2015 was a pivotal year for Marky as he presented the world with his debut solo album My Heroes, an LP that showcased his deepest, widest production vocabulary to date. So you’d be forgiven in thinking 2016 might be a quieter year…
No: If anything, it’s been louder. On the label-front Innerground have delivered some fantastic releases: From Command Strange & Intelligent Manners rollercoaster album Joy to Chromatic’s lavishly funky Over There EP by way of DJ Rusty, Jaybee & Random Movement and a punchdrunk New Wave Vol 2 EP that featured his own Funky Train, 2016 has been dented with serious Innerground Soul. Very much in the same way line-ups have been dented his name in the headlines.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktgc1gx6-kc
Wrapping up 2016 with a special guest role at Ram’s roadblock NYE bash, Marky will be signing out the year in good company as he plays alongside Sub Focus, High Contrast, Camo & Krooked, Friction, Nero, Loadstar, Teddy Killerz, Delta Heavy, June Miller, Rene Lavice and many more.
2017 is already looking good for the Sao Paulo titan with Silly VIP due in January, an Influences album on BBE in February and a slew of sonics on Innerground from the likes of Mcleod & Sympton, Flaco, 2N and more.
But first, he takes a look back over the highs and lows of 2016…
2016 According To Marky
“Have we had a good year? Musically and gig-wise, yes it has been incredible. But it’s also been a very weird and sad year with so many of our musical heroes dying.
Rod Temperton passing away was one of the saddest moments for me. I’m so connected with his songs. Since Heatwave I’ve heard him every day of my life. I grew up with that man’s music. Boogie Nights, Too Hot To Handle, Thriller, Off The Wall, Rock With You. So many huge influential songs! In other ways the year has been strange, too. The politics here in Sao Paulo are very weird. Brexit was very sad in Europe. The plane crash with the Brazilian football team Chapecoense in Bogotá was also tragic. So yes, it’s been a strange year…. But I have to say that there have been great things.
This year we’ve had many great rollers and many great jump up tunes and many things in between. Some of the stuff that the guys at Low Down Deep have been putting out has been phenomenal. Watch out for a track called Thrill Seekers by Ego Tripping – it is dangerous! Such a happy catchy tune; it reminds me of the old Bristol sound. Also Break put out the best album of the year – I play 10 of the album’s 12 tracks in my sets… I’m spoilt for choice!
Total Science have been on great form this year. Digital and Spirit are back together. LSB, Marcus Intalex, Calibre, Hybrid Minds – all of them killing it. Serum has killed it with Take My Breath Away with Paul T & Edward Oberon. Shimon coming back with Monsters with Benny L. It seems like everyone is back making proper drum & bass – no more commercial music!
It’s the same here with everyone in Sao Paulo. You’ve got new guys like Dirtbag coming through with some amazing tunes! We got Alibi, Nitri, Critycal Dub, DJ Rusty, Simplification, Translate, DJ Andrezz, L Side, Sound Energy, Unreal, Jam Thieves…. There is a lot of us making drum & bass here again!
I think it’s been a good year for shows, too. I’ve played some really interesting festivals this summer like this little UK one called Nozstock where it was just me, Randall and GQ all night. That was one of the best festivals I’ve played for a long time. I didn’t have to compromise one bit.
I’m not always the biggest fan of festival sets. Everyone just pulls out the big tracks but I try and add the underground tunes in between to keep people educated. A little bit of Seba and Paradox or Digital and Spirit. I try to represent the original foundation because it’s what I love to do.
I think my job is to inform people and take them to places – not just get them dancing and screaming but also hearing new things or old records that paved the way for drum & bass to be global like it is today. That’s what being a DJ is all about for me. People forget that – especially now with CD players making things very easy.
It’s very different to how we started playing jungle in Brazil all those years ago. The lengths we had to go and the money we had to save to get the Suburban Base, Reinforced, Moving Shadow records 6000 miles away was crazy. That was before the battles I had breaking into the scene as the first non UK DJ. So for me it goes deeper than just entertaining – it’s about the rich history of the music and what it means to me. Rolling out the hits isn’t what it’s all about – it’s about creating something special and meaningful for you guys and for me.”
See Marky get meaningful with Ram this NYE at Brixton O2 Academy: Tickets
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