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HKClubbing.com had a chat with Marc Vedo about why he came over to the England and the events that he currently develops within the UK.
Al: Where were you living before you moved country and what led the move to the UK and especially to pursue a career with Northhampton's football club? How far did you get within the realms of football? Why did you decide not to continue?
M: I was living in Portugal before I moved to England to under go my apprenticeship with Northampton Town. I played for the main squad side for a short period of time but during my spell with the team I managed to get a gig with a night called ‘Megatripolis’, which was held at one of London’s top venues Heaven.
That gig was a turning point in my life as I knew after that my real love was music, I can still remember the buzz I felt after playing my set haha! From here I quit football and moved to the Southwest where I was offered a residency at the then popular Club Yum Yum. After learning the ropes at Yum Yum I went on to launch my own night which was called ‘Az Oz’, this later became ‘Koolwaters’ and the rest is history.
Al: Do you have any specific musical training? Can you read music or play instruments to high levels of expertise?
M: No. As a kid I never really took much of an interest in the instrumental side of music, its was only once I grew as I DJ did I begin to learn how to produce music.
Al: Mixmag have rated your Koolwaters nights and dubbed yourself as the new "Sasha". How important is this labelling to yourself and your night/brands considering the rest of the world are following suit to ignore Mixmag's top 100 dj poll, which was recently slated as being a list voted for by by UK teenagers and not necessarily the view of the rest of the world.
M: At the time I was still an up and coming DJ and so that tag was very important to me but I am now at a stage in my career where I want to move on from this label. My style has changed since then and the brand of Koolwaters has also moved on a lot since the early years. However, its comforting to know my work as a DJ and the work of the Koolwaters team is being noticed, though whats truly important is not the label by the media but the one from our clubbers.
Al: Also in your biography you have been dubbed as an "eligible batchelor" by Company Magazine. What is this magazine and why should having achieved this title have anything to do with being a DJ. Shouldn't it all be about the music?
M: The music should always be the sole reason your where you are and even more so why your doing it but I think it would be foolish to say media coverage does not play a large part in most artists success. Many DJ’s throughout the scene have receive coverage which has helped them succeed in their careers
Al: Which came first for you, the desire to hit the decks or the keen interest in producing tracks?
M: Oh the desire to hit the decks! You can’t replicate the same feeling of a dance floor in a studio no matter how much you try. I love producing because I am passionate about music but the passion within a club is something that is addictive and always leaving me yearning for more.
Al: Obviously every night has to start somewhere. Did you find it an expensive decision to bring larger acts to your own nights in the smaller towns of the South West? How long did this take to begin paying its own way?
M: It was hard at the beginning but I was very lucky and Koolwaters grew quite quickly. This is partly because Koolwaters steamed from my earlier event known as ‘Az Oz’, so I had a crowd to take with me but the direction of Koolwaters was a little different. I desperately wanted to bring larger acts to SouthWest and so it was this main reason that the format of Koolwaters was born.
Al: You have several locations for your nights now. Are all these locations regular gigs now or do you rotate the night around the various venues? What's your basic vision of your patrons?
M: We host a selection of regular (monthly/BI-monthly) events from a series of different locations these being: The Wharf – Taunton, Creation – Stoke, The Matrix – Exmouth, The Brunel Rooms – Swindon, Club Castro’s – Bristol, Naughty but Nice – Hereford, Stars - Weston Super Mare, Pozition, Hull, Lava & Light, Burnley, Evolution, Leeds and Visage in Huddersfield. Apart from our monthly parties we also do regular clubs tours across the UK at a variety of venues and events, often collaborating with other promoters to bring that little something extra to the night. Beyond on our home soil the team are also heavily concentrating on pushing the brand further afield. We have a mixed selection of clubbers at our events and this we believe is one of the key factors to our success, we’ve never been sectioned to one style or format. With a backbone of house and trance Koolwaters will always be a diverse club, for diverse clubbers.
Al: When was the decision made to go global with the likes of Gatecrasher and Ministry? Would you see this as the primary decision that has launched your name and career?
M: The decision was never really in my hands but more down to the clubs that picked me, fortunately these days I am able to make a more managerial decision due to predominately playing for Koolwaters on the international scene. The dream of playing abroad was always in me and so when the opportunity came I snapped it up.
As for primarily launching my name hummm I would say my name in the UK was already on the up and coming stage with high profile gigs and residencies for clubs such as Miss Moneypennys, Slinky so in truth probably no.
Al: What was the most memorable event for you in 2003? Where do you see Koolwaters in the future?
M: This is always a hard question to answer, as there are so many great events around the world. But one event that really stands out in my mind though is, New Year's party with Ministry of Sound in Mombassa. I played to a beach crowd 2000 strong in East Africa. The settings were unbelievable and one I will never forget easily one of the most memorable experiences of my life.
Al: Getting down to production techniques, do you prefer to use samples or take the time to build your own loops? Hardware sounds versus software, what's your preferred route and are you a "preset" junkie? Could you explain a basic kit list that helps you to create?
M: We are constantly trying to push back musical boundaries and create our own, unique sound and grooves, so we tend not to have presets ever. Hardware (Nord) definitely for the sounds and Software (Trilogy) for our bass lines! Again sound creation is very important; it’s better to be the Sheppard than the sheep!
A basic kit list includes: Nord, Korg MS2000, JP8080 Keyboard, MAC D8B, Logic (Software) and all the plug ins that go with Logic
Al: You've already had several releases clocked up. What's your favourite track you have produced? Why is this and how successful was it? What separates your sound from the vast amounts of releases every month?
M: My sound is a mixture of house and trance. I produce both styles, and have done so for years. I recently finished my first Koolwaters album, sponsored by Wella. All the material was produced from scratch and is predominantly tribal, chunky funky house, with disco influences. I would say this project is the most successful one so far, having done 40 000 copies already. Other productions I get involved in are more trance orientated. It’s fun to be able to work in both genres.
Al: Many a producer has suffered from "blank screen" arrangement syndrome. How do you find ideas for your tracks? What's your driving inspiration that fuels your music?
M: Hahaha! Yeah I’ve had this and it can be a real pain when studio time is limited. My inspiration comes from many areas of life. When I can, I do lot of sport and I find this clears my mind. But if I am in the studio and just can’t focus, its best to just leave it and return to it later. My driving inspiration is to make tracks that people will remember for life and to leave my musical stamp in the dance music industry.
Al: When engineering your own tracks what's your preferred method for EQ, compression and mastering? Do you use tube or valve kit?
M: Because we are primarily in the digital domain, we get very clean sounding mixes, although its nice to warm these ups with some high end tube compression, e.g. Avalon Valve Kit
Al: You play both trance and house. Throughout your sets, is this something to be mixed together or do you tend to tailor and stage the sets depending on venue/country?
M: Yes, my style varies from country to country, as some places prefer it more progressive where as other like it harder. Our recent tour of Canada with Boy George saw me play a more vocal driven house sound, yet when we toured in Frankfurt (Germany) it was hard trance all the way!! However, if I get the chance to play a longer set such as I did in Kenya on New Years eve for Ministry of Sound, then I try to fuse both my styles together. Starting with tough house and building it into progressive before finishing up with a deep techy/tribal hard trance sound
Al: Have you any new ventures for the 2004? Where in China are you set to play and with whom? What's in the essence of your vibe that you like to portray to the crowd?
M: With the success of 2003 myself and the Koolwaters team are looking to expand the brand to the next level, with around 15 events a month in the UK and the expansion of our international events, we are truly beginning to see our hard work blossom. So far this year we have done events in Turkey, Canada, Germany, and South Africa with more future events lined up in countries such as Russia, Portugal, Ireland, Spain, Mauritius and Central & South America. I will also be making a return to China in October, as I will be playing for Groove Entertainment, in Hong Kong, Chenzen, Beijing and Shangai.
Al: Thanks for taking the time to talk to HKCLUBBING.COM!
M: The pleasure was all mine, see you on the dance floor!
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