BnB Interview: Marco Bailey (+ Mix)Written by Youri Jozee Thursday, 17 February 2011 13:54  Interview - “Marco is one of those rare breed of producers whose sound crosses over from techno to house and everything in between. The reactions to his tracks from the dancefloor speak for themselves and his energetic techno infused sound always provides the best peak time club tracks. I jumped at the chance to release an album from Marco on Bedrock because I wanted to showcase not only these exclusive club tracks, but also his more experimental sounds that features on Dragon Man.” - John Digweed. Praise where praise is due. Belgium-born Marco Bailey -a veteran artist in the field of booming techno- has just unleashed his latest monster in the form of the Dragon Man LP. It has become another highly energetic techno affair on which Marco reshapes his trademarked techno in the form of 10 exquisite tracks and an additional bonus mix that sees him mixing up the album tracks into a hard rocking mix. Marco has been in the game since the early nineties, during which he established himself as a household name in full-on techno with EPs on Intec, Bedrock, and more recently Bedrock, plus the highly succesful artist albums Planet Goa (1995), Global Warning (1997), Sacrifice And Dedication (2000), and Rudeboy (2004). Next to producing and DJing across the globe, Marco is also the head of MB Elektronics, which has released tunes from likeminded artists such as Sasha Carassi, Redhead, DJ Preach, The Advent & Industryalizer, and studio partner Tom Hades. We recently spoke to Marco about his new album Dragon Man, his co-operation with John Digweed's Bedrock label and his plans for the future... Hi Marco, what have you been up to lately? Lots of things! I've been working on my new album from around June until December, then some other releases I prepared for my own label MB Electronics, I've been touring every weekend and broadcasted my weekly podcast (www.marcobailey.com/podcast) with some very interesting guests! Your new album Dragon Man has just been released. It has become a very energetic and pumping affair. How did you experience the production process? Of course it's energetic because this what I am when I play what I play. There are also a few nice downtempo tunes on it because I really like that kind of music a lot too. I was in the studio making a few downtempo cuts after which the idea to do an entire album came along. I think on an album there is more room to express yourself instead of just creating club tunes like you would do for a 12” release. The album will be released on John Digweed’s Bedrock label. How did this co-operation came about? I already released a few tracks on John's label a year ago and they all worked really well. My Jungle Laps tune even was the best selling tune of the Bedrock Eleven compilation. Soon after I released the Watergate EP, which also went really well and now there's the album. I first met John at Carl Cox's house in Ibiza and gave him some of my tunes that day. John really liked them and subsequently released them and we've been working together ever since. You’ve been producing together with studio partner Tom Hades for many years. Do you have a division of tasks in the studio? Can you explain briefly how you work together on music? I work together with Tom a lot but I'm also doing a lot of stuff on my own, such as the Dragon Man album. I set up the studio in 1995 with lots of hardware equipment such as the 909, 808, and 707 drum machines and Juno 106, Virus, Jupiter, Roland D9 etc synths. Tom & I decided to put all our equipment in one room. We grew up together and we live very close by to each other, so we are working on tracks together on a weekly basis. Most of the time I bring some sounds into the studio on which I worked on in Reactor or whatever, or samples, and then we build something out of it in Logic Audio. Let’s talk about your labels MB Elektronics, MB Selektions and Pornographic Recordings. What are the differences between these labels? MB Elektronics is my own label that releases quality tunes from myself or another artist each month. I quit MB Selektions because I think the focus should be on one high-quality label with regular releases than on a so-so label that releases stuff once every six months. That's why I only focus on MB Elektronics these days. Regarding Pornographic, I started that label with my friend Cristian Varela but I pulled out three years ago. Cristian is the sole manager now. What can we expect from MB Elektronics in 2011? Some great things! We kicked of 2011 with a release by Sasha Carassi, whose known from huge releases on Drumcode amongst others. Then there is a new release from Cristian Varela and a Marco Bailey release with a Joseph Capriati remix. There's also going to be a Dany Rodriguez track with a John Selway mix. Watch out for more! On a personal note, what are your plans for this year? Any collaborations or new projects coming up? First there's the Dragon Man album on Bedrock! Then another great release on my own MB EleKtronics. I am also working on new releases for Carl Cox's ID and Umek's 1605 label... and of course I'll be playing at some great events & festivals ! What’s your opinion on live software such as Ableton, Serato, and Traktor? I use Traktor, it's amazing. I just HATE this cable shit to connect each time, there should be a soundcard that you just need to plug in your laptop and go & rock it at every club or festival! You’re obviously a very busy man. What does Marco Bailey do to relax? To relax... Having a long sauna session, that’s my only disconnection sometimes ;) To conclude, any words of wisdom you’d like to share with our audience? Don’t follow the hype, stay true to yourself! Here's a fat mix by Marco Bailey (tracklist below) Marco Bailey mix by beatsandbeyond.com Marco Bailey Radio Mix 2 tracklist
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