Page 20 - Zone Magazine Issue 007

feature interview
mark eg
A main player in the music industry for over 25 years now, you will already know the name “Mark EG” he has been across the world many times over with his energetic and memorable shows! If you think chainsaws, 12 foot ladders, and a few broken ribs, you are correct. Mark is an utter maniac who puts on a show like none other. So we sent in DaGeneral in full body armour and a healthy life insurance package. As well as his solo career of course Mark is one half of “The Anxious” with Chrissi, and is also co-owner of Blackout Audio, and Beatbucket.
Nice catching up with your crazy self- Mark, just glad you weren’t sitting, waiting for me with a chainsaw or smashing up decks ha ha! Let’s start from the beginning for our readers, how did it all begin for Mark EG?
Well, it all really started for me in the early 80’s. I remember listening to commercial acts like Kraftwerk, OMD, etc and loving electronic music. From there I discovered electro, then Detroit techno, Chicago house and then acid house. I was actually more of a serious record collector first and that then led me to the art of DJing. I phoned up a local Manchester based pirate radio station and they gave me a show. I’ve been obsessed ever since.
That is what, now 30 years as a DJ and you’re still pretty much going strong - what keeps you motivated?
Easy – music. I have no option; it’s in the very core of me. I’ve been a very lucky guy to be able to do this, but I found my life purpose very early in my life and I’ve just become utterly consumed by it – nothing else matters. I’m very grateful to be able to go to sleep and wake up every single day thinking about something to do with music.
During that time frame, you have won no less than 6 hard dance awards, which is a massive achievement. In your eyes what’s the most important thing you have achieved over the years?
Every day I try to achieve something that’s important. Whether I do that by fine tuning a hi-hat, winning an award, teaching someone how to produce music or whatever, I think the most important thing I’ve achieved is all of those little things put together as a whole. I’m very proud of the fact I’ve been in this game so long – and will continue to be, no matter what.
Of course personally, I am a Techno artist so I also follow yourself and Chrissi
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as ‘The Anxious’. What can we expect to see from you two over the next year?
We have tonnes of unreleased tracks on the hard drive at the moment. We’re gonna be putting together a few albums next year on our label Blackout Audio. We started to take our live show on the road a few years ago, working with equipment manufacturers such as Allen & Heath, so we’ve been working on taking that forward. We’re looking to do a live tour next year along with the albums.
In an ideal world, who would you really like to collaborate with and why?
I’ve been doing a lot of collaborations recently. Even though I’ve been involved with some pretty high profile artists over the years, the ones that are interesting me most right now are those undiscovered new guys that are full of creative and interesting ideas. Sometimes as an artist you can get a bit stuck in your ways, so it’s a real breath of fresh air to get into the studio with people like this. For example I’ve been working on a techno collaboration with a new guy called Nico Kohler. Watch this space for that.
What is your one piece of equipment that you must always have with you, either A as a DJ when playing live, or B when in the studio?
Well, for playing live obviously I work with Allen & Heath so I’m going to say my Xone:DB4! It’s a killer piece of equipment that enables you to be super creative on stage. I use it for DJing too. In the studio, I’d say programs like Ableton (I’m so fast with that DAW) and plugins like Reaktor and presently Serum. TBH I have a plugin’s list as long as my arm that I couldn’t do without!
What in your opinion has been the biggest obstacles you had to overcome, and how did you resolve it?
I think in music (and life) there are obstacles everywhere. That might be the fact you haven’t got a good website, or perhaps getting DJ bookings, or even figuring out kick and sub in making music. I see everything like this as a challenge. The way you get over challenges is by buckling down, thinking and learning stuff. Learning is a very important thing in my life and I spend half my life googling, reading and dealing with challenges head on. I’m a total geek like that.
Away from the actual production and gigs, you are extremely busy with the Mark EG music school. Can you tell us, and the viewers more about what’s involved, and how they can
look at getting signed up?
Well, over the years I’ve done many guest College/Uni lectures, but the other year I decided to set something up myself and it blew up very quickly. The interest was mind blowing. To learn anything in life, one of the best things you can do is find someone who is successful in what they do and learn from them. I realised I had a lot to offer. Using my experience, I try to understand what people need (not what they THINK they want – it’s very different) and then make a course specific to them. Everyone learns differently, so we talk about that too before we start. It’s a five-week course and we do it over the net. If you’re interested get enrolled here as places go quickly: www.markeg.com/ music-school
What are the goals for the next year on both a production and DJ level?
Tonnes of collaborations, albums, constantly learning new production techniques, keep on pushing new and exciting music, develop my radio show (Megapolis 89.5FM – Wednesday 9pm), my online music store www.beatbucket.net, working with various manufacturers developing new products, teaching more and more people how to improve their art, oh god there’s so so much! I’m working hard on an electronica project too – there are about eighteen tracks very close to being complete, so expect something very special there. Search for me on Facebook and I’ll keep you informed!
Connect: http://www.markeg.com
Words By Alan Lumely Pic By Tristan John Griffiths