BIO
GRAPHY

Before the clubs and the turntables, there was sound. The beat of a drum, the touch of a piano, a melody appearing out of nowhere. Originally from Paris, Marst (pronounced “Mars-tea”) is a French singer-songwriter, composer, musician, producer and DJ. Electronic music brought him recognition, but his world reaches far beyond it, drawing from rock, songwriting and cinematic scores.

A DJ since 2006, he caught Laurent Garnier’s attention with “Waterlight” in 2011, before releasing music on Diynamic and Bedrock. Guided by instinct and a love of contrasts, he embraces a freedom that also finds expression through Kontrol, his record label and events. One enduring aspiration: to create music that continues to resonate long after silence returns.

Before the nights, the clubs and the turntables, there was sound. The beat of a drum, a piano slowly becoming familiar, a melody appearing without warning and refusing to fade. Originally from Paris, Marst (pronounced “Mars-tea”) is a French singer-songwriter, composer, musician, producer and DJ. Electronic music brought him recognition, but it tells only part of his story. The rest unfolds somewhere between words, harmonies and a curiosity that has stayed with him since childhood.

It all begins with the drums, which he studies first at APJC and later at the Agostini school. Piano, guitar, bass and singing follow, each explored on his own terms. As a teenager, he writes, composes and sings in several pop-rock bands. French songwriting sharpens his ear for words, guitars feed his energy, while classical works and film scores broaden his imagination. Together, these influences awaken an early fascination with contrasts and arrangements.

In the 1990s, his older cousin, a musician himself, introduces him to synthesizers, samplers and his first experiments with music production on an Atari computer. A new world opens up, where textures can be transformed, rhythms reshaped and sounds reinvented. This encounter with digital creation never diminishes his attachment to traditional instruments. It simply offers new possibilities, which he embraces with boundless curiosity.

In 2006, he steps behind the decks, becoming a resident DJ at Shari Vari in Rouen. Inspired by Chicago house, Detroit techno and Berlin’s vibrant nightlife, he develops an approach of his own, as attentive to the depth of a bassline as to the subtleties of a musical progression. Yet the studio remains just as essential to him, a place where intuition takes over and ideas often become fully formed with remarkable speed.

In 2011, “Waterlight” reaches Laurent Garnier, who features it on his radio show It Is What It Is and brings it into his sets around the world. The following year sees the release of Sun On The Moon, Marst’s debut EP. Further records follow on KMS, Diynamic and Bedrock, including “Panorama”, “Aquamour” and “Insane”. Each has its own character, where the force of driving rhythms meets more introspective melodies, never settling into a predictable formula.

In front of a crowd, Marst favours long journeys over mapped-out routes. His selections unfold freely, take unexpected turns and allow every atmosphere to find its place. A shift in tempo, a daring transition, a forgotten track resurfacing: he cherishes those moments when the night seems to find a direction of its own. For him, DJing is as much about instinct as it is about storytelling, with no script written in advance.

Away from the energy of the dancefloor, other forms of musical expression remain an essential part of his life. Piano compositions, orchestral arrangements, ambient music and songwriting naturally extend his work as a composer. Today, he creates primarily on a computer, following a spontaneous impulse that allows him to move swiftly from inspiration to realization. His connection to the creative process is almost immediate, guided more by sensitivity than by habits or established methods.

That independence also takes the name Kontrol. Under this identity, Marst brings together his record label and events, two ways of letting music find its place: over time, through repeated listening, and in the moment, through the energy of a crowd. A way to preserve his artistic freedom without confining his world to a particular sound or era.

Marst has no desire to reconcile the different sides of his artistry. They coexist naturally. A hypnotic pulse can give way to the fragility of a voice, a handful of bare chords answer a sweeping orchestration. What matters is not so much the form a piece of music takes as what it manages to convey, and above all, what remains once silence returns.