Clubbing Magazine

	MARK KNIGHT toolroom talks
The next instalment of the Toolroom Knights mix series sees label head honcho and Ministry of Sound resident Mark Knight step up to deliver a cutting-edge mix of future classics and forward thinking house music. This double-disc collection covers the length and breadth of the house music spectrum, moving from shades of legendary US producers right through to the current crop of ultra-talented UK and European artists. It is a sound that Mark has lovingly cultivated over many years of solid gigging and through releasing a staggeringly consistent collection of quality music via his Toolroom imprint. The mix is by no means a straight run-through of current big tunes, rather a musical journey that takes in album exclusives, drawn-out mixing and carefully placed accapellas to coax the maximum levels of impact out of the records. We got hold of this interview with him.
-How do you approach making a mix album? Firstly, I set out to make something that wasn’t just a collection of records. I wanted (with out sounding clichéd) to paint a picture, to tell a story of what I am about musically. I also wanted to include as many of my own productions, remixes and edits, along with as upfront and unreleased tracks as possible so it satisfied the heads but with out trying to being too anal. There are excusive tracks on there from my friends Nic Fanculli and Funkagenda which can only be found on the album. When licensing the tracks for the album I asked for the parts as well in certain cases so that I could intersperse them throughout the mix so you were, say teased with the vocals before hearing the track later on. It helped being label boss so I had my hands on our entire upfront repertoire, which certainly helped to make it sound as fresh as possible. -Does it take many attempts to get it spot-on? It takes a long time to get the flow right, which to me was all important. What I tended to do was keep bouncing the mix down and listening to it on my iPod, in the gym and in the car so you listen to it as a piece of music and not an arrangement - going back and tweaking each day. I find it harder to do a mix comp than write a new track!! -Could you tell us a bit about how the mix sounds? Cd 1 is almost progressive in its approach. It starts with a reprise of Dennis Ferrer and starts off soulful then moving through deep house into techno. I wanted it to suck you in when you put it on. It’s a condensed version of the extended 5-6 hours sets you can catch me playing at Ministry. Cd 2 is a bit more to the point; it’s more like a 2 hours peak time set. Although again it builds gradually not just bam!! From track one. -The first disc features a fair number of US house producers. Do you think this is a sound that is undergoing something of a revival? Maybe… I think Dennis Ferrer is certainly leading the way with his fusion of soul and tech. -Being a British label would you give preference to releasing tracks from British producers, bearing in mind the massive amount of music that seems to come out of Germany these days? Our business is global so there is no preference geographically from where we sign music. Good music is good music regardless of its origin. We have artists signed from Hungary to Canada. And as the scene world wide grows I am sure it won’t be long before we release our first record from a Chinese producer. -From your position as a label manager how would you assess the dance scene in 2008? I feel the industry is as strong as it’s been since I have been working within it... Toolroom sells between 5,000 – 10,000 digitally per release, which is back to the heady days of vinyl! We as a company have never been in such a good position. I think if you know what you are doing you can be successful within dance, but you have to work within today’s new model and brand means all, so it is important to maintain that as your focus, although the platforms of Beatport and other digital sites are fantastic to give an emerging artist an opportunity to release music… Unless you have an identity its very easy to get lost with in the myriad of labels on there. People will always come back to a recognised source if you maintain the quality. -And thinking now from the point of view as a DJ, how would you assess the scene from a musical standpoint? With the use of the internet people have access to music instantly. You have to work very hard to stay a head, as things are so available. I think this is a good thing as it pushes you. Big djs for too long had it too easy, because if you were not sent a testpressing or promo of a record that was it, you didn’t have it. Now it’s available to all. I’m also excited by the growth of the music on a worldwide scale. It keeps it fresh. -How would you describe what you try to achieve as a DJ? My greatest buzz when djing is breaking new music. My set changes literally every time I play. There is no way I could play the same records over and over. I also feel in this day and age you need to put on a show. It’s moved on more than just turning up playing other peoples records - so I try to make the majority of my set my own music or the sound of Toolroom so it’s a true representation of me musically. I also like to spend a lot of time incorporating tools and effects that help to create a sonic soundscape not just a string of records. This is what I have tried to convey in my mix. I have also now begun to incorporate visuals (dvjing) into what I am doing so I the show becomes one of audio and visual. With all the technology to hand it would seem madness not use it. -What’s up-coming on Toolroom this year? The release schedule looks FAT!! We have some amazing records to come… New music from myself, Funkagenda, Martijn ten Velden , Dave Spoon, Fedde le Grand, Tiger Stripes, Steve Angelo and Sebastien Ingrosso. With Toolroom Knights the compilation next up series see the turn of Dave Spoon next followed by Dirty South and Benny Benassi. -And how’s your DJ schedule looking? Ridiculous!! Over July and August I have 36 gigs with only 3 in the UK so a world of travelling for me! Check my myspace for more details www.myspace.com/djmarkknight. I am most excited about my new residency Toolroom Knights on the Terrace at Amnesia. We have teamed up with Armin van Burren and Armada who are hosting the main room for a weekly party through out the season.. It’s going to be amazing the terrace has had a brand new refurb and looks awesome. We are also hosting our own arena at Dance Valley this year which should be great fun, and you can catch us at this years Love Parade, where we have our own float.

	DAVE SPOON more toolroom talks
Next up on Toolroom Knights is Dave Spoon - we got hold of this Radio 1 interview. -So firstly, how did you initially hook up with the guys at Toolroom? It was totally by chance! I was buying a record collection off someone called Own and then realized that he worked at Toolroom Records, so I spoke to him and sent a basic demo that same day of "21st Century". The next morning Mark Knight called me and the rest is history as they say! It was meant to happen :) -How did you feel when they asked you to provide a mix for the Toolroom Knights series? Well I did a couple of compilations last year, but to do one for Toolroom is an honour. They've helped massively to put me on the map and get my music to the masses. Also, it's the first time I've had a whole compilation to myself, both discs are me! -Why do you think you have forged such a strong connection with the label? Is it a sharing of ideals or simply that you have similar styles? It's a mixture of stuff really. I think the main reason is that we all grew together; I mean Mark Knights career has shot Toolroom into the elite but I feel as the label was growing, so was I, and vice-versa. Aside from that, of course, we share the same vibes and ideas and I also love their set-up in Maidstone. -Can you tell us a bit about the mix? There’s alot of big tunes from people like Zoo Brazil, Deadmau5, Butch & Myself too of course! The 2 discs are deliberately different to represent my influences and also simply what I'm into right now. -What where you looking to achieve or put across with the mix? Well, I wanted it to represent where I'm at at the moment. The Main Room disc is really a perfect example of my DJ set's so far this year. Whereas the Basement disc has a lot more of the tracks I love to listen to and play on my Radio 1 show. There have been a few gigs this year where I've played a lot of those tunes out... gotta love those basslines, old skool noises and fidgets! -Is it a straight up decks and a mixer affair or did you employ any studio trickery along the way? I used Ableton Live to produce the album and although I love the fact you can do so much with Ableton, I purposely didn't do anything I couldn’t achieve with with CDJ's and a mixer. I think it's easy to get carried away and lose the essence of being a DJ so I kept things simple but true to how I play live. -What’s you view on the CD compilation market? Do you think it’s in danger of becoming obsolete or do you think people will always have a desire to possess music in the physical form? Personally I'd like to hope people will still want something physical, but the digital revolution isn't done with us yet so who knows where we'll be in a year or 2?! Compilations are very important to get onto as an artist, and I'd fear the worst if anything changed too much. It's important that DJ's represent themselves in this form as it's the only way to bring themselves to the masses without playing 24/7 all over the globe\|! -How is the new Radio 1 residency working out for you? It's awesome, I love it. I always wanted to try Radio, but to be asked to do Radio 1 was a huge surprise and although I went straight into the deep end it seems to be working out very well. I hope more comes of it although this is amazing for me at this point in time! -What’s the ethos of the show? “In New DJs We Trust” is there to represent 4 different styles of music each week on rotation. My show has been labeled ‘Electro House’, but it's really not that one sided. I cover most of the House music spectrum and always push new talent on each show. We're looking at re-jigging it a bit from July so there will be some new features on there too! -How is the rest of the year shaping up? I've got a mini-residency at Amnesia for Cream in Ibiza through the summer, a few dates in the UK and around Europe... and we're looking at a short North American tour at some point too. I have plenty on in the studio, my new "88EP" on Toolroom is due, as is "Baditude" with Sam Obernik & Paul Harris which is likely to evolve into more of a regular project! - what you working on at the mo? Well, I'm still working on my artist album, that’s why I temporarily quit the remixing last November! However, I've just sneaked a few in actually before I continue with my album... The Presets, ‘Alphabeat’ and a Tong & Spoon remix of Madonna's "Give It 2 Me". There’s also some original material coming from Pete Tong & I later this year too. On top of all that, I’m in the midst of setting up a label as a platform for some collaboration I’ve done with people like DJ Zinc & Liquid... so there’s loads happening! I also need to work on my crap sleep pattern and playing less Wii.

More Toolroom Knights Continuing their policy of investing in white-hot, breakthrough talent, Toolroom Records enlist Australian DJ/producer Dirty South to provide a mix for the prolific Toolroom Knights series. After efforts from label boss Mark Knight and Radio 1 DJ Dave Spoon, the series is quickly garnering a reputation for cutting-edge mixes that push the boundaries of House music. It would be difficult to name a new artist who has had more impact on the scene over the last couple of years than Dirty South aka Dragan Roganovic. It was 2006 and Dirty South’s killer remix of Evermore’s ‘It’s Too Late’ that his career really began to skyrocket. The remix was easily among the year’s biggest tracks in clubland and in addition to being licensed to over 30 compilations worldwide, the track was nominated for ‘Best Alternative Dance Release’ at the International Dance Music Awards in Miami. Since that pivotal moment Dirty South has gone on to remix countless world renowned artists such as Depeche Mode, Mark Ronson, Tracy Thorn, Snoop Dogg, Tiesto and Roger Sanchez among many others. By no means purely a remix specialist, Dirty South has produced an impressive number of high quality EPs and singles. ‘Let It Go’, ‘Open Your Heart’, ‘Minority’ and The Doors sampling ‘The End’ have been all been club-smashing anthems that have received support from right across the board. The strength of this double disc release lies with a carefully selected array of floor-destroying House tracks that have been hand-picked from a vast array of production talent from across the globe. There is a cunning blend of classic US sounds, techno and electro-influenced cuts and Dirty South’s own releases that bubble together in a mammoth, musical melting pot. CD1 begins in epic fashion with Kemistry’s remix of the Buzzin Fly classic ‘Insomnia’ by Rodamaal. There is an early theme of melody-rich numbers that includes Studio Apartment’s ‘I’m In Love’ and Gui Boratto’s ‘Anunciación’, which both set the tone perfectly for the introduction of the more full-on club bangers for which Dirty South is famed. As Samuel L Session’s remix of Jerome Sydenham’s ‘Ebian’ rolls into the picture a little later you can feel the pressure being gradually ratcheted up a couple of notches. Dirty South’s own track ‘Minority’ blazes into the mix around the halfway point, keeping the intensity levels stoked as it does. Skylark’s Miami-conquering remix of Xpress 2’s ‘Music Xpress’ and Solomun’s ‘Deadman’ sit back-to-back in the home- stretch of the mix and serve as an insight into what anthems sound like past and present. The versatility of the mix is epitomized by the closing choice of James Holden’s remix of Nathan Fake’s ‘The Sky Was Pink’ with its neo-trance synths and glitchy flourishes of white-noise. Conversely CD2 is more of a straight-up peak time affair that is laced with occasional vocal numbers and accapellas that keep the flow fresh and always interesting. Kicking off with Dirty South’s recent Axwell collaboration ‘Open Your Heart’ the mix immediately moves through darker musical shades than on the previous disc thanks to Dubfire’s devastating remix of Booka Shades’s ‘Charlotte’. Toolroom boss Mark Knight’s remix of Dave Spoon’s ‘88’ is cleverly layered with an acappella version of Paul Harris & Dirty South’s ‘Better Day’; a deft touch that takes an already thrilling track to another level. There is an abundance of contributions from the influential Swedish House Mafia with Sebastian Ingrosso & Laidback Luke’s ‘Chaa Chaa’, Steve Angello & Sebastian Ingrosso’s ‘Partouze’ and Steve Angello’s ‘Gypsy’ all being weaved into the mix. German producer Tocadisco turns in a show-stopping interpretation of ‘The End’ to round the disc off in frenetic fashion. Off the back of his awesome production output, Dirty South has toured extensively throughout Europe, the UK, the US, Canada and UAE in addition to numerous performances back home at Australia’s biggest festival events. 2008 also saw him secure an exciting monthly residency alongside Erick Morillo at Pacha, Ibiza for his legendary Subliminal Sessions parties.
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