If you are a trance lover then you must be knowing this legend Markus Schulz aka Mr Dakota aka Mr Coldharbour aka Mr Unicorn Slayer.
This German-American producer is one pure genius when it comes to Trance, one half of New World Punx(Ferry Corsten being the other) is the one of the most dedicated and hardworking artists in the industry.
From headlining to big festivals in the world like EDC, Tomorrowland, Ultra, Transmission to being playing in smaller clubs with close to his fans is his pure thing that not anyone can handle.
Do you know when Paul van Dyk had accident later this year at ASOT750 Utrecht, this man played on his behalf at EDC Mexico and flashed messages for GET WELL SOON PAUL on big and giant LEDs on the stage, he is very humble and always appreciate his fans.
He is one of the headliner of Electric Daisy Carnival – India debut which is happening in just few more days so this was the right time to get to know more about him.
Team EDMLI had a small interview with this legend.
1. It’s been so long we have not seen anything under Dakota, is there another Dakota album
on its way?
Markus : I have some news about that to share! Last weekend at Transmission, I let the cat out of the bag that indeed there is a brand new Dakota album coming in 2017.
It’s funny because when one project ends, you just go right back into the studio and start something else. And that’s exactly what happened after completing Watch the World. I should emphasise that Dakota never really disappeared as an entity since the last album, and as you know there were singles such as CLXXV, the 22-minute long Doors Open, and Trance Nation featured Twilight of the Night being made under that alias. And for the most part, there are untitled Dakota IDs that have been floating in my livesets, particularly my solo sets, for a little while now.
However, over the past few months I have felt that the time is right to commit to an album, simply because I just feel inspired right now. Music has changed again and everything is just so artistic. Musically, it’s an amazing time for more artistic sounds and I just feel really inspired to get back into the studio. I think that the Dakota project is perfect for that, because it has always been deeper and darker.
Dakota will be the biggest focus for me in 2017. It’s a very spiritual concept that I am doing so that’s taking a lot of my time at the moment, a lot of my brain power.
2. Since New World Punx made a debut in India in 2014 at Enchanted Valley Carnival, how about doing a B2B set with Ferry?
Markus : When both Ferry and I are together, then you never know what could happen. Because like
the spirit of New World Punx, almost everything we do is born out of spontaneity.
We haven’t had the opportunity to do much together as NWP this year, and the reason for that is because we have had important projects for our own individual careers to focus on Ferry with the resurrection of Gouryella and his shows, and in my case, the release of the Watch the World artist album. This will most likely be the case next year too, with Ferry working on another upcoming solo project and my focus switching to Dakota.
But we are still best friends and value each other’s company so much. And as I said, if we are
on the same lineup, then who knows what we could get up to.
3. Why don’t you number your radio show Global DJ Broadcast?
Markus : Well, prior to Global DJ Broadcast I hosted a radio show in the 1990s in Arizona called The Edge Factor. And every show then would be logged by the date that it aired. So when it came to starting Global DJ Broadcast, I just continued in the same manner that I was used to.
Back when GDJB was airing on Party 93.1 FM in Miami, sometimes we would have shows on both Saturday night and Sunday night. And during Winter Music Conference week, there was a new show every night. So the weekly numbering technique probably would not have been the most appropriate thing to use.
I don’t particularly mind not numbering the show, especially now when everyone else does it. But as I said, my first radio experiences were all based on logging shows by date. Off the top of my head, there are probably 750-800 editions of Global DJ Broadcast since it began in March 2002.
4. Your recent 10 hour, open to close solo set is in demand from so many trance lovers, what’s the idea behind doing these longer sets?
Markus : They are my favorite type of gig, and are the ones I need for my soul, because you can cement your legacy into legend by playing memorable, life changing sets in iconic venues in your scene, in musically well-respected cities.
Ironically, the bigger your name becomes in the industry, the lengths of your sets become shorter and shorter, especially when you are on a heavy schedule of festivals. When you play the festivals, of course they are fantastic and the settings are spectacular, but generally they are a shop window for you to showcase your signature songs, in the hope of casting a wider net to your fanbase.
For the solo sets, I try to imagine the overall night as three sets combined – you have the opening portion, where you play the deeper progressive grooves and keep the mood low; allowing the ambiance to slowly build as the crowd assembles on the dancefloor.
Then you have the main portion which is the usual peak hour chaos and lighting, with the big tracks
and hits that you would expect in an everyday Markus Schulz set-length performance.
And finally, when you have the room grooving in unison, then you enter the afterhours, or the rabbithole, where things get weird and trippy with various techno tracks and classics.
For the music itself, I’ll spend months in advance preparing; digging deep into Beatport and promos and on most occasions, I’ll be listening with the mindset of “this I’ll save for the solo set, and this one, and this one”. So when you slowly accumulate tracks like that over several months, you’re essentially putting together the building blocks of the set, and the graft in assembling what goes well harmonically can begin.
The way I think about open to close sets is that I want them to be in places where people from all over the world can come to and celebrate. It has to be a city or a club, everything that has the infrastructure for people to come in. I won’t just do it in any city. It’s not just the night, it’s the whole experience. You know getting in the airplane, flying there, being in the city, the whole journey.
5. You have been finding some really talented producers like Mr. Pit, Fisherman and Hawkins
& many many more on your record label, what exactly do you look in an artist to join Coldharbour Recordings?
Markus : Coldharbour is my baby! I am incredibly proud of what it has become. What still amazes me is how passionate the fans are for the label, and how they feel part of it as much as the producers.
What I’ve always strived to achieve with Coldharbour, along with Global DJ Broadcast, is to provide a platform for showcasing new talent. I think it’s really important for your legacy to take people under your wing and guide them, and I feel incredibly proud to contribute towards their growth through releases and remixes on the label. Our Coldharbour family is incredible, and I am so grateful to them all for their endeavors.
The most important thing for me in any track is that it needs a melody and a groove that grabs my attention. Because of my solo sets and playing across the board, I am always open to differing styles, whether they are the peak-hour upfront tracks with aggressive leads, or the deeper progressive material that helps build a night.
Developing relationships with the talent is absolutely vital. You need to be passionate, dedicated and open-minded. All of the producers on the roster combined feel like a big extended family to me, and each person is helping to contribute in their own unique way.
One of the most important aspects for a producer is that they need to be flexible, and alter a track if necessary. Sometimes I’ll hear a track and find something within it I like, but need fixes in order to play it in my sets, so it’s important to have the producer on board and willing to adjust their piece. On many occasions, I’ll be in contact with them firing back notes until we get the product right.
The Coldharbour club nights are all built with a team ethos. We imagine it as one overall presentation with each member playing a vital piece towards the story being told across the night. Every one of our members supports each other very well.
6. If we look at the trend, in almost every 2 years you release an album, so is it Dakota in 2018 or a new album on Markus Schulz?
Markus : For the remainder of this year and early next year, there will be a couple more singles from
Watch the World, and then a big remix bundle will be released as winter comes to an end.
Most of 2017 will be dedicated to the new Dakota album, and the shows celebrating its release, and right now the concept and creativity towards all of that is my priority. So I’m not thinking of anything beyond that at the moment!
7. You used to launch compilation albums based on city names, why did you stop doing that?
Markus : I wanted to undertake something ambitious with the City Series Collection concept last year meaning that dedicating a compilation to one particular city, it would be one production per calendar month, in total dedicating the overall piece to twelve cities – and of course India was included in this with the track Bombay (Mumbai).
Combined with that, I knew as early as March that I was proudly asked to mix the latest instalment of Ministry of Sound’s acclaimed Trance Nation series, and I put as much effort into that compilation as I have any of my previous city ones.
This year has been so busy with creating the Watch the World album and touring, along with working on Sestertius for Coldharbour’s 250th release celebrations and recently The Lost Oracle. But hopefully I will find time to work on a fresh compilation in the future. I don’t want to do one just for the sake of doing one, it has to be something special and long-lasting.
8. They say India has one of the best trance fans and very much musically educated crowd around the world, what are your thoughts on this?
Markus : I think India is one of the fastest growing scenes anywhere in the world, and I think it is
fantastic that a key festival such as the Electric Daisy Carnival is coming to the country for the first time. My wish is that it will be a massive success, because the more fans who attend and fall in love with our scene, the more opportunities there will be to supplement their demand for dance music, especially trance, with regular club events on a weekly basis.
If India can have weekly club events with top international talent coming through, complimented with upcoming local names to support, I think the scene will be very healthy for years to come.
We simply can’t wait to witness this legend under the Electric Sky in no less than 2 weeks.
Catch his recent 10 hour open to close solo set at Montreal.
Budweiser has graced countless people with great beer and adorable Clydesdale for over 100 years now, but in the last couple years they have given something even greater: EDM events in our homeland. However before the most notable installment, that will be India’s first-ever Electric Daisy Carnival, the festival that originated in the ’90s and has since skyrocketed in popularity, we would love to highlight Budweiser’s unparalleled contribution to the Indian Electronic Dance Music scene by taking a look at the various and glorious memories we made at festivals and gigs hosted by the beer major. Right from the execution of the entire show, to the world class arrangements, Budweiser has always set benchmarks in the live music space.
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