If you practice regularly at the Heli, chances are that you already know him. One of the latest additions to the Heli team and someone who has made an immediate and huge impact; Martijn de Groot. He often lacks sleep, is usually hyperactive and is always ready to help you out with the most obscure technical and audio-related problems. Martijn, or Marty, or Pierre, or Shin, whatever you want to call him, is originally a guitarist and audio engineer. Besides the Helicopter, he always has many irons in the fire, such as his work at recording studio HAL5 Still Sound. He also works as a sound engineer at gigs across the country. HAL5 in Amsterdam Osdorp and his own music production company Still Sound.
If you’ve been to a gig at the Helicopter recently, you’ve probably noticed that Martijn is behind the mixing desk. Result: The sound has never been better, for which both the bands and the audience are very grateful. In addition to managing the concerts and hosting the Heli in the evenings, Martijn also helps us repair equipment, so we don’t have to throw away that sexy Orange amp immediately after someone pours another Bundaberg over it. Very nice.
He himself creates a variety of projects in his (high-end) home studio, such as the Wabi-Sabi Fyunjon project, where his love of genre-mashing quickly becomes apparent. Most people will think twice to let Motown spill over into stuttering math-rock, then dive into jazz fusion with a shredding metal solo. Not Martijn. He also collaborates with his girlfriend, French K-pop artist Colline, and they both regularly release music that you can also find on Spotify and Youtube.
He’s always down for a chat, so if you could use advice on anything related to recording, production or gear, grab a hold of him.