W
e’ll be honest with you. Markus Schulz is responsible for some of the most memorable sets we’ve ever heard. In fact, we’re confident that this is the case for all who have
been privileged enough to see him in all his glory.
Instead of a typical two to three hour set, Markus takes you on five or six hour journeys. His sets can easily shift from upbeat energy to epic and room destroying, or twisted and dark. He transitions between these sounds so seamlessly, and with such precision, that his skills bring out more than just trance fans to witness him on the decks. The easiest way to think of Markus Schulz is as a DJ of the people – we’re positive he has as much fun up on the decks as we do dancing in front of him and he consistently strives to ensure that the fans are getting the best that he can possibly give them.
Markus is well known for being the kingpin of Coldharbour Recordings. Very often you’ll find that one key track you heard him play the night before ends up on the list of releases from the label. The names on its roster consistently deliver a cool moody sound which crosses the lines of simple emotions to bring music of a much deeper substance than you’ll hear on the radio. Familiar names here include Beat Service, Mr. Pit, Khomha, Rex Mundi, Skytech and Arnej, to name just a few. Last summer Markus also released his fourth album, the 19 track opus that is ‘Scream’ and features heavyweight vocals from some of the best in the business, like Adina Butar and Aruna.
We sat down with the German-born, US-based producer and DJ – christened ‘The Unicorn Slayer’ since his appearance in the 2011 Top 100 DJs poll - to look back over the past year and find out what 2013 holds...
Why did you choose to title your album ‘Scream’? “At first it was a working title - at the very beginning my vision was to have an album of tracks that felt like I was on stage in front of thousands of people screaming at them, I wanted the music to scream at people and really get to them. It was the working title and the longer it stayed the working title, the more we got comfortable with the name and decided that it had to be the name of the album. Especially when we started doing the photo shoots for it and the photo that we used for the album… that was like one photo out of a two hour photo shoot. Afterwards, we were looking at it and going, ‘Oh my god, that has to be the photo for the album cover and I’m screaming in the photo as well so it all just kind of came together to become ‘Scream’.”
Scream is a Markus Schulz album as opposed to a Dakota album. What would you say to someone who didn’t know the difference between the two personas? “Dakota albums I make more for my club sets – there
are a lot of after-hours tracks. No vocals, just deep, clubbier and more tripped out tracks. On the Markus Schulz albums I work with other singers, song-writers, even other producers. These tracks cross over a little bit more to a wider audience - for this album I was able to work with a lot of unique singers, both new and established. I also got to work with some amazing producers, like Ferry Corsten, Dennis Shepard and Wellenrausch. This album reaches more people, whereas the Dakota albums are more for clubs.”
Do you prefer to do the longer club sets or the shorter festival sets? “For sure, I love doing the long sets. When you do the long sets you’re able to spread your wings a little bit and try different things. When I do the ten hour sets it’s almost like I get to DJ three sets in one. I go into it with an idea of a proper opening set, then my peak- hour set and then an after-hours set where you go down the rabbit hole and get twisted. When I do the festival sets, it’s more of a showcase of who I am as an artist, a lot of my own original tracks and tracks that I’ve been involved with, either through co-producing or stuff that I’ve edited and mashed up. They’re definitely more of a showcase of who I am.”
If you could change one thing about the electronic music industry right now, what would it be? “A couple of things; number one, if I could change anything it would be to have the crowds be just a little bit more patient. One of the things going on right now is that you have to play these three and a half, four minute versions of tracks, get to the point - in and out - and on to the next one. I remember when I was starting off DJing, you were able to let tracks breathe a little bit, kind of tell a story, take people on a ride. I hope that at some point we can get the crowds to trust the DJs so the DJs are able to let some of these tracks breathe and tell their own story.
“Number two is a little bit more understanding for each other. We’ve put all these different styles of electronic music in these little boxes and categories. The fans have gotten to the point that, unless it fits nice and neat into a box, they’re not interested in it, they don’t support it and they don’t like it. It would be great, if in the scene, the fans were a little more open-minded and there weren’t so many labels. I think when you put labels on things you really limit the possibilities of what you can do with this music.”
What do you hope that people get from your productions and your DJ sets – what feelings and emotions are you trying to convey? “I’ve always made music with the thought that the tracks are able to get people through different times of their lives, whether it’s a soundtrack to an amazing time in their life or whether they’re going through a hard time and the music helps guide them through.
That’s one of the things that I’ve always hoped my music helps people with. Music is so important to me in my life. I had a really rough childhood growing up and music got me through it. If it wasn’t for the music, I wouldn’t be alive right now and I know that sounds like the lyric to a song, but it’s so true. So I’m hoping that my music is able to do the same thing for other people.”
What advice would you give to a DJ or producer who was just starting their career? “Find a unique sound that fits who you are as an artist and who you are inside, because if you just go and chase something that’s happening right now, and let’s say you make it big, but it’s not really what you like, then you’re going to burn out really fast. At the end of the day this scene has been built by people who do it for the love and they’re passionate about what they do. So find what it is that you are inside as an artist and go for it. Another thing is make sure your productions reflect that and reflect who you are as an artist and who you want to be as an artist. Productions are very important for a DJ because it’s kind of like your business card, it tells people who you are and what you’re all about.”
What else would you like to accomplish in your career as it goes further? “Wow, you know, I’ve accomplished more than I ever thought that I could accomplish in my career and in my life. I think the next step for me is to nurture and help some of the young up-and-coming artists to achieve their dreams. There are so many talented artists coming up in this new generation of clubbers and they’re bringing so many exciting new sounds and exciting new twists to the EDM scene - I just want to be able to help them achieve their dreams.”
On that note – what new DJs should we be watching for? “This one guy that I’m really helping out a lot and helping to manage is Khomha who is from Columbia and I think he’s going to be a star. He’s a fantastic producer and an amazing DJ and when he spins he has this attitude that he’s just so into the music and so full of energy. I think that if we’re able to give him a running start he’s going to blow up big.”
When you get time off from everything what kind of music do you like to listen to? “I listen to everything. I’m one of those guys that believes in different types of music for different things you do. You know music is a soundtrack – if I’m hanging out in my backyard, for example, I maybe listen to some more chill out Hed Kandi type stuff. If we’re out to dinner, maybe I want something a little more jazzy or a little more groovy. I listen to all kinds of stuff and I’m all about mood and the music that fits the mood.”
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