During Dancefair 2015 we did our very first interview with former Mixmash Recordings artist Marc Benjamin. Marc stood out for us because of his music and recent Tomorrowland performance on Laidback Luke’s Super You And Me stage & we felt like it was a great idea to put him in the spotlights. We stayed in touch and thought it was a good idea to catch up, so we met up & here’s the result!
Hi Marc, it has been a while! How are you doing?
Yeah, I’m good thanks! We had a short chat during Dancefair 2016 but it was definitely time to properly catch up!
Agreed! A lot can happen in one year but could you name some highlights?
Sure! It has been quite a rollercoaster ride for me, I’ve been able to do another official remix for Zedd and also played as support-act on the event that was a part of his tour at Melkweg, Amsterdam. Of course it was also amazing to do a collab with Benny Benassi. I’ve played on the Ultra Korea Countdown Tour in Macau and Singapore (20th and 21st of may 2016) and did a few more other international gigs and tours which was an incredible experience! Lastly it was great to do a follow-up of ‘We’re Forever’ with Laidback Luke called ‘Tell Me That You Love Me’.
We can imagine those are massive highlights for you indeed! How on earth do you even manage to get in touch with guys like Zedd and Benny Benassi
Good question! These are all quite cool stories. I said during the first interview already that I really wanted to do a collab with Benny Benassi and I actually made that happen which is really special to me. My connection with Zedd & Benny started when I released ‘Riser’ on Afrojack’s label Wall Recordings in the end of 2013. They loved it and we stayed in touch, started sending bits of music to each other and you know how it goes. It has been a great honour to do a remix for Zedd and open for him, he’s a really nice guy!
Thanks for explaining that Marc. These are stories that most DJ’s aren’t very open about, it’s an eye-opener to hear it from you. Let’s discuss your musical path for a bit, looking at your discography we see that you’ve made the transition from tech-house to progessive-house in the past, haven’t you?
Yes, that’s correct. In 2007 I came across Thomas Helsloot. We decided to sit together and we instantly noticed the presence of a great musical connection. If I would explain him an idea he was able to translate that perfectly into music. He’s my co-producer and we always work together on projects and I’m 100% involved, I mean who doesn’t need a good friend who understands you and where you want to go with your productions. Our vision has been that ‘The melody always wins’ and that will never change.
Good call! The melody is definitely an important part of a tune. Speaking of music, it has been quite a long time since you’ve had a release. What are you currently working on?
Well yeah that reason for that is that I’ve been touring a lot! Of course I had my residency every Thursday too at Escape Amsterdam. On July 7th my 5 years of being a resident will finish because the concept will be replaced by something new. It has been great but it’s time for a new chapter in my career now. I’m working on a few collabs with amongst others like Regilio, Raiden and DNMKG. Besides that, I’m preparing new originals too of course. Make sure to keep an eye on my channels for a preview after summer.
We sure will and so will our readers. Since we’re talking about new music, we’re curious how do you come up with inspiration for new music?
Basically the inspiration can come from anywhere. Personally I mostly get it from listening to other music, especially older tunes. I like to analyze them and that can speed up my own process in the studio. Sometimes Thomas has a great idea and we start working on it. As I say, inspiration just comes & goes.
Alright Marc, we’ll keep an eye on you and wish you the best of luck with your new chapter!
Thanks guys & thanks for the interview!
© Festivalling.com
Interviewer: Alexander Bouten