ARMANZ BROUCKZ: WE'RE DOING WELL, AND WE'RE GOING FOR MORE

He was seven when electronic music grabbed him, thirteen when he started producing on a bedroom computer, and a few years later "Is Love" had passed five million plays. Armanz Brouckz did it without a big machine behind him, and he's nowhere near done.

ALWAYS MUSIC

Armando Martínez grew up in Mexico City in a house where music was never background noise. His father, Rodrigo, was a Sonidero DJ, and that world became the room he grew up in. By seven he had developed what he calls a special love for electronic music. By thirteen he had decided to take it seriously, teaching himself production in his bedroom with his computer as his first tool.

The name came later, almost by accident. Everyone around him already called him Armanz, and his friends used "bro", a common expression across Latin America. He fused the two and turned "bro" into Brouckz. When he heard them together, he says, it felt like it had its own identity.

The Sacrifice

His first release, in 2017, was called "The Sacrifice", and the title wasn't decoration. His dream was to study music production at one of the best schools in Mexico City. He didn't have the money to make it happen.

What he had was his family. His mother, María del Socorro, has been by his side the whole way, and he carries the memory of his father, who has since passed away. "Both of them are part of everything I have achieved," he says.

"If there was something I had to sacrifice, it was my desire to give up."

So he kept learning, every day, on his own.

Born to Break Limits

Since then his sound has moved through house, slap house, phonk and electronic funk, with experimental textures along the way. For Armanz, staying in one genre would have meant setting limits, and he feels he was born to break them. "My music evolves because I evolve as a person," he says. He watches trends and learns from them, but he refuses to make the same thing forever.

Next to the Names He Grew Up With

Releasing with Blanco y Negro Music brought licenses connected to songs by Tiësto and Karol G. He reinterpreted "The Motto" and "Don't Be Shy" in his own style, and there are still moments, he admits, when it feels like living in a dream. What he's proudest of is that he built it as an independent artist.

Then came "Is Love". It started with an iconic 80s song, "What Is Love", but he didn't want to simply rework a familiar melody. He took the question and made it personal: "Is love?" The track has since passed five million plays. "A song can begin with one person's question and become part of thousands of different stories," he says.

The Part Nobody Sees

Being independent has a cost. Getting recognition in his own country has been a challenge, and so has paying to promote his music. His rule has been to never compromise on quality, trusting that a song made with dedication can travel on its own. The reward is knowing he built it himself. One day you're making music in your bedroom, the next you could be on a stage like Tomorrowland, and that dream stays close.

Mexico City is part of the sound. Growing up among its contrasts, with a Sonidero father, taught him that music doesn't need to follow one direction. He'd love to see more Mexican electronic producers recognised internationally, and he hopes his music represents where he comes from.

What's Next

New collaborations, new releases and ideas beyond the conventional. Maybe even a new genre one day. He's opening international doors, exploring labels like Kick Label, and keeping a few surprises private. He wants this chapter to be more than releases: special events, travel, and time with the people who support his music.

And if he could talk to the kid who started all this? To the seven-year-old: "We're doing well, and we're going for more." To the thirteen-year-old in his bedroom: "You did it."

This story is far from over.

@armanzbrouckzmusic · Spotify · Watch "Is Love"