So far this year Mark Dynamix has been playing six or seven gigs a week around the country, been voted the #2 DJ in Australia (inthemix 50 poll), been nominated for the Best DJ award in the recent DMAs (Dance Music Awards) and mixed two CDs for Ministry Of Sound. Mark’s abilities and successes are being recognised nationwide, but he’s not letting it go to his head.

“The recognition is nice, but not something I take too seriously. I think if you start prancing around with a big head about it you not only look stupid but it’ll backfire on you! I appreciate the recognition for sure, and thank everyone who voted for me in the poll. It was definitely a surprise to be ranked so highly.”

Mark’s ability to rock the dance floor as well as satisfy the chin strokers has had him deservedly sharing the stage with the likes of Underworld, Kraftwerk, Humate, Ferry Corsten, Stacey Pullen, and many more. Whereas he may be best known for his ability to mash up different styles into his sets, he is also infamous for his tendency to drop classic tunes into the mix, sitting long-standing favourites next to fresh beats. His ability to pull out old classics derives from the fact he’s been collecting records since he was 8 years old – he has truly grown up with electronic music.

“Music was something I turned to at an early age, when most kids in Australia turn to sport, in miserable, cold England you have no option but to stay inside…hence my obsession with collecting records began. I started following the pop charts in the UK with bands like Tears For Fears, The Cure, New Order catching my attention alongside forgotten 80’s hipsters like Nik Kershaw, Howard Jones and Kim Wilde. For me this music instilled a fascination with electronic percussion and synthesizers. Seven years later, whilst I was dabbling with music production on a Korg M1 synth and Atari ST computer, I bought a set of decks to play my already extensive collection of 80’s dance music…this in turn led to DJ’ing at small backyard parties and on community radio stations playing everything from Kool & The Gang to 2 Unlimited whilst I was still at school. Then in 1992 I was introduced to a whole new world, where lasers existed and huge sound systems in dark dingy car parks thrashed out techno. Most people would agree that this first experience at a rave in their teens changed their life in some way. For me, I wanted to get up there – play the music, get people into the stuff I was into. And slowly I started gaining residencies and club work around the country. It’s strange, I never intended to make DJ’ing my occupation. I knew I would be involved in the music industry in some way, but DJ’ing was just a hobby, something I enjoyed doing. In 1996 I guess things snowballed to the point where it was clear that I would have to give up my day job to accommodate DJ’ing all weekend!”

Mark’s sound today is one you just can’t pigeonhole, taking influences from all styles of music. Some have described it as breaks/house, but in his sets you’re also likely to find a dash of techno, progressive, and the occasional tune that has punters raising the roof whilst whispering to each other “only he could get away with that”.

“I like playing all styles, there is no favourite. Techno is great for matching nasty percussion together; Progressive for layering and creating interesting combinations of sound in key with each other…House is probably the easiest due to the nature of the records with long intros and outros! Old Skool hip hop like De La Soul, Jungle Brothers etc is a challenge and great fun – I seem to have been doing quite a few of these type of nostalgic sets recently! Every style has its own feel and I enjoy each in its own way.”

There’s little doubt that Mark is a technically brilliant DJ, which is not only evident night after night on the club circuit, but also through his MOS mix cd’s – in which he displays his ability to mash up entirely different styles in a way which creates a magnificent flow. Having displayed his mastery of all things house, hip hop and tech, Mark showed once again that he really can do it all, mixing the recent chill out cd – MOS Late Night Sessions.

“There’s a lot more planning and mathematics involved in mixing something like Late Night Sessions as opposed to a house CD. When tracks are not made as a club arrangement, it’s more of a puzzle to try and piece tracks together and overlap then in a way which creates a fluid mix, rather than a beat-matched mix. If you listen to the mix between NERD and Morcheeba on Disc One of Late Night Sessions you’ll see what I mean. The two tracks aren’t at the same speed, but they are in the same key, and so I layered the tracks together rather than pushing one of them out of key just to match up the tempos. The result is that the guitars on the end of NERD swirl around whilst the strings of Morcheeba rise up underneath, and you feel like you’re listening to the same song. When you’re working with ambient (beat-less) music like this, you can experiment more with alternative types of mixing.”

The MOS Annual 2004 cd has just recently been released, with Mark and Best VIC DJ (DMA’s 2003) award winner John Course each contributing a mix to the album. Featuring tracks from Benny Benassi, Moguai, Cam Farrar and Bad Cabbage, the double cd looks to be following in the footsteps of its predecessors and selling a ton. The tour to launch the cd has just recently kicked off, and by all reports is packing out venues across the nation. For those of you who have yet to have Mark and John Course come to visit your town – Mark promises to play “a fair few tracks from the CD, alongside what is rocking my box at the moment! I’ll be mashing up everything from Derrick Carter style electro-house through to house anthems and solid tech-house, with maybe some breaks or progressive tracks thrown in depending on where I’m playing.”

“So far the tour has been great, Perth especially being a highlight playing after Junkie XL and Tall Paul. Playing next to John has been awesome; he is a technically brilliant DJ who I have a lot of respect for. Our styles are matching up really well on the tour, and even cross over in some respects. The tour goes through to Christmas so there are plenty of dates ahead of me. I’m looking forward to it.”

The Ministry of Sound 2004 Annual is out now. The Annual tour is winding its way around the country, remaining dates and venues:

Fri Nov 28 – Wollongong – Bustin @ Hotel Illawarra – Mark Dynamix
Sat Nov 29 – Newcastle – The Gateway – Mark Dynamix
Sat Dec 6 – Byron Bay – C-Moog – Mark Dynamix
Fri Dec 12 – Cairns – 1936 – Mark Dynamix
Sat Dec 13 – Noosa – Rolling Rock – John Course
Fri Dec 19 – Hobart – Syrup – Mark Dynamix

To read ITM’s review of the 2004 Annual click HERE.