MARK EG INTERVIEW : AHEAD OF CONTACT v FRANTIC THIS FRIDAY with PROTEUS & CHRIS LIBERATOR @ PIER

This article is about CONTACT goes FRANTIC :: PROTEUS :: MARK EG vs CHRIS LIBERATOR :: MATT HANDY :: GAV RAVENOUS & KAI_1 :: NATHAN D & LANSLIDE @ South Parade Pier in Portsmouth (UK), Fri 10 Oct 2008

Hello Mark… you’re always busier than ever so thanks for the time to come and play for us again at CONTACT

Let’s start with the usual questions for the (rare breed of) people who’ve never heard of you...

How did you get into the Dance music scene?

I got into electro first in 1983. It was all quite weird because I was only 10 years old and all my friends thought that Rod Stewart was the future of music. I liked all the spacey noises in electro and when I heard techno a few months later I was hooked. There was a small record shop down the road from me in Manchester city centre - one of the only shops selling dance music in the UK. So I used to hang out in there all day with people twice my age. I went on to do mobile discos that played a bit of electro, techno and early Chicago house to older people in pubs. Very strange indeed.....But it was when I blagged my way into pirate radio that I really got a taste of what it was like to mix on Technics decks. What a buzz.

Right and on the DJ side? CD or vinyl?

Well right now it's a lot of CD's that I've recorded from vinyl and the odd physical vinyl when I play out, cause in 99% of the places I play, the decks are just not set up properly (skips, bad needles etc etc). But if you ask me what I prefer when I'm at home, it's vinyl every time. There's such a beautiful warmth to vinyl, plus it has the added benefit of going through a cutting engineer's hands, which means 99% of the time it sounds better.

When you produce stuff, what equipment/software do you use mostly?

A mixture of hardware and software. I’m from the old school way of production, from the times when a computer was some huge machine that took up the size of a room. So without various dusty synths and outboard effects units, I wouldn’t feel like I was in a real studio. Mind you I do have a Macbook and I’m dead pleased with some of the stuff I make on that with just Ableton, Cubase, Logic and the rest of it all. But even then, when a track is done on my laptop it’s not actually finished until I get it on the mixing desk and add that extra sparkle that I just can’t get from a computer.

How would you describe the music you make / play at the moment? Your sound is so varied, can you ever define it?

As a DJ/producer, I play so many different styles at so many different parties. In the global techno scene I’m more known for my alias as ‘The Anxious’. Hard and dirty techno. Closer to home in the UK rave/hardcore scene I’m known for hard trance or hardstyle. Then in Holland they all reckon I’m just into hardstyle or Schranz. In the acid techno scene, I’m known for more acid techno based stuff. And then in the UK clubs, I choose the style to suit the party. I find it part of the job to understand a new type of club and having the records to fit with it! I know it confuses the hell out of people but I just don’t want to become stale and I certainly don’t want to stick to playing the same old same old, I would be bored.

Tell us about the tunes you have been producing under different guises over the years?

The first hard trance EP we (myself & Chrissi) produced was as ‘MY$T:C DJZ’ on UK44. Then we did various tracks on labels such as Bonzai, Overdose, Massive, React. We've also produced hard techno under the name ‘The Anxious’. We've also done a few acid techno projects under the name ‘The Fuzz’. To be honest, we're constantly in the studio producing music each week, under so many names I can't even remember!

You have your own label, Blackout Audio. How did that come about?

Chrissi and I run the label. Years ago, we met Chris Liberator in Canada and he told us we should think about starting one. A few years later and we’d got a really driving techno sound in the studio and thought it was time to go for it. We managed to convince long-term friends such as Chris McCormack, Patrick Skoog, Glenn Wilson, Andreas Kraemer and Thomas Pogadl to remix stuff for us.

Of course, Blackout Audio is also a website where you write about your amazing DJ trips, music etc and a forum.

Our website www.blackoutaudio.co.uk was started as soon as we did the first release on the label. At first, it was a way for me to promote the releases but also became a way to put all the reviews that I do in various magazines on the web. But has evolved into a serious web community, a place for many different types of people from all over the world to talk about music. I’ve very proud of the site, designing it, learning code is my way of doing ‘proper work’. I think you need something like that, just to keep you grounded.

You have a bit of a legendary reputation of being a bit of a nutter and a party animal when it comes to playing out. Do you have any favourite places to play at and any memorable nights that spring to mind?

I love music. That's why I party so much. Whether it's in a club or in my front room, I'll always enjoy myself. Music turns me into a different person you see. One thing that always sticks in my mind is when I played a club in Burnley in the 90's. One time I danced so hard that my knee hit my face and broke my nose. It hurt so much, but I carried on and finished with blood everywhere. Oh and then there was a time in Newcastle on a boat and I split my head open. OMG there's loads of stories, too many to list here hehe!.

Ok… What about your look?

It’s actually from Chrissi. I stupidly asked her if she could do my hair in the same way as her and it sort of stuck. Little did I know I’d have to sit in front of a mirror and do it every week!!! I reckon I’m going to have to change it soon. Haha.

Apart from the DJing and producing tracks what else do you get up to?

I love DIY with my girl Chrissi. The feeling of achievement when you've done something to your house is amazing!!! I love walking in the Lake District too, turning the music off and appreciating life and nature. That's probably why we got a puppy recently, Cody (a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever).

Did you at any point in your career think: 'that’s it, I’ve made it?' I mean, did you start feeling like a star... Did you want to be a star?

I never think about being a 'star'. It's not the issue. The issue is finding mew music and playing it to people. But right now, I just want to stay doing what I do. It’s strange cause my goalposts have changed so much since I was a kid. At first I only wanted to be able to be up there and behind the decks, now I’m behind the decks and after such a long time in the industry, I just want to keep doing this as it's my whole life. As a producer, I want to make music that goes forward and do something different.

Ok, I know you need to go so, to finish… Looking back on all these years in the business, what’s the difference between when you started (82!!!) and now?

I’ve gone in so many directions over the years I confuse even myself. At first the music that got me into this game was Detroit techno and electro, then house, then acid and then I discovered trance, then hardstyle, schranz etc. I’m into nearly every type of music I hear that makes me think. I listen to people’s voices and find a rhythm in it all, I listen to the car engine on the way to gigs and get into it. I’ve made a life out of music and I’m so happy that I could do that. Now I see it as a challenge to discover new music and get myself into it. If I’m being honest, I play only a narrow range of music as a DJ, but I reckon it’s up to me to bring the rest of it into my sets and show the people who respect me something different over the next few years. I always remember the saying someone once said to me, ‘If you’re a DJ, you’re a music person’ and that’s me down to the ground!.