It seems Mark James can do no wrong. As the Managing Director of Future Entertainment, he’s practically a household name in the Australian dance music scene, responsible for larger than life events like Summadayze. On top of this, he is a DJ and producer, regularly playing alongside all the big names at all the noteworthy festivals. As if this wasn’t enough, he’s just started the new night ‘Famous’ at the revamped (and renamed) Queensbridge, ex-QBH, in Melbourne. In the week following two of his most recent events, the Melbourne Parklife and Godskitchen, ITM chatted to James about the recently released Summadayze CD, hot Aussie talent, and, erm, praying to God for good weather this New Years Day.
James is a happy man at the moment, and it comes across in our conversation. He chats freely and happily about the recent success of Parklife. “It was fantastic,” he reflects. “I think it was a great result. The venue overlooking the city was great, and the crowds were great.” Mark played there himself, which he often does at festivals put on by Future Entertainment. Is this a labour of love or a necessity? “Yeah, I pretty much play at my own events,” he says. “I’m sort of a name DJ, and we try to have the best DJs billed. Sometimes it’s a bit stressful, I have to change caps,” he laughs. And James is a man of many caps. When asked if one takes priority he muses, “no, not really. When I’m in the promoter role, I love it and hate it. Being a DJ is more of a passion, that’s what I started out doing. But there are three different genres, and I try to juggle them.” Another cap James has just added to his busy life is the opening of the new night Famous at Queensbridge. “It’s going really well,” he says happily. “We’ve been open for six weeks, and we’ve got lots of international acts coming up.” A quick glance at the website consolidates this – Jimmy Van M and Jon Carter have played to packed houses, with King Roc, Mark Knight and Sebastien Leger making appearances in the coming months. The massive Godskitchen was a few weeks ago and James said this year it was a little different. “It was the first time we had it in a main arena. It was a fantastic success with over 7,500 people attending. The Rod Laver Arena was going off all night with rocking sets from Eddie Haliwell and Above & Beyond.”
Fast forward to November, and James is presenting and playing alongside two of the greatest names in dance music – Sasha and Digweed. “Yeah, that’s great,” Mark says. “I’ve played with them heaps. It really brings out the purist crowd. People really come out of the woodwork for an event like this.” Given that it’s the first time the two of them have played together in Australia in over 5 years, James says we can expect some old school clubbers to be really excited about this one. But the big one, of course, is the New Years Day party Summadayze. With the lineup recently released, James says, “I think this is our best line up to date and it shows, with tickets selling very fast for all shows. We are looking forward to some great sets by all the DJs and live acts”. As most of us have recently discovered, Basement Jaxx and Bob Sinclar are the headliners, for Melbourne, along with loads of other acts including Mylo, Hybrid (live), Judge Jules and Tocadisco. “We’ve got a good variety of acts,” says James. “People always expect a good lineup.” As for the weather, it’s out of his control. “I ring up God every day,” jokes James. “We’ve had thousands of emails regarding tickets,” says James. “People like to know what they’re saving for. It’s coming up to Christmas and people like to plan their finances.” But why release tickets so early? “The early bird catches the worm,” James laughs.
But let’s talk about the music. The Summadayze CD is just about to come out. A double CD mixed by Tocadisco and Mark James himself, he says it should be an indication of “hits that are going to be big.” Tocadisco was chosen because he was a favourite of Mark’s at Two Tribes. “He really worked the crowd well,” James says. “His style is darker, more techy. He’s nice and deep and dark, whereas mine is a bit more banging. There’s something for everyone. Everyone will like the CD,” he says confidently. And what’s hot locally at the moment? “There’s a lot of great talent out there at the moment,” James says. He lists all the usuals, but the ones that stand out to him are the “more rock oriented” Midnight Juggernauts, as well as Derrick K. “He works at Famous, and he’s really on the money. I’ve heard some of his tracks and they’ve got club hit written all over them. He’s really blowing people away.”
‘Summadayze 2007’, mixed by Tocadisco and Mark James, is out now through EQ/Stomp. Tickets for the Summadayze tour nationally are onsale now through ITM.
