Mark Dynamix has a full schedule of gigs ahead of him, a schedule that doesn’t let up for more than a few short months a year. Becoming the ‘old man’ of the Sydney scene, now in his 13th professional DJing year, Mark tells ITM’s Candyflip that it’s punishing, but the passion still burns… And new challenges, like Homebake, are always just around the corner…
Candyflip : Back in 2000, ITM interviewed you with the byline, “Australia’s busiest DJ”. Is that a schedule you have been able to maintain?
Mark Dynamix : It’s actually got worse! I think since I’ve brought my Manager on board I’ve got even more going on.. She may be secretly trying to kill me! (laughs..). Because of Summer coming up, the gigs are really starting to fill up quick and I wouldn’t have it any other way of course. I’ve just been booked for another Big Day Out, I’m in the middle of the MOS tour now, I’ve got Homebake coming up, plus all the usual residencies. There is some O/S action as well. I just finished 3 dates in NZ last weekend. And then maybe more in March / April, and Ibiza in July. Bring ‘em on I say…. (laughs)..
You also said back then that you played a mixture of progressive, tech-house and deep trance, depending on the crowd. Two years later, are the crowds still the over-riding factor in what and how you play?
It’s a factor, but I still play what I want. I’ve refined them slightly. I don’t play just hard any more, more funky. I’ve still got all three of these styles in my record box and I play all of them, depending on how I’m reading the crowd.
Homebake must present quite a challenge, as far as reading the vibe of the crowd in such a large audience. Will you stick with a pre-planned set there, or are you going to wing it?
I’ve been thinking about this a lot in the last week, and wondering do I play electro-clash, you know bring out Kraftwerk, and some other really bizaare stuff, or do you go heavy, and attempt to play the rock, sorta alternative element? I think I might play left-of-centre, some electro-clash, some breaks…they are short sets anyway, 2 sets for each DJ, so I’ll mix it up. I’ll just read the crowd and throw in whatever I think is right at the time… I mean, I’ve never played this type of all rock festival before, so it will be a challenge, but it’s one I’m really looking forward to.
I first came across your DJ-ing when I bought a copy of Peaktime! Bang On Volume 1. That double was packed wall to wall with old skool hands-in-the-air trance and harder anthems. Could you see yourself doing another of these (I believe the last of those you did was late 2000?) given the way your tastes have changed?
Not really, things have changed a lot since then. I’m very much of the belief that was then, this is now, you know? I don’t play it any more because it got over-done by all sorts of copycat artists overseas and they just wore it out. The trance and harder stuff these days that comes out of Europe is really different, a lot harder and the trance they are making is different. I mean, if the old style-stuff was around I’d probably play it, but it just isn’t.
The vibe and feedback you consistently experience at a special night like Transmission in Sydney, for example, must hearten you to the local scene’s strength at the moment.
You know, the scene, especially in Sydney at the moment, is really strong and I just don’t understand why all I’m hearing is that their saying it’s crumbling…. I’m hearing that a lot at the moment, in the Press and the media…
Jaded perhaps?
Yes, jaded, too old, whatever, you know? I don’t see a decline, not at all. These people [who are talking the scene down] need to change their ideas. Dance music is still the biggest music scene in the world, it’s not gonna change overnight. If they’re too old and over it they should get out of the way and let the people who are fresh and excited about it take over.
Is it better to experience 5000 Australian’s screaming for more, or is the vibe overseas something you prefer?
I prefer the feeling you get from a local crowd because, really, you’re winging it overseas. Every country has it’s own sound and it’s not always possible to know what that is on the night. Back home, it’s nice to know that you recognise the local flavour. Having said that, I enjoy Sydney obviously and Perth is a big surprise….I haven’t quite worked them out yet?
You mean they don’t get you?
No, they get me, they are amazing, but I can play anything and it just goes off (laughs). Every other state makes me work so much harder. You know, Melbourne is progressive ‘cause they like it darker down there, then Brisbane is hard trance and techo, but Perth is a mystery….everything I play works and everybody always has a good time. I love Perth!
Many people probably forget that there is a lot slower side to Mark Dynamix? What do you do to relax?
Went oversaes for a while this year.. didn’t play at all, just took time out. But it’s, you know, ‘head back down’ now and no break scheduled until Feb, after the Summer…. But when I do have time I do snowboarding, fool around with electronics .. food… friends…. bottle of wine (laughs – we stopped this before it became a Personals Ad!!..)
The MOS Chillout Annual 2002 is one of my personal favourites for this year. I reckon the secret to a great compilation of this type is absolutely great musical taste, something I believe you share with Nick Warren, who mixed my other personal favourite, Back To Mine Volume 1. You’ve mixed in Radiohead, Cocteau Twins… these aren’t the usual MOS artists are they?
Thank you, it’s one of my favourites too. Well it was very much a collabrative effort of course, the more esoteric tracks like The Beloved and The Cocteau’s etc are my personal choices for the mix, the more up-to-date stuff are tracks that MOS asked us to put in there. Like i did with ‘Sundaze’ a few year’s back, I like the challenge of some of those tracks being thrown together that you know don’t belong, but then working on the mix to get ‘em together. But it bounces around, you know, it took weeks to work out and to get the BPM’s together etc…. overall though, it’s great… a lot of fun.
MOS Annual 2003 is out and you’re talking about a funkier Mark Dynamix this time out. Why the change and what has influenced it?
My tastes are more like this now and that’s why I’m playing this way…you know, I’m growing up (he’s 27)...I’m maturing. The steady decline in BPM has been influenced by me and what people want to hear, but hopefully there’s no decline in quality because that’s obviously not the aim.
Nik Fish once told me that there are certain CD’s he mixes that are best heard in a very loud club environment, and some CD’s that are perfect for the more usual home environment. Excluding the Chill Out compilations, is that how you feel about your work and which ones qualify?
I would say that really none of mine are really perfect for the dancefloor…Especially when you consider that I mix for the sound of the music, not the beat. If it’s fast and it works in the mix, then I play it, but the main focus is how it all sounds when put together. I’d say all my mixes are generally more for the appreciation of home listeners.
We’ve seen some audiences in Australia respond positively to the ‘retro’ vibe of electro-clash and even songs barely 2-3 years old are being dredged up for re-use. Any chance of you spinning that original Frankie Goes To Hollywood vinyl version of “Relax” you may still own, this Summer?
(laughs)..You know, “Relax” was the first track I ever bought on vinyl and there seems to be a new mix of it out every year. Maybe when the right time comes I’ll do a remix of my own. But yeah, it’ll probably get dragged out this summer. It does every other year!. (laughs)
Catch Mark DJing at this year’s Homebake festival on December 16, and his new mix album for Ministry of Sound, Annual 2003, is out now. You can also catch Mark at Twisted House Sessions in Canberra on Dec 27.
More photos of Mark playing Transmission’s 6th birthday can be found here at Xpose.biz
Visit Mark’s website, MarkDynamix.com.
