure spaces like there were six years ago."

That's where the community comes in. Since his Alien Visitation raves in 1994 and working with DJs/producers like Kruder & Dorfmeister, The Orb, Ian Pooley, John Acquaviva and Terry Mullan, Martin's developed a highly respected reputation for constructing seriously solid parties. But as big and successful as their raves were, as crowds hit the 3,000 mark, they were no longer what Martin and his crew were about.

By 1996, they made a conscious decision to get smaller, with less than half the numbers, and hold tighter parties in more interesting venues. Over the years events like Building Blocks (with Fukhouse) have formed a community through personable promotions like mailing lists, e-vites and select numbers of fliers.

"We've had solid underlying reasons for wanting to throw parties," says Martin. "The No. 1 reason wasn't about money. I think people saw that, were attracted to it, supported us and still do. They see that it's not about the mainstream or mass consumerism and making as much money as possible."

For Martin, it's all about having fun, working with different people and exploring different event dynamics. Sometimes that means travelling to somewhere like South America for seven months. Before returning home this summer, Martin stopped at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert, where the massively stimulating event inspired him to build wild and crazy projects that will likely appear at upcoming parties.

But above space and community, Martin admits it's people's attitudes that influence a good party. That's why when alienInFlux joins Promise for New Year's Eve this year, they'll be promoting a chilled party atmosphere. And it'll only be Martin's second New Year's event because he's always found that people's expectations for the big night are over the top, and therefore always lead to disappointment.

"We're not trying to build up a lot of expectation for people," says Martin, "because no matter what you do, it's just another party and another night that you want to make the best possible -- but you try to do that every time. So we want to encourage people who are always vibe-seeking to not look for the best party, but to just be with your friends in a space that's comfortable with good music, good sound and an environment that you can do what you want."

As for his New Year's wish list, Martin found what he was looking for: brick walls and wooden floors in an east-end warehouse studio space (at 28 Eastern) fit for about 500 people. (Email alieninflux@harvestfestival.org for ticket info.) And by booking a rare live performance from Canadian producers Legion of Green Men, Martin proves once again he's a step ahead.

"I like throwing parties for people who are interested in doing something new," he says. "What made the rave scene so special was that everyone was willing to take a risk, to go to a new space not knowing what to expect. We've done a good job offering Toronto a really interesting alternative to what else is out there."