Category: Exclusive Mixes

 

 

Hi Dennis, we met the first time at Arena Club in Berlin. You was working as bouncer and I was there for the Escapism event (guest and helping a little bit at the cash desk). So we have to talk about working at a club door. Arena Club has a lot of very nice parties organised by different crew. How long do you already work as doorman in general and especially for the Arena Club?. Is it sometimes difficult to decide which people are right for the party at a certain night? Do you speak with the promoters about which kind of people they want for their party?

I’am working as a bouncer at the arena club since about two years. I haven’t been working as a bouncer before, actually i became one throuht true happenstance as a friend of us became to work in the management of arena club and asked me if I would be into working there at the door- and of course I sayed yes. In the meantime I got to know the people running parties there and naturally also the clientele. Mostly the first impression is significant enough to decide if someone fits into the club and if I let them pass the door or not. The audience of the different parties is actually not so much varying. I think for a bouncer it’s most importand to contribute to make the guest’s evening as well as possible. Part of this is to keep people away, that are not fitting into a technoclub as they are not coming to enjoy the music but to pick up a fight. That’s why it is so important in this job to have a good knowledge of human nature, as you don’t have much time to decide if you let someone in or not. To be fair and give everybody a chance, we mostly have a short chat with them before we make our decision. We for example want to know if they have an idea who’s playing at the club tonight.

 

You are also a DJ. You already released two mixes for the mix series of Ismus – one of these parties mentioned earlier. How did you get in touch with them and when did they ask you for the first mix? Are you part of the promoter crew?

Yes, fortunately I had the honor to release two mixes for Ismus. And I was really happy as they asked me for another podcast shortly after.

I made the contact to Ismus during their parties at Arena. In the course of the evening i got into conversation with Josh, the promoter of Ismus. I told him that I am djing and asked him if he would like to hear a set of mine. A view days later he wrote and asked me if i could record a podcast for them. Shortly after the first podcast had been released, he asked me for another one. That’s how our collaboration began.

 

 

A few weeks ago you played in Hanover. How was it playing outside of the party city Berlin? Who organised the booking?

As I grew up in Hannover and have already played there in the past, I know city pretty well. I also knew the host of HTD for a while. Eventough I have to say that my gig at the HTD Klubnacht was special to me. The party was very well organized, I have experienced this differently over the years. The soundsystem was one of the best I ever played on and the crowd also enjoyed it a lot over the three hours of the set. It simply was a great gig.

 

 

Where did you already play in general?

As I am working with Ismus only since a short time and it is not easy in Berlin to get offers for gigs, as there are so many people making music, I have no gigs in the next weeks. I also had to reject offers for gigs at the Suicide Circus and Griessmühle in August for privat reasons. The next time that i will be playing is in october at Griessmühle and again in Hannover.

 

Is there any DJ (or are there some DJs) who inspired you and their skills convinced you that you also want to be one?

Yes there are a lot of artists that have been inspriering me over the years, but it’s hard to get concrete about that as there are so producers and DJs releasing great techno music. Only to drop a view names: Keith Carnal, Rraph, MTD. They gave me good impulses in the last time and I admire their last releases a lot

 

 

While doing your bouncer job you hear a lot of music. Do you listen to some tracks with more intense than others because you like them (known or not)? Do you get some inspiration from the sets and DJs at the events taking place while you are doing the security job?

Yes I definitily get inspired by the sets of the djs, but unfortunately you don’t really have the time to focus on music during the work at the club. At the door, you hear the music only partially, what makes it quite impossible to listen to it truthfully. But still it’s awsome have the possibility to listen to good techno music during the work.

 

For sure you saw many different club nights and party concepts. Was there something that really impressed and inspired you? Any situation that kept in your mind?

Every night brings new astonishments and pleasant surpises, it never gets boring. Of course you experience alot during the 12 hours you are working at the door. For example guests who overshoot their borders and go to far. There have been a fiew risky moments in the past, but over all the most people are peacefull and just want to have a nice evening. And there are some really special events were you can see things you don’t get to see in a “normal” club, but that’s what makes working at Arena so special.

 

Did you ever think about running your own party (series)?

About five years ago, I have hosted two parties in Hannover. It was a good experience, but I have perceived quickly that I am not really into it and that I want to focus on the music.

 

 

Many DJs are also producers. Did you already create some own tracks? Any plans for making some and to release it?

Yes I know it’s a advantage to produce if you want to raise your level of awarness. But to be honest I just don’t have the time to really become acquainted with that by now, as I am married and have another full-time job. If I do it, I’ll try to do it right.

 

What are your plan for the future?

Actually I have no concrete plans, as it is difficult to plan for a longterm in the scene. I’ll just get it for me. I am just hoping that it is continuing as good as it is now and that the next gigs will be as mind blowing as the last ones.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark Groot is a producer and artist from the Netherlands. This young and talented man quit law school and dedicated his life to only one thing; his Music.

He followed a course on SAE (Audio Engineering school) and graduated with honors. Besides his work as a producer and DJ he works at Delsin Records, where he takes care of the vinyl shop.

His music is flowy; sometimes even sort of hypnotizing but direct hitting. In his tracks as well as his sets you can hear that Mark likes to play with different moods. Catch people with dynamic and tense music and after that get them back on the ground. This skill together with his open minded and friendly personality makes him Mark Groot.

Mark Groot in short is a positive, passionate and very driven person with a clear goal in his head.

 

Hi Mark. We met virtually the first time at the end of 2015. If I remember right, you sent me some tracks. How did you find the NovaFuture Blog and why did you have the idea of sending tracks to the “guys” running it?

Yes that’s true. I actually used NovaFuture Blog for some time to dig new music. Of course Hardwax and Decks are great ways to find new music, but what I like about blogs is that you can also find unofficial releases from talented producers. 

At the time I sent my tracks over I was in an audio engineering school. It was that time where I decided to fully focus on my music and step up the game. 

So I thought let’s try NovaFuture Blog. 

 

Actually we fell in love with your stuff immediately and wanted to support you so we published the first feature about you, the self-released EP “Never Try Never Know”. When did you produce it and what was your inspiration for it?

I remember making those tracks in the studio at my school. It was the very first EP I made where I felt like it was good enough to send out. I wouldn’t say there was a specific inspiration for it. I always see it like this, you have inspiration versus processing. Inspiration would be the part where a specific creative idea pop ups in your head after some sort of stimulus. 

This EP was more a processing type of workflow. This means you just start working and while you create, you come up with new elements that fit. It’s more playful I would say. 

Of course I’m influenced by a lot of things I hear and see, but that’s more like an unconscious process. 

 

 

Who are your favourite producers & DJs? What inspires you in general?

At the moment my favorite DJs would be Ben Klock and Marcel Dettmann.

I think no matter where in the world those guys play, they always succeed in creating the vibe that’s needed. True Techno gurus. 

The same question for producers would be harder to answer. I don’t have one specific person whose productions I all dig. 

But it would be names like, Jeroen Search, Kobosil, Z.I.P.P.O, Nthng, Altinbas, Dold, Jonas Friedlich, Sterac, FJAAK, DVS1, Prince of Denmark, Robert Hood and also Klock and Dettmann. Let’s stop there because there is almost no end to this list. 

 

 

You also work at Delsin Records in your home town Amsterdam. Is that a source for inspiration too? What are you doing there and how did you get the job?

Lots of music is being played at the office of Delsin so of course in a way it affects me and influences me, but I think more in a subconscious way. I wouldn’t say after work I feel the most inspired. 

To get the job, I actually just sent the guys of Delsin a mail asking if they needed someone. Luckily, they could use some help at the vinyl section. So I take care of that now. 

 

After the first feature and another one, your EP “YWIMC” on Naught Music, we started a closer co-operation by releasing together the EPs “Matter Of Time”, “DE.LETE” and “Influence”. We released each of them step by step, track by track. How did you come up with that idea?

True. I remember having lots of tracks done. Some very different from each other, so I thought it would be better to give all the tracks a chance to be properly heard. 

One every week seemed like a good concept to me and it worked out well. 

 

 

But you are not only a producer but also a DJ. You released 2 mixes on your own soundcloud and one podcast for Upperberry. How did the guy behind Upperberry get in contact with you and do you know why/how you got hisattention?

About a year ago the guys of Upperberry contacted me asking if I wanted to do a feature on their blog. They offered to have me participate in their podcast series. 

I’m not sure how they found me, but I think they heard some of my productions. Maybe through NovaFuture since they are also from Berlin.

 

You also played a few gigs. Tell us about them. Who arranged them? How is it for you to play in front of an audience?

For now I arrange all of my gigs myself. When I was younger, I played a lot at local clubs in my hometown and even on the radio. So I already experienced some of that.

But of course it’s great to take people on a journey with your music selection. It really doesn’t matter if there are 500 people enjoying the music or just 10, seeing people enjoy what you do is already a great feeling. 

 

 

Did you also play your own tracks? How was the audience’s reaction?

I haven’t played my own tracks yet. I’m always very critical and precise about my own tracks and selecting tracks for gigs, but I’m sure I will soon. 

 

You are from the Netherlands. Do you like the techno scene there? Did you ever visit a club in Berlin or Germany? Do you see any differences and/or similarities?

I have lived in Amsterdam for 5 years now and at the moment the techno scene here is quite alright. After the closing of club ‘Trouw’ there was a year where Amsterdam really missed a good techno club. But pretty recently two new clubs opened, ‘De School’ and ‘Shelter,’ and those clubs fill the void pretty well. 

Besides the clubs, Amsterdam is almost famous for its amount of festivals that take place. Festivals like ‘Dekmantel Festival’ are a real addition to the techno scene here in my opinion. 

I did visit some clubs in Germany and also specifically in Berlin, but I have not experienced enough in the Berlin techno scene to really give my opinion about it.

A big difference between Amsterdam and Berlin though would be the opening hours of the club.

In Berlin the Saturday til Monday culture is way more integrated than in Amsterdam. There are some clubs here that can be open for 24 hours but it’s just not yet integrated enough in the culture. To me, that’s a big miss. 

 

 

What are your plans regarding DJing?

To do as many shows as possible. This summer I already got some nice bookings scheduled  such as the closing act on a festival and playing in a big church outside of Amsterdam. 

There are also some more exiting things coming up where I can’t say too much about, yet. 

I also hope to play in Berlin soon. 

 

Do you have some new productions in the pipeline? What’s coming in that area?

Yes yes yes, you can expect a new EP of mine including remixes, which I’m very excited about.