MARK E.G Interview ahead of Hedliners

hedliners

Hedliners>>>Right first off when was the last time you played Ireland ?

Mark>>>It’s been a long, long time! I play Northern Ireland quiet a bit, but as far as down South goes, it’s been years – perhaps ten or so!

Hedliners >>>Your diary is without the busiest on the UK hard dance circuit. What's the secret to your success mate lol share with the Irish?

Mark>>>>I think the reason why I’m still busy is the fact that I’ve been doing this for so long. I was lucky to get my first major break in the early 90’s and ever since it’s been a case of playing two or three gigs each weekend. There’s only so many clubs in the world but I play varied styles to suit a lot of different types of places. If you rock it, people tend to have you back, which luckily for me keep the diary ticking over nicely!

Hedliners>>>You are known for some crazy antics behind the wheels of steel, What's the craziest moment that comes to mind that has happened during one of your sets ?

Mark>>>There’s been so many ahemm ‘moments’ that describing them all here would take days but the big ones I remember often unfortunately involve a lot of pain. There was one time I was dancing so hard to a bassline that my knee caught my face and my nose exploded, showering blood all over the DJ booth and the surrounding ravers! Needless to say I spent the next five hours in Saturday night A+E.

Hedliners>>>Have you many productions in the Pipeline ???

Mark>>>As a producer you go through a lot of ups and down in the studio. Right now is a real up time for me as I real feel I have something unique and different to say, especially with our techno stuff. We’re actually in the process of doing an album under our The Anxious pseudonym. For hard dance, we went in the studio with a guy called DJ Thera last year and it’s help us develop a completely new way of working with this style. We’ve got so much due for release this year – schranz, techno, minimal, hardstyle you name it!

Hedliners>>>You collaborate alot with your studio partner and girlfriend Chrissi. Is there any one out there you would like to work with in the future?

Mark>>>I love working with anyone who works ‘out of the box’. Of course, it’s exciting to find a formula in what you do, cause it makes things easier, but the real skill comes in developing techniques and skills that set you apart from the rest. That’s why I think a lot of upcoming producers have so much to offer because they’re not set in their ways. I’m always on the look out for people like that to work with.

Hedliners>>>What producers are doing it for you at the moment?

Mark>>>In techno it has to be Luke Slater aka Planetary Assault Systems and people like Adam X or Speedy J. For slightly harder techno perhaps Bas Mooy or Luis Ruiz. If it’s schranz then Pet Duo and for the true raw hardstyle it’s gotta be Geckon and Thera. But there’s so much more music I love out there.

Hedliners>>>The dreaded ‘recession’ appeared at first to have damaged the hard dance market here in Ireland but is now it’s as rocking as ever with numbers back up and rising each week. Did it effect the Uk dance scene much and how are things now?

Mark>>>It’s affected the UK massively, as it has the whole world. People do not have the same amount of money as they used to, to be able to go out and party. But you have to crack on and make the best of it and what’s it’s meant is that the true music heads have stayed and the holiday makers who only care about cheap pints and fights have fled the nest. It’s actually been a very exciting time for the music itself.

Hedliners>>>Which style do you play out more these days Hard Dance or Techno?

Mark>>>Both really. But in the UK I probably play more hard dance, purely because we haven’t got the market over here to get more people understanding the sound. That’s not to say I don’t squeeze in as much as I can just to throw people off centre a little and recently I’ve been finishing off a lot of my sets with full-on punk rock style schranz!

Hedliners>>>What can we expect from your eagerly anticipated return to Ireland?

Mark>>>As far as music goes, I’d say expect anything. It usually takes me a few tracks to really get into the vibe of the night, but once we get the atmosphere rocking then everyone needs to be prepared for some serious carnage!

Hedliners>>>And last question mate what does the E.G stand for as a lot people are keen to know?

Mark>>>It can mean whatever you want it to mean! Come along to the party and maybe, just maybe, you might find out!

ENJOY PADDIES DAY THE HEDLINERS WAY