You’d be forgiven for thinking Sydney hip-hop and funk stalwart, Mark Walton, is M.I.A.
Well, he was. But now, he’s back.
And with a bundle of new ideas, influences and projects, he’s sure to reinforce his reputation for consistency, quality and diversity.
Walton has just arrived home from a six month hiatus in Maui, Hawaii, where he did what a professional DJ would not – swapped his decks for a…fishing rod?!
“DJing wasn’t the priority, fishing and diving was. I had a proper job – scuba diving and removing lead from coral reefs,” he admits.
But Walton, who has been immersed in DJ’ing and music for over 14 years, couldn’t isolate himself from his source of aural pleasure for so long.
“I made a choice to get away where DJing wasn’t the priority. I saw what Maui was like musically, saw a lot of live music. It was very inspiring. Being over there encouraged me, and gave me good foresight to get into the live side of music.”
Enter Walton’s new venture, a live show. Whilst still on the drawing board, Walton is talking up his new concept.
“Next year, I really want to look at developing a good live show, put together with six other people,” he explains. “The music will be live and it will be different but it can still be considered as a four hour ‘DJ’ set.”
The project is unnamed, and Walton is wary of revealing too many more specifics. “It’s all very much in the pipeline, and as for the other artists involved, I can’t really mention names as they are tied with other projects at the moment.”
This love of live music and production coupled with his experiences over the past six months should bring exciting offerings from Walton’s new label, Lateral Recordings.
Established 12 months ago with James Anzenis, Lateral is not looking to focus on any particular genre or type of artist, but more those with true musical talent.
“I’m open minded with all music styles,” he says, “however I want those people I feel are musically creating something amazing inside themselves and are just busting to let it out. I want artists known for being musically creative, who have real ability.”
With Lateral’s focus on musical talent and quality, the expectations are big for Walton’s own upcoming release, The Wet Pants, due out in the next two months.
It’s a personal album, a record of his experiences over the past year or so. “I wanted to make an album for myself. I love all the tracks, am happy with the album because every track was written in a different place. I didn’t have a house at the time, so I was always landing in mates bedrooms, thus I went through weird processes in my life whilst writing it. It’s quite sentimental. There’s a personal story in every track.”
Has Wally gone all soft? Don’t think so. Expect a mix of “savoury” grooves, described as “uncut funk”, splattered with classic old samples – resulting in the jump-up-n-get-off-yo-ass-n-shake-that-thang flair Walton is famous for.
M.I.A no more, indeed. With recent killer sets at Funktrust and particularly at home’s Beatfix Private Collection (where he banged out an uptempo hip hop set evoking the late Eighties), Walton’s summer has only just started. In coming months, there’s a serving of Walton action to get any breaks/hip hop/funk fan nice and wet.
There’s Gatecrasher’s Summer Sound System, of course (33&1/3 arena, 2130-2230), and his numerous appearances on New Years Eve – Astrofunk, mobilehome (Beats Arena, 0000-0230), Gas (Bohem) and The Lord Roberts on New Years Day.
But who will Walton’s attention turn to on New Years Eve, whilst not scratching it up on the decks himself?
“My girlfriend. All the spare time I have on New Years will be spent with her. This is the last New years Eve I’m actually planning on DJ’ing,” Walton resigns.
“Next year, hopefully the live show will be up and running. I’ll be doing just one gig and finally have the chance to go out and listen to some friends play and some internationals I haven’t heard before.”
You’ve been warned. The label, the album, the live act, the gigs. Catch this man before Mark really does go M.I.A.
