The intangible pull of the New York electronic music scene, in its heyday as well as the present, is something that most music fans want to experience at least once in their lives. Gritty, underground and storied, eccentric and larger than life, it’s a timeless melting pot of house, disco, hip-hop and more, all at their biggest and boldest.

It was in the city, SoHo specifically, in the early 2000s that NYC natives Chris and Stevie Martinez had their first brushes with nightclubs while aged just 13 and 15. At legendary venues like The Shelter, they saw who they wanted to be and heard the music they wanted to play. In those spaces, their journey as DJs, producers, promoters and label heads, better known as The Martinez Brothers, truly began.

2024 was a landmark year for the Bros, celebrating 10 years of their record label Cuttin’ Headz with a riotous event at London’s Drumsheds, performing at festivals like Romania’s Sunwaves, Kappa FuturFestival in Turin, and Chicago’s ARC, and making stops in clubs from Italy to Colombia. They rounded off another summer residency at Hï Ibiza — the world’s No.1 club — while also making stops on the island for Jamie Jones’s Paradise at Amnesia, and their beloved Circoloco party at DC-10.

Despite their international lifestyle, when DJ Mag catches up with the Bros at the tail end of 2024, they’ve just returned to New York for some downtime, settling into a new apartment. Born and bred in The Bronx, their love for the city runs deep, and being able to return after one of the busiest years in their career is something they’re equal parts grateful and excited for.