DJ Mark Dynamix has left an indelible mark on Sydney’s dance scene, with a history that predates his dominance at Sublime and a reputation that proudly proclaims him to be “Australia’s hardest working DJ.” Dynamix never fails to impress music lovers with his ability to genre hop like a madman, and can be spotted playing all over the place: everywhere from candy raves, to house club nights, to progressive parties.
During his long, impressive career, Dynamix has launched a whopping 19 mix CDs, 9 of which were produced by him for the Australian Ministry of Sound label (this year’s Annual 2004 was Ministry’s strongest selling compilation to date). Now Dynamix is lifting the benchmark, taking his success to the next level by announcing a new `Live Set’ that will be debuting at Y-Not this Saturday March 20.
In a recent interview I asked Dynamix to elaborate…
When I first heard about Dynamix’s upcoming live set, naturally my expectations went through the roof. “Damn, he’s kept this one from us for quite a long time,” I said to myself, with images of 7 piece outfits, guitars, drumkits, ala Adam Freeland’s latest foray into live performances. Luckily, Mark was there to put me in my place. “Adam’s live show is a completely different type of thing from what we are doing,” he says. “Freeland is taking a band on the road as a ‘rock’ act focusing on his own band’s music – we are improvising over the top of music that has already been written.” I guess I stand corrected then.
As public murmurings grow louder, Dynamix is eager to fuel speculation that the live set will be nothing short of a musical extravaganza. Describing it as a “collective of live musicians,” the complicated set-up will entail Mark laying down some solid house tunes on two decks with FX and CDJ-1000s, and will be joined by Steve Sax on saxophone, Pascal playing bongos and percussion, as well as Faith on live vocals. In terms of what will be played, Mark anticipates it to be “2 Hours of House,” right across the spectrum from deep to funky to some tougher sounds towards the end. “It will be completely improvised on the night so anything can happen,” he told me. “These three musicians really are at the top of their field in Sydney, and will add another level to the solid house set planned.”
Asked whether the live set was going to be a once off, or whether it would be an ongoing thing in the future, Dynamix replied, “This is a one off gig, but we may look at taking all four of us on the road as a collective in the future. But we would like to create some of our own productions before we do this, using all members of the band.”
So can we expect to see the release of any production pieces in the near future – 12”s, singles, or even albums? “On my own and with another producer, Jaytech – there will definitely be some releases on vinyl,” he said. “We have finished two tracks so far and are working on two more, so there will hopefully be a release soon. As for an album…that is way down the line.”
As well as pushing the boundaries of how a DJ is defined by adding live elements, Dynamix’s successful involvement with the Australian Ministry of Sound label has been continuing unabated. I believe the Ministry of Sound shattered the glass ceiling when it came to making dance music more accessible for those around the nation, a view which Mark shares. “Out of all the countries around the world where there are Ministry Of Sound offices, I think the Australian office have taken the brand and turned it around the most. The Australian-produced mix CD’s such as The Annual and Late Night Sessions strike a good balance between popular club music and fashionable underground music.” Offering hordes of people a new and accessible avenue to appreciate some cool tunes, Mark is quick to promote albums like Chillout Sessions, “which introduce people to whole new styles of music, those who may never have heard of Ambient, Nu-Jazz or Breaks before for instance.”
And while there is no doubt that his involvement with the label has increased his profile nationwide, I asked him to comment further on how his role as “Ministry’s boy down under” has impacted his career. “In most ways the association has been MOS has been positive,” he says reflectively, allowing him extra exposure through the tours around the country and branding through CD sales. “Occasionally you come across a snotty-nosed promoter who wants nothing to do with me, just because I have mixed a few Ministry CD’s; regardless of whether I play the exact music that he wants in his club/party.”
But Mark doesn’t exactly warm to this ridiculous form of elitism. “These people just need to open their minds a little and realise that a DJ doesn’t have to fit into this little digestible package that’s easy for everyone to swallow.” As is pretty obvious to the punters who hear him play week in and week out, Mark’s association with what some would deem a “commercial” brand hasn’t compromised his widely recognised talent for diversity. “I play and appreciate all styles of music, not just house/club music – and that will never change,” he insists. “Just because I am associated with a commercial brand such as Ministry doesn’t make a slight bit of different to my music tastes.”
But when one-too-many second-rate Ben Benassi tracks turned up on recent MOS compilations, I had my suspicions that the label might have been forcing their hand a little when it came to what was being included on the CDs. But this is not the case, according to Mark. “The only gripe I have about the CD’s is having to put so many tracks on per side, which tends to cut down the tracks to around 4 minutes each and squash everything up a bit.” As for track listing, Mark insists that it is always a collaborative effort between himself and the managing director of Ministry. “We go through what we both want, and make compromises either way. Saying that, I have never put on a track on a Ministry comp that I can’t stand or haven’t played out in the clubs at some stage.”
The last question that I asked him was one that came from a punter who has fond memories of listening to his old trance sets at Sublime. As a purveyor of all things trance, Dynamix was oh so fine, and a force to be reckoned with when it came to competing with the international jocks. Does he have any plans of returning to his old style at any point in the future? “The trance I played between 97-99 was what I sincerely liked at the time,” he maintains, not one to disown his past. “But this was before trance became this dark ugly noise that is now termed Hardstyle. Hardstyle is not trance, nor is German Hard Trance.” His distaste for these styles is thinly disguised: “I’ve never played that kind of ‘music’ – it’s too aggressive, and there’s not enough groove in it for me. When Trance was more, well progressive, I got into it.”
But by the looks of things, putting the two words ‘progressive’ and ‘trance’ together isn’t really much of an option anymore. “Now you can’t mention the word progressive in a club without the promoter shitting his pants and clubbers leaving in droves; it just doesn’t leave you with many options of where to play it.” And unfortunately for those with rose tinted memories of the days of trance in the late 90’s, times have moved on and so has Mark. “My tastes have changed and I prefer what I play now at this point in time. Music has changed; it has moved on from that, the sound is dated. There are no good records in that style being produced anymore…. So no, I don’t think I’ll be going back there.”
You can catch Mark Dynamix’s ‘Live Set’ this Saturday March 20 at Y-Not @ UN Nightclub. For more info check out ITM Whatson HERE.
