B Major: Biography
Born: 12 April 1999, Cape Town, South Africa
Birth name: Bjorn Martin
Education: Cedar High School, Rocklands, Mitchell’s Plain
Occupation: Composer, producer, sound engineer, songwriter
Also Known As: B Major SA
Bjorn Martin working as B Major, belongs to a generation of Cape Town producers who came of age after apartheid, when home studios, school music rooms, and internet era distribution reshaped the city’s musical economy. His catalogue is small but deliberate, and it reflects both a practical studio literacy and a long attachment to the textures of soulful deep house.
Raised in Mitchell’s Plain, Martin grew up in a household where music and listening were part of everyday routine. Family accounts remember his late father, Michael Peter Martin, as an active pianist and music educator, who introduced Bjorn to Jazz, R&B, Soulful music at an early age. Cedar High School in Rocklands provided rehearsal rooms and peer networks, here he combined visual arts studies with early experiments in beat making, sequencing and arrangement. By his mid teens he was circulating rough mixes among classmates and neighbourhood singers, and learning the practical disciplines of tracking, comping, and mix revision on basic equipment, furthermore teaching himself his own unique way of creating music. The Cape Flats setting, church bands, talent shows, and weekend parties offered constant informal stages where ideas could be tried and refined.
Although Bjorn has his hand at hip hop, R&B, amapiano inflections, and pop ballads, His centre of gravity is soulful deep house, mid tempo pulse, chord rich voicings, restrained toplines, and bass parts shaped to support rather than dominate. Sessions typically begin at the keyboard, move to a sketch in the DAW, and then out to vocalists or collaborators. His mixes favour headroom and translation across systems, a habit developed from engineering his own material in untreated rooms and later in commercial studios across Cape Town.
His formative influences combined family legacy with exposure to both local and international currents in electronic and house music. The earliest foundation came from his late father, Michael Martin, whose personal enthusiasm for music introduced him to composition and rhythm.
In South Africa, he encountered the work of DJ Kent, a central figure in the national house scene, as well as the distinctive production styles of DJ Black Coffee and Heavy K, both of whom contributed to the shaping of a modern dance economy. Further inspiration came from the Canadian producer Kaytranada and the British artist Bonobo, whose global reach underscored the possibilities of crossing genre and geography. The South African producer Four7 added another point of reference, encouraging experimentation with studio technique and arrangement. Collectively, these figures broadened his outlook and informed the stylistic diversity evident in his later recordings.
Local attention first gathered around singles released through digital platforms in the early 2020s. Among these, the track “Lemonade” distinguished itself by earning a nomination for Producer of the Year at the 021 Music Awards in 2021.
The recognition, while modest in scope, positioned him within Cape Town’s independent music economy and affirmed his growing reputation among peers. The following year, the single “Sunday Morning” extended this visibility by securing a place among the Song of the Year nominees at the Cape Town Artist Awards (2022).
These achievements reflected incremental but tangible progress in establishing a professional presence. Beyond award nominations, the circulation of these recordings facilitated entry into a wider network of studios and rehearsal spaces, where he began to collaborate with singers, writers, and instrumentalists active across the Peninsula.
The period marked a transition from private experimentation toward public recognition, situating him in dialogue with both emerging and established figures within the regional industry
In February 2024, the debut set Matters of the Heart documented his preference for intimate vocals and uncluttered arrangements. Among the contributors was songwriter and vocalist Deen Louw known professionally as D’Low whose appearance linked the album to a longer Cape Town songwriting tradition. The project also includes a feature with Los angeles, United States based female producer (ALDURA). The project’s reception was limited but steady, helped by regional radio, community press, and word of mouth in Mitchell’s Plain and surrounding suburbs.
During 2025, A public note from American songwriter and producer Paris Toon credited B Major with mastering and engineering on a forthcoming Opolopo remix , a well known swedish dj and remix producer, slated for release in September 2025. The Billboard charting collective (Mothers Favorite Child) is seen working with B Major and South African Idols Top 5 finalist Zee Dyasi, The public statement from (Mothers Favorite Child) indicated Bjorn’s co‑production and recording on Dyasi’s album. Taken together, these items illustrate a pattern now common in the digital era, modest personal followings co exist with substantive professional networks, where credits accumulate through behind the scenes roles.
Martin’s career to date is characteristic of Cape Town’s current producer class locally rooted, pragmatic about genre, and oriented toward service work as much as marquee credit. His strongest passages remain in the sphere of soulful deep house economical drum work, patient chord movement, and close miked vocals yet he treats the style as a framework rather than a limit. As he continues to engineer for others while composing his own material, the Mitchell’s Plain training ground is audible, a preference for songs that speak plainly and productions that travel well from small rooms to larger systems.
- Selected releases & highlights: Lemonade (single, 2021); “Sunday Morning” (single, 2022); Matters of the Heart (album, 2024, incl. D’Low); assorted remixes and instrumental cues.
- Recognitions: Producer of the Year nominee (021 Music Awards, 2021), Song of the Year (Cape Town Artist Awards, 2022).
- Studio credits: Mastering/engineering for Opolopo (2025, remix); co‑production/recording with Mothers Favorite Child for Zee Dyasi’s album sessions (2025).
- Education: Cedar High School, Rocklands, Mitchell’s Plain.
- Primary focus: Soulful deep‑house aesthetics within a multi‑genre studio practice.