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Interview with Marc French
Reported by Sharon B
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Submitted 08-10-03 17:46
Having been part of the London clubbing scene for the best part of a decade, Marc French, Heat’s resident DJ, is renown for his high energy and uplifting Hard Trance and Dance sets. Well respected by clubbers and promoters alike, Marc has just recently moved into production, with his first solo effort “Killer Disco” being released this Saturday at Heat Vinyl’s launch party at Turnmills. Having already had a fantastic year so far with sets at Sundissential, Space in Ibiza, The Coronet and other prominent venues and promotions, Sharon B took some time out to chat with Marc about his DJ’ing career and hopes for the future both as a DJ and producer.
Marc hard at work playing the main room at Turnmills
Sharon B: You have been a prominent figure on the hard dance circuit for many years now. How did you first get into DJ’ing and what is it about the scene that keeps you constantly involved?
Marc French: It was my interest in dance music that led me into the whole DJ’ing thing. I was into early NY Electro back in the 80's, and was fascinated by the DJ culture of that genre. That caused the spark but it wasn¹t until a decade later that I purchased my first set of decks and got into running house parties. Apart from DJ’ing it’s my full-time job as graphic designer that keeps me constantly involved in the scene. Part of this job is to produce all the flyers and artwork associated with the Heat brand.
SB: Have you always been a hard dance DJ? If you could encompass another genre what would it be and why?
MF: I started my dance music collection buying Hip Hop and Rare Groove, doing my own remixes on 4 track tape decks and stuff like that. I moved into the House thing pretty much as soon as it generated in 87 – 88, buying tracks like Sterling Void’s "Alright" and Richie Rich’s "Salsa House", massive club anthems at the time, at places like Spectrum (The Soundshaft) and Dingwalls in Camden. Back then the "Hard" music was the original Acid House and Belgian Nu Beat, but generally a DJ’s sets would encompass all genres of dance music - as long as it had a 4/4 kick and hi hat it would go off! When the real "Hard" movement of 97-98 began I was DJ’ing all forms of House and Trance. If I was to do something other than hard music it would probably be the complete opposite - more chillout stuff.
SB: What goes through your head when you pack your record bag? Do you have a set idea in your mind when getting your tunes together as to what you will play, how you want to your set to progress etc or do you prefer to improvise on the night?
MF: A core of current tracks stay in the bag together with a small amount of regularly requested corkers. I do like to spend a few hours on the decks at home during the week getting into the week’s new tunes, trying different mixes for the best dynamics etc. I will quite often get requests, especially at Heat, so I need to be able to bang a track in straight away!
SB: Your tune selection in itself is very unique – where do you look when buying tunes and what do you look out for when making your selections? Do you listen to a tune the whole way through in a record shop or do you listen out for a particular riff or sound that grabs your attention? How do you know when you’ve chosen a good tune – is it instinct or experience?
MF: My tune selection depends pretty much on where I’m playing. I may go a harder in some places but generally play my UK Hard Dance style every set. My tunes are either sent in the post or purchased at my favourite record shop, Mad Records in Soho. I guess choosing good tunes also comes from the reputations of artists and labels. There are particular producers I keep an eye out for, established talents such as Guyver and James Lawson amongst others, and more recently will always keep track of newcomers such as Alex Calver and Barry Diston. Roland & Wright have made a big impression this year also.
Marc French and Daniel Ro
SB: You are very much renown for your solo success as a DJ – do you ever play back-to-back sets? If you could play back-to-back with any DJ who would it be and why?
MF: I have played a few back 2 backs, with Daniel Ro, Spencer Freeland and Roosta amongst others. If I could play back to back with any one else I would like either Steve Blake or Sharkboy. Blakey would be a laugh and we would be able to jump up and down a lot, and Sharkboy would be particularly fitting with his musical style.
SB: You have played at some amazing venues: Turnmills, Camden Palace, Space in Ibiza – where is your favourite venue to play and why?
MF: Space & Turnmills, and more recently The Cross. These have all been special venues with wicked crowds plus the added advantage of having mental sound systems. DJs dream of playing these venues, what more can I say!
SB: You have been involved with Heat since its conception and are their sole resident. Having had the opportunity to have played at some of London’s biggest and best venues and events how does it feel to be part of such a successful promotions team?
MF: It has been a good experience working with Heat, we have a great relationship and I have a fair involvement with the day to day running of the club. Much of the initial theme and marketing of each party is undertaken by myself together with the promoters.
SB: Throughout your entire DJ career, which is your most memorable set and why? What was it that it made it so special for you?
MF: Recently I’d say that Space in Ibiza for Ibizan Heat and Brixton Academy NYE were very memorable for me being the first time playing at such venues. Going back over the years there have been countless sets that invoke all sorts of memories, one of the most infamous was probably the set at Club UK in October 1996 (I think) where my residency was terminated by a massive police raid on the place!
SB: In June you were involved with Ibizan Heat and got to play some world famous venues. Do you enjoy playing abroad and would you consider doing a DJ tour?
MF: As I mentioned before, Space was a real buzz, however it was not the first time I had been on the decks at the venue, I had played in Ibiza many years earlier, this time however was the first time I had played that hard in Ibiza! I have regular invitations to play in Corsica during the summer months and last April saw my first visit to Japan to play at Energy Dai’s night “World Love”. Plans are currently being arranged for a tour of South Africa in December with the USA, Australia, NZ and Japan to follow in 2004.
SB: You have recently produced your first solo tune “Killer Disco” which is coming out on the Heat label and has gone down a storm on the dance floor. What finally made you decide to go into production and how easy was it for you to make the move from DJ to producer?
MF: DJ producers are at the forefront of Dance music, I thought it was time to join them! It never used to be the DJ’s responsibility to make the tracks. Engineers would give us tracks to test them in the clubs - that has turned complete circle these days. A few years ago I was on a promotion team that fuelled the whole DJ producer thing, helping out with DJ bookings at my old residency “Odyssey” brought very early London bookings for DJs BK and Andy Farley at Club 414 in Brixton. Now it is necessary, or a great advantage, to have production skills in order to gain recognition in the DJ world. My work with James Lawson on Heat Vinyl’s first release was the result of superb engineering skills and bags of energy!
SB: Will we be seeing more Marc French tunes coming out? What are your hopes/plans with regards to production?
MF: Expect a follow up to Killer Disco in the not too distant future...
SB: You produced a tune earlier in the year with Daniel Ro; any further collaborations planned for the near future?
MF: Daniel and I collaborated on a project for his Peroxide label "Power & Control" which has just had full release. I am currently working with Trance man Ian Betts.
Marc French at Heat, Turnmills
SB: Dave Lochrie has done a fabulous remix of Killer Disco already. How do you feel about remixes in general?
MF: Dave’s mix of Killer Disco takes the original spirit of the track and gives it a different flavour, its great. Also listen out for the Trance remix by Ian Betts, it’s also wicked.
SB: October 11th sees the launch of the Heat label with killer Disco being a prominent title of their productions. How does it feel to finally have your tune out on vinyl and what are the hopes for the Heat label? What genres are going to be produced? Will it just be Hard Dance or will we see other styles like house, funky house, techno etc as well?
MF: At present Heat Vinyl is focusing on Hard Dance synonymous with the Heat sound with artists such as Prime Mover and Roland & Wright contributing work. We’ll be previewing a lot of this material this Saturday night at the Turnmills launch party.
SB: Technics have just released their first ever CD decks and with it many people are arguing that we are going to be witnessing the death of vinyl within the next 2-3years. Do you think this will be the case? Will CD production take over vinyl and if so what implications do you think this will have on the future of DJ’ing?
MF: I would expect that these Technics decks will be installed in clubs but I don’t think every DJ will own a pair with the price tag on them. Plus CD singles are not commercially available when it comes to labels like Nukleuz, Tidy etc and until efficient copy protect systems are in place then I would say this is unlikely also. But if the age old rumour of the death of vinyl ever does come to pass, I’ll be ready to adapt as are most other DJs I know.
SB: As a DJ yourself do you rely on CD mixing for your sets? What benefits are there to a DJ to have the ability to mix on CD?
MF: I rely on CDs when it comes to playing unreleased material, it’s a lot more practical than the days of getting plates cut at £40 a go in order to play stuff fresh out of the studio.
SB: As a producer how do you feel about the ease with which people can put tunes onto CD? Do you think it will be possible to ensure some form of copyright to stop illegal copying of tunes or do you feel that it will go the way of MP3’s on the internet with a lot of illegal duplication of tunes?
MF: Its great for the ability to pass on new material for the purpose of promotion for your tracks, but they are always in danger of easy duplication if passed on to the wrong party. Just be careful who you give your CDRs to! There are copy protect systems being developed that will protect marketed CDs, but at the end of the day its never going to be difficult to reproduce digital recordings what with software work around and so on.
The laser says it all!
SB: Where do you feel the future of dance music is heading? If CD mixing becomes the norm do you fear that there will be an even greater influx of bedroom DJ’s creating their own music and playing that out rather than opting for tunes produced by professionals and released on labels? Do think this will be a positive step forward with the introduction of more original sounds or impact negatively on the scene with a lot of amateur productions created in people’s bedrooms?
MF: There could very well become a massive influx of "bedroom producers", especially with the trend of DJs feeling the need to be producing to gain a reputation as a "serious" artist. There will be those that produce quality tunes, and if they are to showcase their material instead of buying vinyl then great, we will be hearing an original set that wont be heard anywhere else. If there are DJs out there making sub standard amateur productions then I should hope they will remain in their bedrooms until they are ready to play out!
SB: This year in particular we have witnessed a major decline in numbers to events all over the country. Why do you think that is? Is it due to people’s tastes changing or too much on offer to the clubber as smaller promotions are introduced thus having supply greater than demand?
MF: There seems to be a lot of negativity about the future of clubbing these days, maybe it is a result of people’s taste in dance music being finely tuned and so are fussy about the clubs they attend. This may show as a smaller amount of people attending as a whole, but quality events are still bringing in the numbers on a regular basis.
SB: There has been a major rise in the number of up-and-coming DJ’s in the last 2 years, as can be witnessed on most hard dance websites with the majority of people being either bedroom or up-and-coming DJ’s. Are DJ’s now outnumbering clubbers in the dance world? Do you think this is having a negative impact on the scene with industry lists seemingly growing ever larger as time goes on?
MF: I think that the Antipodean party scene is a particularly healthy place for up and comers to express themselves because of their networks within their community and the ability to build a following amongst like minded travellers. I have to admit the industry guest list is not as an elite place as it used to be.
SB: On the occasions that you go out as a clubber and not a DJ – what do you look for in a night? What’s the most important aspect of an event that will draw you to attend it?
MF: I like to go to Fabric when they are playing Techno in the second room. I recently saw Dave Angel there. I also enjoy socialising at other parties such as Become One and Ground Zero.
SB: Have you always been creative? What was your favourite subject at school?
MF: School had no bearing on myself as a DJ. I hated music lessons! Apparently they are teaching mixing in music lessons now. Beats blowing on a recorder.
SB: Not only do you work as a DJ but are a renowned and respected Graphic Designer, having done flyers for Heat, Fevah, Farenhite and many other club events. How did you get into Graphic Design and flyer production?
MF: I have worked in advertising alongside my DJ career for some years now. I studied graphic design when I was younger and my interest in DJ’ing naturally led me to meet people that need design work within the dance industry.
Heat promoter Damian Gelle and Marc French
SB: With so many events on each week and so many nights you must have a heavy workload as a flyer designer - how easy is it for you to keep coming up with fresh ideas, especially when striving to be different and unique for each event? Do promoters come to you with an outline for what they are looking for or are you given a carte blanche when it comes to creativity?
MF: Some promoters have particularly strong themes which I have to engineer into a printable product. I work very well with Heat like this - there is never a problem creating a new Heat flyer! Look out next month for Darth Vader’s shattered helmet with Karim’s smoking face appearing behind it.
SB: What are your plans for the near and distant future? Where will we be able to watch you play out in the next few months and what are your long term hopes for the future?
MF: Coming up very soon is the Heat trip to Amsterdam, also this year dates at Sundissential, Brixton Academy, Evolution’s 1st Birthday at The Fridge, and a tour of South Africa. Next year sees a return of Saturday day parties at The Cross and after the success of the first one this will be a fresh and exciting residency for me. Production dates are sorted and the design company (Evolution Design) is going from strength to strength.
To view Marc French’s DJ page click here
Photo’s courtesy of Stevie, midnightexpressions and Andy T from HF Photo’s forum
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Other Features By Sharon B:
What's it all about? Alfie! - Getting Technikal with Alf Bamford
Heat UK presents....SW4!!! - Interview with Damian Gelle
Interview with TWIST promoter Steve Darragh
Interview with Innovate Resident Nick Sentience
Interview with Ferry Corsten
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Danny Gilligan on 8th Oct 2003 20:33.34
GET IN THERE FRENCHY!!! SEE U IN SA BRU!!!
From: Dom on 8th Oct 2003 20:37.08
Nicely done  Haven't heard killer disco yet but to be honest I'm a big fan of the 'hands in the air breakdown' on his phone  
From: Marc Johnson on 8th Oct 2003 20:40.57
Top man
From: 00Frenchy on 8th Oct 2003 22:06.34
Ah yes, the "disturbing the peace" mix as your neighbour called it Dom
From: timmyd9 on 8th Oct 2003 22:49.55
Top interview Sharon. Mark, the video that's often shown at Heat which shows highlights of heat since its first garden party, are there any plans for its release?
From: Not Marcus on 9th Oct 2003 08:51.25
Nice work Sharon, Marc
From: Richard Launch on 9th Oct 2003 09:45.46
Dave Lochrie Mix of Killer Disco  *
From: 00Frenchy on 9th Oct 2003 09:52.34
Hey Tim, theres only the one copy at the mo, but I ll have a look at getting more duplicated, I want one myself!
From: BottleofWater on 9th Oct 2003 10:16.49
I'm really looking forward to the launch on saturday Save me a bouncing spot Mr.
From: Ian Betts on 9th Oct 2003 10:54.26
Great questions again Sharon and some none to shabby answers too - not too sure about the trance route your tunes are taking though mate  You deserve all the success coming your way  
From: 00Frenchy on 9th Oct 2003 11:05.11
Betts - We shall become the NO 1 production duo with the new direction in dance - Hard Fluff
From: Ian Betts on 9th Oct 2003 11:08.15
You never know, it might just catch on......
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 11:21.06
Booooray!!!!!
From: Karl Alexander on 9th Oct 2003 11:37.11
good interview sharon & mark
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 11:47.02
Even more booray when you return to the darkside one day and play techno Marc..
From: 00Frenchy on 9th Oct 2003 13:46.13
Oi Flake, Talking of DARKSIDE have you seen karim lately
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 14:18.04
ahh yes he is looking well, if not a little a angry - damned force you know.... Great flyer Marc
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 14:33.39
ahh yes he is looking well, if not a little a angry - damned force you know.... Great flyer Marc
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 15:38.28
ahh yes he is looking well, if not a little a angry - damned force you know.... Great flyer Marc
From: Jeff Flake on 9th Oct 2003 16:22.15
ahh yes he is looking well, if not a little a angry - damned force you know.... Great flyer Marc
From: little Em on 10th Oct 2003 10:07.24
u rock mark, always have and always will...keep it up!
From: Steve Prince on 10th Oct 2003 12:31.02
welldone mate keep it up av some
From: Dirk Diggler on 10th Oct 2003 21:45.39
''...was into early NY Electro back in the 80's..''Mark what do you think of the newish electro clash stuff being produced by Ladytron etc?
From: Alex Parsons on 11th Oct 2003 11:06.20
Yes yes Marc... Keep it up matey. You'll go far!
From: 00Frenchy on 11th Oct 2003 14:09.56
Not overly familiar that all that stuff (Ladytron) these days, was into it when everyone was spinning on their heads to "Lookin for the perfect beat" etc... Soul Sonic Force... fuckin class mate!
From: Maria on 13th Oct 2003 23:13.09
Keep it freshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!
From: Andy T on 14th Oct 2003 08:58.55
Nice 1 Marc shame I couldnt come to the launch first Heat I have missed in over a year, cant wait to get my copy of killer disco
From: shazzabazza on 15th Oct 2003 17:23.07
Big congratulations to the Heat team for their Vinyl Launch - and many many thanks to Marc for his time and answers.
A true Superstar DJ if ever there was one!
From: ~deleted1390 on 18th Oct 2003 17:14.46
Top bloke - Top Tune! Excellent Interview.
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