Nicolas: Hi I’m Nicolas from Trance Republic. Tonight I’m interviewing Marco V and he is going to play at Zouk very shortly from now. Marco can I start by asking you, how did you come into DJing? How did you start DJing?
Marco V: I start DJing a long time ago because I like music a lot. There is not really a person or a band or whatever. Yes, I started as a bedroom DJ 20 years ago, when there was no House. There was only like rock and disco. That’s when I started to be a DJ.
Nicolas: And what made you decide to go into DJing? Why did you want to do it?
Marco V: You can’t explain this. You love music and you want to do something more with it. And then you start to play. That’s why, also because I love music so much, I started producing tracks years, years later.
Nicolas: Yes and the first time you played out, can you tell us how it was and how old were you?
Marco V: Yeah, the first time will be, I think I was 14. I started you know with my own little turntables like those school parties playing for 20, 30 people. And for me it was just as great back then as it is now to play for Sensation. You know what I mean, the same feeling. You can’t describe it. If you love music that much, it’s great to play for people.
Nicolas: Now Marco, many people describe your music that you play as something like tech trance. But can you tell us in your own words what type of music are you playing for us?
Marco V: That’s difficult because I don’t really play one style of music. I play different styles. I don’t think I really play tech trance because I play techno and I play trance, but also play some progressive. And I mix it all together and that’s how you get my sound.
Nicolas: I see. What influences you into creating a set? What motivates you? Can you tell us?
Marco V: What do you mean?
Nicolas: What kind of inspiration do you draw? When you play your tracks? What do you think about?
Marco V: When I’m playing a set? If I think what you are meaning, I play songs that I really like and I don’t care if its trance or techno. I don’t care what other people call it as long as I think it’s good and I like it.
Nicolas: Ok. And can you tell us how do you feel when you play your own tracks and everyone goes crazy like in Sensation, Dance Valley, Global Gathering?
Marco V: That’s the best experience you can ever have. Playing your own song you made where you are very proud of, and you play it for a big crowd. And they go nuts, that’s again, you cant describe it, it’s such a great feeling like WOW.
Nicolas: Can you share with us the most wonderful experience in DJing? Which was the most wonderful?
Marco V: Once I played in a party in St Petersburg, it was an old fortress and you can only go with boats to it and there were like 5000 people on the island, and 20000 on the side. You can see the island from the side but u need a boat to get to it. And everyone was dancing on the coast and on the island. It was really, really good.
Nicolas: I see. Can u also share with us, Marco, your most embarrassing moment on the set? Can you recall your most embarrassing moment?
Marco V: I think one of them will be Sensation last year, when I was in the DJ booth and suddenly the mixing board went like (snapping fingers) BOOF! Go out. But you know, you are in middle of 50000 people and the whole sound system is in the middle, the stage there (using his hands to recreate the scenario). Before the sound engineers are there…(everyone laughs) I was like, what are we doing now?
Marco V: I was fixing myself, I turned out the mixing board, restarting everything and I was happy to go on again.
Nicolas: But was the crowd unhappy about this thing?
Marco V: Yeah, it was like WOAH!
Nicolas: Ok, tell us who are your favourite DJs in this world? That you respect and look up to?
Marco V: Yeah I see a lot of DJs changing now and then, but there are 2 DJs that I really like at the moment. And that’s Danny Howells and from, Holland, Sander Kleinenberg. These I really like.
Nicolas: Can you also tell us what are your favourite tracks of all time? Maybe 1 or 2 of you favourite songs of all time?
Marco V: Hmm… One of them will be the Age of Love from Age of Love.
Nicolas: You remixed them.
Marco V: Yeah I did it. That why I remixed it. And Energy 52... (Everybody laughs)
Nicolas: Very good tracks. Now I want to talk about the music that you have been producing. You produce tracks with your partner Benjamin Bates.
Marco V: Yeah
Nicolas: And you are going to continue working with him?
Marco V: Yeah, yeah, we’re working already for I think 7 years.
Nicolas: 7 years? Will you be looking towards working with other partners in future?
Marco V: Yeah you never know, you never know but we are such good mates and we have worked so long already together, I don’t think I will go another studio with somebody else. It’s not all about having to see success. We are very good friends also and I think that’s very important in the studio to have a good time, not only thinking about success.
Nicolas: I agree that’s very important. Can you tell us what production equipment you used or did you start with?
Marco V: What I started with? I started with an Atari and a little computer with Cubase and I had an old Akai S-1000 sampler. Like 4mb memory card … like terrible. (Laughs)
Nicolas: And of course you have moved on from then?
Marco V: Yeah, now I have a whole studio full of equipment and I’m working with Logic at the moment.
Nicolas: Logic? That’s your favourite software?
Marco V: Yeah. I started with Cubase years ago and I moved to Logic. It was different, it was difficult for me in the beginning but now I’m very happy with Logic.
Nicolas: When you write your songs, do you actually get any inspiration for example from relationships or from people? Where do get your inspiration?
Marco V: The only thing I want to do with my music is to keep the crowd moving, making nice driven sets and for that nice driven records like a lot of percussion in it. But I don’t have like really…
Nicolas: I see. How long do you really take to normally write a song? Days? Months?
Marco V: I wished (Everyone laughs) No. You have to spend a lot of hours in the studio and all the hours that you are in the studio, you have some real good hours that you will be producing your tracks. Sometimes in a day and next week you will be making nothing. It’s difficult to say. It’s all about inspiration so you cant… there’s no…(smiles)
Nicolas: And do you plan to work with any vocalists in the future?
Marco V: Hmm. My new album is …a…I’m working with some vocalists. And it’s coming out in 2005. There will be some vocal songs on it.
Nicolas: What is the name of the album?
Marco V: I don’t know yet. (everyone laughs)
Nicolas: Now why do you think your fans like your music so much? You have many fans, why do they follow you?
Marco V: I don’t know. It’s difficult to say but the thing I hear a lot from the people that like my music is that they can hear immediately when I’m playing. We don’t have to see you, we know when you are playing. We listen to the music, we can hear you. Your sound is so -
Nicolas: Distinctive?
Marco V: Yeah, we have our own sound. I think that’s why they like it. But it’s difficult to say for me. (Everyone laughs) You have to ask the people who love my music.
Nicolas: Let me ask you, outside of music, what is your favourite hobby? What do you when you have free time.
Marco V: That’s the problem for me. I wished I have more time because… (everyone laughs) I’m spending so much hours in the studio and I’m traveling all over the world doing my gigs so there is not much time left. I need to sleep now and then and eats sometimes (everyone laughs again)
Nicolas: But maybe if you have time?
Marco V: If I have time, I like…a… I like tennis a lot. But I didn’t do enough for the last 6, 7, 8 years.
Nicolas: And if you were not a DJ, not a producer, what do you think you will be doing? Any idea? No?
Marco V: No, because you know I have been in music for all my life already. DJing. Besides my normal day job.
Nicolas: And you are currently ranked No 15 in the world. Do you have any ambitions to be a higher ranked DJ?
Marco V: Of course. It’s not all about the list. But it’s always good to see when you are moving upwards. But the list is not all about, how do I say that? It’s more about popularity, that’s my opinion.
Nicolas: It is.
Marco V: Than it is how good you are. So I like to go up but its not all about, I’m not focused on the list, you know what I mean? I’m not complaining if I’m going up this year. (Everyone laughs)
Nicolas: Do you have anything to say to your fans globally?
Marco V: Yeah that’s I’m just going on what I’m doing. I hope people still like what I’m doing in the future.
Nicolas: Just a last question for you. What can the crowd tonight at Zouk expect from you?
Marco V: I hope? They can expect from me? I like to start off with some progressive, percussion kind of tracks and built up to trances and end with some techno. That’s what I like to do. But if they don’t like it? I have to switch here and there and make another set. (Everyone laughs)
Nicolas: Ok thank you very much Marco.
Marco V: Welcome.
Nicolas: And that was Marco V with Trance Republic.
