Marcus Barnes is a music journalist with ten years extensive experience in both print and online writing. He is Techno Editor at Mixmag, Social Media Marketing Manager at Point Blank music school and contributes features, reviews and interviews to various publications including Resident Advisor, Ibiza Voice, The Word (Belgium), i-D Online, Notion Magazine, Meoko and more. He also hosts a show on www.hoxtonfm.co.uk every Saturday 8pm-10pm (GMT).
A little while back I received an EP from No.19 Records, their Spring Sampler – a collection of tracks from a various different musicians. I wasn’t overly impressed to begin with (although I love it now) but there was one track that really stood out for me. It was called Falling From Grace, by Tony Smart and Terence Kissner, and it completely blew me away. Deep, sullen and rolling – I had it on repeat for ages. I recently to get in touch with one of the guys who made it, Tony, and we had a really interesting chat about his on/off relationship with music, his dad’s influence and his connection with a famous UK DJ… and he recorded a brilliant exclusive mix for me too.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 23 April 2012 at 12:07 pm
Bristol is without a doubt one of the country’s most fertile cities in terms of electronic music. Exports such as Massive Attack, Portishead and Roni Size are a testament to Bristol’s ability to produce musical talents who can really make an impact on the world stage. Today the city continues to sprout new talent and exciting new acts, one of those being Waifs & Strays (Amos Nelson and Rich Beanland). Last year their thunderous house track ‘Yeah Yeah’ was ubiquitous, so much so that I named it as one of my top tracks of 2011 and they’ve carried on the momentum created by their success last year into 2012 with lots of exciting projects on the agenda and a hectic touring schedule.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Thursday, 19 April 2012 at 4:00 am
I often wonder what life on the road as a DJ is like, from what I can gather it’s not always as glamorous as one might imagine. Ok, so they get to travel the world playing the music they love to thousands of people every week – but, in reality despite the obvious plus points there’s the down points too – constant tiredness, traveling from one airport to another to another, never really seeing much of the city you’re playing in. Ok, hardly the end of the world, but still it’s not all one big party. To illustrate their life on the road as DJs, German duo Pan-Pot (Tassilo Ippenberger and Thomas Benedix) have released an hour-long DVD based using footage from their various gigs. I spoke to them about the new film…
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Tuesday, 17 April 2012 at 4:00 am
Kasper Bjørke had a large degree of success as one half of Danish duo Filur. Since splitting with his partner in Filur, Tomas Barford, Kasper has moved on to producing his own material, working for others and managing his own acts – the super-talented Trentemøller and new group Reptile Youth. Despite being so busy he’s managed to record a brand new album, Fool, which I absolutely love so it was only a matter of time before I tracked him for a chat…
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Saturday, 14 April 2012 at 4:00 am
T.Williams makes top quality house and has carved out a strong reputation for himself thanks to tireless work ethic and his well-produced tracks that encompass many different musical influences, but maintain a house foundation. Always on the road, or in the studio, T has dedicated his life to making and playing the music he loves and he’s become a success seemingly overnight. But his story began many years ago, when drum’n'bass, UK garage and, eventually, grime was his forte (he was previously known as Dread D). I managed to have a brief chat with T, in between touring and producing… and he’s turned in a great exclusive 30-minute mix too.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Friday, 13 April 2012 at 4:00 am
Over the last couple of years I’ve been to Ibiza twice for the closing parties at the end of September, a time when the clubs (and clubgoers) mark the end of the summer season with one last huge fiesta. But last year after I returned home I started to wonder what happens to Ibiza once the season’s over and all the party people have said their final farewells. So I decided to look into it and find out, from the people who remain on the island during the winter months, what life is like when Ibiza goes back to ‘normal’.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Wednesday, 11 April 2012 at 12:00 am
A few years ago Piers Sanderson decided to make a documentary based on the warehouse scene in sunny Blackburn. During the late eighties and early nineties, the warehouse scene exploded across the UK capturing the imaginations of young people from all walks of life. Helping to bring people together in musical harmony – a cheesy image, but actually true for the most part. Here Piers fills me in on his film High On Hope…
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 9 April 2012 at 1:23 pm
Osunlade is a musician who has managed to combine his spiritual beliefs and his music in a way that is instantly accessible. His house music productions have a very organic feel to them with plenty of tribal and ancestral echoes that resonate with the soul, but will still have you dancing all night long.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Tuesday, 3 April 2012 at 8:40 am
Droog have been pushing the underground sound in LA for quite some time – with legendary parties at the amazing Standard Hotel rooftop, along with consistently strong releases on their much-respected label Culprit. A quarter of the way into 2012, they’re playing gigs all over the globe and have a stack of new releases lined up for the label. I spoke to one of Droog’s members, Andrei Osyka, ahead of his appearance at Data Transmission’s Easter Party in Manchester this week.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Monday, 2 April 2012 at 11:17 am
I knew nothing of the Mexican house scene until discovering their BPM Festival, which takes place between late December and early January every year. Still, finding out about the festival did little to enlighten me about the music and it wasn’t until interviewing Richy Ahmed and he told me about a duo named Climbers that I really began to learn more about the thriving house scene. There seems to be a whole host of talented producers and DJs coming out of Mexico.
By Marcus Barnes | Arts, Music | Thursday, 29 March 2012 at 9:14 am
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