1. Real name Marting Dawson... So where did KING ROC come from?

I never liked the idea of using just my own name for my artist work as it just didn’t feel like that was what I was about. My background into music was always rock and more focused around bands. I always loved the mysteriousness and drama of the band names so it made more sense for me to carry that through with my own work.

2. Your first forays as DJ on the London club scene was as part of the Ignition Crew at the infamous hard house party, RIOT @ The End... How was that?

Not entirely true. The original line up for Ignition Crew was Tom Neville, Tom Real and myself. We were later joined by Matt Williams who is a very good friend now. Ignition was the name of our party we ran every Friday at a bar in Clapham, South London called INIGO. It’s now a pretty famous party joint and I am proud to say we were the original creators of that reputation along with Will CJ the landlord who would often be seen dancing on the bar. The "Crew" part came about as we were a real unit and started doing other gigs under that name as we were best known through that party.

3. I read somewhere you used to work in one of London's best record shops - Phonica Records... How was that and what did you do there?

I loved it and got to hear some of the most incredible music. Simon Rigg who is the head honcho has incredible taste in music and has tuned it into one of the leading London record shops in just a few years. I was working behind the counter so used to deal with the customers which was nice because you get to meet so many people but could get tired after a full day on your feet. I'm lazy now and more used to sitting at my studio all day. It was a great experience for me and I made loads of good friends but my schedule started getting really hectic and I didn’t have the time to keep it going.

4. You've released your own work and remixes on labels as diverse as Azuli, Bugged Out, Simple and Love Minus Zero but now you've set up your own label - Mutual Society. Why? And what can expect from it?

Mutual Society was something I actually had to do. I was suffering from a really bad creative block because writing music had started to become a repetitive process because I wasn’t challenging my own approach to the creative role. I knew I needed an outlet to work on music from different angles so came up with the album concept project for me to release on Mutual.

The idea behind it is to release a series of EP’s (or Chapters as I am calling them) all under different themes and topics, with each EP having interconnected artwork. Then I am taking the elements I like the most from these Chapters and using them to create an artist album.

The album is now looking like it will consist for 2 parts. The first will be a main album which will be very listen based and not aimed for the dance floor. The second will be the 4 to the floor ‘live’ version. I wanted to do this because it better represents what I am into and what music means to me.

5. One of my favourite tracks last year came from your "Tunnel Of Light" EP under the Two Armadillos name, which is your collaboration work with Giles Smith (of Secretsundaze fame!)... How did the partnership come about and how do you work together in the studio?

I first met Giles at some of his early secretsundaze parties when they were at 93Feet East on Brick Lane. We then met again when I was working at Phonica and we discussed working together. I have always respected Giles and I knew he had a different approach to music than me and I saw that as an opportunity to use each other talents. As it turns out we have a great chemistry in the studio which is essential if you are working with someone closely and we have a lot of fun with what we are doing.

When we get together we spend quite a bit of time playing music and discussing different tracks we like. Then we just like to through things at the wall and see if they stick. It works well for us and we can work very fast sometimes as I result.

6. And are you and Giles planning to take your Two Armadillos name out on the DJ circuit or even the live stage?

Bit of both actually but we have a lot of other commitments so things like this take more time to put together. Between us we have been out the country for almost 2 month of the 4 this year so time is a factor for us. We both really want to build the live show though as I think it will be really interesting with the kind of music we do.

7. Getting to travel the UK and the rest of the world as DJ must be great... But what has been your stand out gig of the past 12 months and what has been the worst?

The best gig I have had recently (and I am lucky to say there have been a few) has got to be when I played at D.Edge in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The club is amazing and the crowd were incredible. I think it must have been my ideal set where I got to start deep and take it up onto a real journey. This is exactly what I love to do.

My worst story is not actually about the gig itself but I recently went to Lasi in Romania but my internal flight from Bucharest was cancelled so I had to be driven 6.5 hours each way to get to the city. Of the day and a half I was away I spent less than 6 hours at my destination and the rest of the time travelling. I still don’t really mind it though because its all part of the many experiences of DJing which I really love.

8. Finally, what are your current top 5 dancefloor destroyers (So we can wet the appetite of the MAISONICA crowd)?

Prompt - Evolve
MOS - Emotional Distortion (Popof Remix)
Tommy FourSeven - Contact (Mark Broom Remix)
Jerome Syndenham - Elevation (Radio Slave Remix)
System 7 - Spacebird (Dubfire Remix)

FULL PARTY INFO BELOW:

MAISONICA @ Parker McMillan
Saturday 3rd May
8pm - 4am

***DRINKS OFFER - "2for1" on selected beers and wines from 8 to 10pm!!***

PRICES:
Concessions - £8 before 10pm, £10 after! Concession List closes at 12!!
(or £8 in advance from DSI)
MoreOnTheDoor!!

For Concession and party bookings email full names to: DNDCpromotions@gmail.com

DNDC Presents MAISONICA (Featuring KING ROC & The FRISKY DJs)