Full_On_Media
Starting Member
United Kingdom
11 posts
Joined: Jul, 2009
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 Posted - 2009/08/12 : 02:25:36
The Notoriously Manic World Of Marc Smith
Maintaining a busy DJ career since as far back as 1989, Marc Smith has had a passionate love affair with hardcore music since its very inception. Winning multiple awards for ‘Best DJ’ year in, year out in his Motherland Scotland, Marc’s tireless efforts and unbeatable ambition to entertain a crowd week in, week out has been something that has been paramount on his agenda for almost two decades. Something, that he’s very good at no less and that’s before we even touch base on his multiple productions under not only his own Notorious Vinyl banner, but also as guest producer, re-mixer and co-producer on many other projects in the genre seeing him deliver not only an artist album, but also heading up many remixes for other titanic labels in the business and also the producer of many a compilation mix disc.
It would be my great pleasure to sit here and ream off all the big brand names he’s played for, worked with and recorded for, but not only would we be here all day, but he’s also not overly fond of shouting too loudly from the rooftops about all of his achievements. In short, he lets his work and his room shaking performances do the talking and quite rightly so, if you’ve not seen or heard him yet – it’s something to be spellbound by.
Ahead of not one, but two performances at the forthcoming Southern Sound Festival at Poole’s Canford Park Arena on September 19th, I called Marc for a chat about all things Notorious in 2009 and what the future holds for this still ever hard working pioneer.
“Marc Smith – how are you Sir?”
“Mr Brown squire! I am extremely well thank you fella, hope your all giggity giggity too my good man. I think the last time I saw you; you were lying in a hotel bedroom looking bleary eyed, worse for wear and missing your flight after spending a weekend on the road with us" (much laughter ensues, as I recall the moment in question). "We do like to look after our guests us Notorious boys and they never want to go home, or in some cases like yours… can’t go home.” (We both crack up laughing, whilst I again recall the following events of that day, with particular thanks to the DJ Chunky for the rescue operation).
I proceed to change the subject swiftly, slightly beetroot tinted in my colour and with a mixed emotion of both very fond memories and a slight touch of embarrassment. I asked Marc about his current journeys up and down the UK as a consistently booked and award nominated hardcore DJ. Does he enjoy these busy months of non-stop gigging as they are now?
“(Starts with laughter) indeed but they are always busy weeks, but its all good. The last few weeks just the usual mad mileage, Sheffield, Doncaster, Bristol, Glasgow then I’ve been down to Hastings all this week to work on a new collaboration with my Notorious boy Darwin and now I’m immediately heading up to Aberdeen to play for the ‘Ox- Fusion’ charity night on Saturday, then another solid week studio sesh in Scotland hard-styling it up with my partner Jay for Notorious White business. Then I’m spinning at the massive ‘EH1 Festival’ at Ingleston in Edinburgh then back home to finish compiling and mixing an album. I love these quiet months (he chuckles).”
Speaking of collaborations, I thought it wise whilst on the subject of DJ’ing team up’s to ask him of his set with Joey Riot and MC Whizzkid at Slammin Vinyl’s Hardcore Heaven Weekender 5 and how I was inspired enough to rate it as ‘set of the weekend’ in a recent Core Magazine article. I’d also heard that this was later repeated at HTID In The Sun in Spain, an event I’d sorely missed this year. I asked Marc, how it went down and can we see more collaborations with his Scottish brothers happening more often now? “Ahh, the weekender set, yeah a lot of people have been raving about that and being honest, me and Joey had an absolute ball doing both our sets at the weekender!”
“It’s no secret that me and Joey like a party and also no secret that we both 200% go for it on the decks and that was definitely a hugely enjoyable set for us, the crowd were amazing and just gave us the freedom to do what we do best. The place was rammed for us right up until 5 am banging it out big time for them; good times indeed. Spain was the same, it must just be our brotherhood kind of bond that makes it work and I’m always up for working with my brothers man… always. Well, as long as they continue to give me half of their money as well as mine!” We both laugh at this and its one thing that really strikes you about Marc is his infectious personality. Not only has he championed the decks since as early as 1989, pioneered his label brand Notorious Vinyl, produced a number of massive tracks, remixes and albums, but also managed to rock every stage from here to the other side of the World. Aside from the famosity, chaos, mayhem and (unsurprisingly) stress that comes with it; he manages always to smile, laugh and make fun and be playful about most subjects.
We continue by discussing that this year has, as aforementioned been manic and that it appears to be the time of year to be non-stop. I wondered, where does he find the time to make those trips into the studio – because I’d noticed despite a tour de force around the globe, the release schedule on his now much loved and globally supported label Notorious Vinyl - is still looking very healthy and I’d been honest about the fact that I’d enjoyed some of the most recent offerings as I’d loved previous efforts. How does he manage it and what’s occurring with Notorious presently?
“The year pretty much gets mad crazy like that from March onwards, but I love being busy and having loads to do, it keeps me going man and thanks dude I’m glad you’re loving the new bits on the way. My studio being at home it makes it a little easier but only a little though and it is tough playing out every single weekend with lots of travelling and having to then sit in front of a computer during the week knocking out tunes, run two labels and do the admin, be online, blah, blah, but I find the time because it’s what I do and it’s simply my life. I eat sleep and breathe music - who doesn’t!”
“At the moment NOTV 008 - my new solo EP ‘H.A.R.D.C.O.R.E Are U Ready’ is waiting to be released as soon as I get a release date sorted, shortly after that NOTV 009 will be a Marc Smith and Darwin EP and NOTV 010 is going to be something special indeed and lots, lots more - so keep ‘em peeled people.”
Busy it appears is Marc’s forte, especially in a production sense. Earlier this year he’d mixed a disc with Al Storm on the four CD Hardcore Underground 3 compilation; that also featured Brisk, Ham, Fracus, Darwin, Stormtrooper and CLSM. What sort of feedback had he got from that I asked and, how did it do overall?
“The feedback I have got has been simply awesome, but the feedback for the album as a whole has been sensational and that’s what’s more important! Because it was such a brilliantly crafted and well put together album from the Hardcore Underground team with different discs that catered for all aspects of the scene and we all showcased not only us as big names that were on there; but lots and lots of new up and coming talented producers coming through. It gave them a chance to let their music shine through and be heard by the masses, an amazing piece of work by all concerned it has to be said and we need more albums with this ethos! Lots more.” This nicely brought us to discussing the current plan to mix another disc on Hardcore Underground 4. What is in store for this edition – will we see more of some of the action we got on 3, would Marc be working with Al again on this one?
“Yeah well the cats already out of the bag on this one anyways - so yes I am doing another mix on the next ‘Hardcore Underground’ album, but unfortunately I won’t be mixing it with Al this time around. We had lots of fun on the last one, but no - this time I will be mixing it with my good friend Mr Brisk which should be equally as fun and also the end result of the whole album is shaping up to be something pretty special indeed!”
Much as I was excited by the concept of a Brisk & Marc Smith album collaboration, I felt the need to ask if anything, it must be incredibly hard work having to do two instalments of an album series inside of a year. Was he excited at the prospect of another edition so soon, did he welcome the challenge and why is it that Marc thought Hardcore Underground had chosen to release another so quickly?
“I was immensely excited! It is a bit of a challenge, but like I said this is what we do, so if we were not up to the challenge we wouldn’t be doing it. I think they want to get the next one out so quickly because there is a shortage of albums like this one that cater for such a more diverse market of ravers. With such a varied line up of styles of music and artists and the feedback from the first was so good, they now want to do another even bigger and even better album for the ravers!”
So two compilation albums this year alone and a number of singles and collaborations well under the belt (as well as a fair amount of petrol receipts), Marc had also been gearing up for the launch of DJ Marc Smith.com – which is imminent, and if we’re honest; had been a long time coming, but I hear worth the wait. “It has been the longest time coming in history” (he laughs) “…but yeah it’s all looking rather cool. Basically there will be a portal where anyone can get to any one of my online communities from the one place. Both the new Notorious Vinyl and Notorious White sites, Facebook, My Space, Bebo, etc, etc, etc. It will all be there from one click of a button and I just wanted it all done and updated, I think as far as the internet goes I’m lazy and I don’t use it or utilise it for the fans as much as I should; so thought it best to sort it out once and for all that’s all. It’s a digital world nowadays, so we best all embrace it huh?”
We chatted further on the subject for a time, and how it seems though now that social networking stature also is important for both up and coming artists and well established, famed artists such as Marc is. I asked him if he had all the usual fan friendly social networking accounts and as an artist, does he have someone else manage them for him or did he like to deal with messages, walls, tweets and other such distractions personally still?
“Yeah I have all the usual communities, although it takes up sooooo much of my time as I personally reply to every person that contacts me via them, it may take time for me to get back to some of them but; I do speak to each and every one of them.”
“I don’t have people running it for me, at the end of the day if it wasn’t for the fans that follow me and buy my music and come to raves to see me, I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today and I don’t think its too much to ask for me to take some time out of my life and spend some time chatting to them, is it in return? I am grateful for each and every one of them and I want them to know that! BIG LOVE to you all people!”
I must be honest and say I’m a huge fan of what’s been happening with Marc’s aforementioned hardstyle arm of the business – Force 9 with partner in crime and Scottish brethren Jay M. So much so in fact, I recently wrote a piece on it in Core Magazine. I asked him how Jay was and how things were with the mutual project Notorious White and what had they been cooking in that studio of theirs.
“Jay is cool man, I will pass on your props to him and your piece turned out to be a real corker” (I use this as an opportunity for a shameless plug that you can read it in Core Magazine – out now). “Things are all going real well for us at the moment we have just released the new Notorious White EP - NOTW 002, that’s just hit the shops and the reviews its getting are even better than NOTW 001. As I said earlier, I am spending all of next week up in Scotland locked in Notorious Studio No. 2 with Jay up in Perth working on our next 3 or 4 releases and finishing some other bits off. We have been trying to find the time to do and have plans for a very special EP, I don’t think people will believe one of the things we are working on, it’s going to be soooo gooood” (and yes he did extend and accentuate all his O’s in that part of the conversation).
We discussed Notorious for a while longer and realised that time was getting on for close to 1am, Marc had lent a considerable amount of his time talking to me and much as his endurance is unending (he is after all a machine when it comes to his craft), the need for me to zip off and edit it all for a swift Friday release was getting nearer. Marc is ultimately one of those interesting characters with such a vast history in music and knowledge thereof that you could chat to him all night and never get bored.
Resigning myself to the fact that we had to finish up soon (boo), I got to the centre focus of my current tour of duty on the phone this week to some of dance music’s finest – the upcoming Southern Sound Festival and how both he and Jay as Force 9 are headlining on Saturday on the Main Stage, representing Fusion’s part in the proceedings and, also with Marc also playing at the Official After Party on the Saturday night at The Opera House in his hardcore guise. “Indeed we are both so looking forward to the Festival its going to be mental, it will be good to show people who haven’t seen us do our Force 9 thing what exactly it is all about.”
“As for the hardcore, you know what’s in store - Smithy Style.”
I close by asking – would he and Jay be hanging around for the Sunday all day festivities back at the Festival?
“Hell yeah, we will definitely be hanging around for the festivities. You should know better than to ask me that Jon, you know I am the shy retiring type that doesn’t like crowds or parties”
I thanked him for his time, it is no lie – it’s always a pleasure… “Like wise sire again, you have made a happy man, very old (he laughs)”
Thank you… Marc Smith.
“Great success (I like to wrestle)”
Words: Jon Brown
Pic: Graham Rand0m Raver
WIN SIGNED NOTORIOUS VINYL GOODIES!
Win yourselves a signed copy of NOTV006, NOTV007 and the as yet unreleased NOTV008 on vinyl, as well as a Notorious Vinyl T-Shirt!
To win the NOTORIOUS goodies - simply answer the following question:-
Marc Smith was originally from where?
1) Kazahkstan
2) Scotland
3) Ireland
...and e-mail the answer with your full name and a contact telephone number we can get you on if you win with MARC SMITH HAPPY HARDCORE COMP in the header to [email protected] - simple!
Competition closes on Friday 4th September at 6pm - correctly answered entries will be stored, printed and then chosen at random by one of our team!
http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/poole/canford-park-arena/2009/sep/19/event-212399
OFFICIAL SOUTHERN SOUND FESTIVAL AFTER PARTY - THE OPERA HOUSE
http://www.dontstayin.com/uk/bournemouth/the-opera-house/2009/sep/19/event-218696
USEFUL LINKS FOR MORE INFORMATION
Southern Sound Festival Official Website
http://www.southernsoundfestival.co.uk
Marc Smith Official Website
http://www.djmarcsmith.com
Follow Southern Sound On Twitter
http://www.twitter.com/ssfestivaluk
Southern Sound Festival On Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=78196028345
Marc Smith On Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DJ-Marc-Smith/33707152377
Southern Sound Festival On My Space
http://www.myspace.com/southernsoundfestival
Marc Smith On Don't Stay In
http://www.dontstayin.com/members/dj-marcsmith
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Edited by - Full_On_Media on 2009/08/12 02:27:47 |
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