Mark Dynamix is probably one of the DJs who spawned the kind of praise which has now become cliché, like ‘can’t be defined by genre’ and ‘needs no introduction’ – but they are descriptions that he has earned, and after 14 years of DJing they still hold true. Fresh from his production work on the latest Ministry release ‘Sessions 2’, Mark had a chat with me about snowboarding, what it’s like to buy dodgy Malaysian Ministry CDs, and – oh yeah, music! 

It’s often said that DJs can’t produce and producers can’t DJ – and yet you have a successful career as both. Why is it so rare for someone to be able to do both well? 

Yeah I think that old chestnut may have been true 10 years ago but I think in today’s dance music industry you have to be proficient in both DJng and producing to get noticed, especially internationally. Most DJs now have a production discography behind them or are at least dabbling in remixes or even bootleg mash-ups. I don’t think it’s rare anymore to do both, I see it more as a necessity – the more creativity at work the better!

You’ve included 3 remixes by Stuart Price on the latest Sessions 2 CD (2 as Thin White Duke and one as Jacques Lu Cont) – is he someone you’ve always admired, or just recently developed an appreciation for?  

He always seems to pop up in my record bag every couple of months with a killer remix and it’s like “God damn this guy’s on fire!” – which he is right now. I mean, how good is that Fischerspooner (‘Just Let Go’) remix? 

In an interview for the Sessions One CD launch you said that Kid Kenobi was ‘well-deserving’ of his number one spot on the Technics inthemix50 DJ poll. As much as Sydney DJs play down the importance of such competitions, is there a part of you that feels that this is your time? 

I don’t think any DJ in last year’s top ten would deny they didn’t have their fingers crossed for a good position this year. Even now, I’m astounded with my number 2 position in ‘03 & ‘04 – just the fact that people are still really into what I’m doing after all this time. To everyone who voted for me this year, a million thanks! It’ll be an interesting battle this year, so much has changed in the last 12 months. It will be interesting to see if these changes are reflected in the results. 

Where do you like to go out clubbing when you’re not DJing? Can you ever be an anonymous punter like the rest of us? 

Haha, well to be honest I’m usually out in a club all weekend so I don’t tend to spend extra time in clubs – you know, too much of a good thing! But I still get to see the acts I appreciate; recently at Family in Brisbane I played alongside Derrick May and Slam for one of their special ‘Love & Hate’ parties. You would have found me pinned to the dancefloor absolutely loving Slam’s twisted techno – jumping up and down with Jamie from Infusion who was in town also, til the wee hours of the morning! 

What does your first artist track release ‘Identify Me’ sound like, and where did you get the inspiration?

This was one of the first tunes Jaytech and I put together, and for me it was really a test to see if we could merge all of the styles of my DJing over the last five years into one track. It’s a little bit electro, a little bit techno, a bit rock and pretty eclectic. Since then we’ve had a solid electro-rock mix completed by German DJ Chopstick with a full vocal from Andy Love in the UK, which I’m currently playing out on the Ministry Sessions tour. You can find the original mix on ‘The Annual 2005’ CD, and there are plans for some more mixes and a full single release somewhere down the track. It also got a release in Europe on Ministry which was fantastic considering it was our first completed track. 

You’ve been on tour with John Course a few times now – are there any traditions you’ve developed? 

Ah, the usual – getting to the airport five minutes before our flight home and pleading with Qantas personnel to let us on, which has become pretty standard. 

The diversity of your upcoming remixes (Fine Young Cannibals, Darren Hayes) reflect the variety of music you appreciate. What would your advice be to up and coming artists – find one style you’re good at and stick with it, or muck around with all different genres? Or is it only as an established artist that you can afford to experiment? 

Genre purists are not healthy for the scene and really stifle creativity. I don’t understand that attitude – I get off on hearing a DJ mix in something completely off the wall, something you would never dream of hearing in a club or even two tracks from completely opposite ends of the dance music spectrum. I’ve certainly copped my share of flack over the years for playing more than one style of music, but you know what – I play what I am into at that time, and if my tastes change then my DJing style will follow. For an up and coming artist it’s really a personal decision – if they’re serious about DJing they should play what they feel & not be pressured into staying within the boundaries of stylisation. 

You travel all around the world, all the time. Which place has a great party vibe, that would not be obvious to most people? 

I just spent a month touring Canada, and found that Vancouver and Whistler had some of the best crowds and friendliest clubbers I’ve met (besides some wicked snowboarding parks!). Whistler was off the hook with a solid crowd itching to hear some fresh music. I’ll be going back there again at the beginning of next year for another season! 

What do you think the answer is to music piracy – online and otherwise? Do you have any personal experiences with this? 

Haha, if I had the answer to this I’d be a rich man. Record companies around the world have spent millions on trying to find a solution to this problem, and it’s a damn tricky one. How do you curb something like being able to download music from P2P sites when every kid in the developed world has a computer at home!? Yet the irony is that music producers need to survive and there won’t be any music made if royalties aren’t paid and costs are met. Personally, I’ve found ‘Identify Me’ pop up on sites every now and again, because as soon as your track becomes public domain, you have no control over it anymore. You just have to rely on the goodwill of most people out there and hope that they do the right thing. What was most astounding was walking down a back street in Malaysia a few years back and checking out some CDs being sold on a street corner from boxes. It became obvious to me quite quickly that all the CDs were Asian bootleg copies. I picked up a pirate copy of my disc of The Annual 2002 mix, with new artwork to the original CD AND they’d even managed to squeeze an extra track on the end. How thoughtful!

‘Sessions 2’ is out now through Ministry of Sound/EMI. Mark and John Course continue the national tour to support its release in July:

Fri 8 Jul, Frankston – 21st Century, John Course & Mark Dynamix
Sat 9 Jul, Parramatta – Roxy, John Course & Mark Dynamix
Fri 15 Jul, Melbourne – Room 680, John Course & Mark Dynamix
Fri 22 Jul, Auckland – The Met & Code, John Course & Mark Dynamix
Sat 23 Jul, Toowoomba – USQ Bar, Mark Dynamix
Wed 27 Jul, Wagga Wagga – Red Line Hotel, Mark Dynamix
Fri 29 Jul, Albury – Liquid, John Course
Fri 29 Jul, Canberra – Lot 33, Mark Dynamix
Sat 30 Jul, Hotham – General Store, John Course
Sat 30 Jul, Townsville – The Embassy, Mark Dynamix
Sun 31 Jul, Falls Creek – The Man, John Course

Also don’t forget, if you haven’t voted in this year’s Technics inthemix50 DJ Poll you only have a few days left! Voting closes on Wednesday July 6th at 6pm – last year Mark scored the #2 position for the second year running, where will he rank in 2005? It’s up to you! >> http://www.inthemix.com.au/50/.