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Features
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| Introducing NEM3SI$’s new label Infinite Resistance! | | Mindbenderz talk ‘Lord of the Rings’ and fishing, as well as the creation of their new album ‘Celestial Gateway’! | | Iono-Music artists One Function, Eliyahu, Invisible Reality and Dual Vision talk Robert Miles, kids, dogs and vinyl, while we chat about their current releases! | | Luke&Flex talk influences, the Irish rave scene, why Flex wears a mask and Play Hard, their new EP out now on Onhcet Repbulik Xtreme! | | Lyktum expands on his new album ‘Home’ – talking about his love of storytelling, creating new harmonies and the concept behind his musical works. | | Pan talks getting caught short crossing the Sahara, acid eyeballs and tells us Trance is the Answer, plus shares his thoughts on his latest release 'Beyond the Horizon' - all from a beach in Spain! | | Miss C chats about living with the KLF, DJing in a huge cat’s mouth, training her brain and the upcoming super-duper Superfreq Grande party at LDN East this Saturday, 16th September! | | NEM3SI$ - I Live for the Night – talks superficiality, psychopaths, and bittersweet success, ahead of a plethora of evocative, emotional, and passionate upcoming melodic techno releases! | | Psy-Sisters Spring Blast Off! We talk to DJ competition winner ROEN along with other super talents on the lineup! | | Blasting towards summer festivals with Bahar Canca ahead of Psy-Sisters Spring Blast! | | Shyisma talks parties, UFO's, and Shotokan Karate ahead of his upcoming album 'Particles' on Iono-Music! | | SOME1 talks family, acid, stage fright and wolves - ahead of his upcoming album release ‘Voyager’ on Iono-Music in February 2023! | | The Transmission Crew tell all and talk about their first London event on 24th February 2023! | | NIXIRO talks body, mind and music production ahead of his release 'Planet Impulse' on Static Movement's label - Sol Music! | | Turning the world into a fairy tale with Ivy Orth ahead of Tribal Village’s 10th Birthday Anniversary Presents: The World Lounge Project | | The Psy-Sisters chat about music, achievements, aspirations and the 10-Year Anniversary Party - 18/12/22! | | A decade of dance music with Daniel Lesden | | Earth Needs a Rebirth! Discussions with Psy-Trance Artist Numayma | | Taking a Journey Through Time with Domino | | New Techno Rising Star DKLUB talks about his debut release White Rock on Onhcet Republik! | | PAN expands on many things including his new album 'Hyperbolic Oxymoron' due for release on the 14th April 2022 on PsyWorld Records! | | Psibindi talks all things music including her new collaborative EP 'Sentient Rays' on Aphid Records, her band Sentience Machine and 10 years of Psy-Sisters! | | N-Kore talks Jean-Michel Jarre, unfinished tracks and fatherhood! | | Celebrating International Women’s Day and Ten Years of Psy-Sisters with Amaluna | | A Catch Up with John Phantasm ahead of his upcoming set at the Tribal Village 4 Day Outdoor Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! | | 'The Maestro that is Tristan talks barn owls, Shazamming and keeping it Psychedelic ahead of his upcoming performance at the Tribal Village 4 Day Event in Kent 6-9 May 2022! |
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Mark EG — the HarderFaster interview
Reported by Charlie G
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Submitted 12-04-06 01:10
Ask any hard dance club kid in the UK and beyond who their top 3 DJs are, or ask any aspiring bedroom DJ who they want to be and who is their inspiration, and I bet one name will keep popping up, just the way it has for over a decade. A legend of dance music and a pioneer of the scene as a whole, he’s respected and recognized for his no-bullshit, non-egotistical approach and mad as they come behind the decks antics. His musical style is versatile, is shows are a performance, and he will always find time to chat to anyone come the end of the night.
As a resident every week at Tranzaction, he is without doubt one of the most exciting DJs to see and hear, so I thought it was time to hunt him down in the deepest darkest underground and get to know the man a little bit better, ahead of his set at the Tranzaction 6th Birthday on Good Friday 14th April…
Mr EG, how ya doin?
Yeah good man good. Just in the studio trying to figure out how to partition my hard drive with both the HFS+ and Fat 32 file systems in Terminal. Bill Gates needs to be shot. It never used to be like this with the good old BBC Computers... http://www.nvg.ntnu.no/bbc/ Ahhhh for the memories.
You’re hailed as the king of the underground, what do you think are the reasons for that? Do you strive to keep yourself that way and if so how do you go about it?
Well for one I don’t think I’m the king of anything cause that’s just plain wrong. If people want to call me that then well cheers like — but if you wanna call me Shirley Bassey, well cheers for that too.
I dunno, I just suppose I just do what I do — play, live and breathe music that I believe in. And that’s all I’m bothered about. I think when you consciously always strive to be something then more often than not, you’re never happy because something else always comes up that you want to be. A vicious circle of unhappiness!
How long now have you been DJing and how have the scene and yourself and the clubbers evolved?
I’ve been involved in DJing for 20 years now, through electro, Chicago house, Detroit techno, trance, acid and the rest of it. I’ve played in so many different scenes and types of parties it’s ridiculous, but it’s always so good to look back as a whole rather than just separate little scenes.
You start to see cycles in music and see it from a much more exciting angle. Human nature and music has a really interesting interaction on so many levels and it really helps you as a DJ to tap into this and feed off it. So many changes so far, and such a long, long way to go. Bring it on!
You’re famed for you crazy antics behind the decks, have you always been this way and do you realise what you doing at the time?
Of course I haven’t always been that way — Jesus… my mother would have disowned me — but I would say I’ve been doing some pretty mad stuff every weekend for at least the last 10 years if not more. It sort of mutates into ‘what you do’, you don’t think about it at the time and in that respect I simply couldn’t do a set without doing it.
You are without question a clubber’s favourite, for your no-ego approach to people, is this because you’re still a raver at heart?
That’s nice of you to say that boss. Ego is the bullshit that can often run this industry, but you tend to find those people either a) don’t last very long or b) are very unhappy in their lives.
What the hell have I got to be putting on an ego for? I have the best life, I wake up everyday thanking god I’m doing what I do and I get to make people happy along the way. Sure I have my off days, same as everyone else does, but in general I try to keep my life as free from bullshit as possible.
Talk us through your passion for music, and making music — what inspires you and gives you kicks to keep you moving forward?
Good questions these mate. Moving forward in music is very important to me. I suppose it’s like when you get older, if you give up, retire and do nothing, you’ll die quicker than if you keep working and kept active.
I’m not saying I’m worried about death cause I’ll deal with that bridge when I come to it, but you can see the comparison to music. We gotta keep moving forward, evolution is everything.
You play a wide variety of events from massive full productions arenas to small grotty underground venues, is this important to you in keeping things fresh and which do you prefer?
Of course it’s important to me. There’s so much variety out there and it’s all there for you to explore. It’s just some people tend to close themselves off and say ‘good god, you can’t do that!’ or ‘you must not play there!’ or ‘what a load of shit that music is!’.
If you want to live your life like that then great, but it’s not for me thanks very much. I love extremes, I love variety, I love a challenge. And of course, I just love music.
Tell us a bit about the production side of your career, how you started, how it’s evolved and what the future holds?
Well the production is something I really used to work hard on — long hours for days on end. I think you have to, to really get your head around production and the techniques involved.
But these days, I just fire up the computer when I feel inspired and just create. We’re not releasing with the same intensity than we were, but why be driven by the fact you HAVE to release?
There’s still a lot out there though — recently we’ve had a release on Audio Assault, our own label Blackout Audio and forthcoming stuff is on Arms and Fine Audio, all under our name The Anxious. Hard dark techno.
Can we expect anymore of the Mark EG and Chrissi Live PA?
Not at the moment. We did the PA once in Brazil but it was 6 months very intense work. When we’re ready to do another we will let you know!
We have had many a late night drinking pints after your sets at Tranzaction and this question always comes up — what if you weren’t a DJ?
Yeah, but it’s at that point I head for the bar! Arrghhhh to much stress to contemplate!!!
You inspire so many up-coming DJs and have such a cult following, are you aware of that and what do you think are the reasons for the closeness of their relationship to you as a performer?
I am aware of a closeness for sure and I really, really try hard to make sure every single person in that club is going home happy. Even if they don’t like the music, even if I can just scare one person to death or make another turn to their mate and laugh out loud, then you’ve done half a good job.
I suppose music is a very subjective thing to a lot of people and you can’t please everyone with what you play. So for me performance is half of it eh.
How does it feel when you have thousands of people chanting ‘Mark EG, Mark EG, Mark EG...’?
Well, if it didn’t happen I would have something to complain about wouldn’t I? Hehe.
You will be appearing at Tranzaction’s 6th B’Day on Good Friday 14th April and have been a regular figure at the forefront of their success since the start. Tell us a bit about your feelings on the night, the clubbers and the team (please don’t use the word c*nt to describe Chris, haha)?
Tranzaction is a very special place. I think there must be something in the air down that part of the country because even the small drive down the A30 means you have to go to the toilet at least 6 times to relieve the excitement.
It’s not like a football stadium or anything but the atmosphere on that dance-floor can quite often be just as intense than if it had 50 times the amount of people on it. I think it’s just the people that go know that they’re involved in something totally unique and just let go. Mind you, that Chris can be a right C*NT though…
Your on the bill with Yoji and Eddie, what’s your thoughts on them and who else are you into at the moment at a time with so many new exciting and different DJs?
Well I just do what I do and they do what they do. I respect everyone out there doing this music thing cause it’s not easy to get into and you have to be highly dedicated and focused on nothing but.
Can we expect anything different from you for the b’day shenanigans and will you be getting into the spirit of things with the army/camo theme?
As usual with me I’ll be playing the same old boring Whitney Houston records that I usually do and no doubt might just muster up a smile for a few of those truly awful clubbers that frequent that bloody establishment. And if you’re there Charlie G I’d watch out my friend, cause you may indeed find yourself involved in that same old drinking competition that you NEVER win. Now where did I put that rocket launcher?
Photos courtesy of Mark EG and Ricki Partridge. Not to be reproduced without permission.
Tranzaction 6th Birthday
 
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On:
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Friday 14th April 2006
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At:
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L2 [map]
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From:
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21:00 - 04:00
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Cost:
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£7
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Website:
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www.tranzactionuk.com
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Ticket Info:
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Check the website or call: 01872 261199 / 07799480888
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More:
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The Tranzaction Birthday Mash, 6 Years of Rocking the South West, The Biggest and Best Line-up for a Bargain Price!!
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The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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