Interview with:Mark K [djmarkociric]
MUSIC
 | What do you do? What is your musical specialty? I am a house music producer and DJ. I'm doing this for 8 years now. During the time, I changed several sub-genres and released 9 EP containing great house, electro and tech house tracks. Currently, I produce tech house for a couple of labels in Italy and Canada. |
| Do you work alone or in a group? If in a group, who are the others you work with? Most of my career I worked as a solo producer but there are also a few very successful projects that I've released with co-working with Tijana Bass from Slovenia and DJ Mistake from Belgrade. |
| Is there a web address where one can listen, see, or read some of your work? Yes, there are couple of locations on different social networks:
https://www.facebook.com/dj.mark.k
http://soundcloud.com/djmarkociric
http://www.youtube.com/user/djmarkociric?feature=mhum |
| Please list any awards, competitions, or other acknowledgments you would like to mention. Working with Tijana Bass for Chuck D's records is my favorite achievement. The details for this single, released by SLAMjamz records can be found on http://www.slamjamz.com/music/viewdlsingle/477 |
| Please list discography in which you have participated. Warm Up (2007) - Original Bass Records
Loud Sound Game (2010) - Felyr
Brazilian Disco House Volume 1 (2010) - Baccara
Losing Control Mark K remix (2010) - Urbanlife records
Da, Da, Da... DA! feat. Tijana Bass (2010) - Don't Look Productions
Schizophrenia Mark K remix (2010) - Dont Look Productions
The Island EP (2010) - Dont Look Productions
Mistique Mark K remix (2010) - Dont Look Productions
Danube EP (2011) - Dont Look Productions
Ederlezi EP feat. DJ Mistake (2011) - Similar Records |
| How did you begin making music? Who introduced you? My first contact with producing was in high school when my friend and I downloaded a first version of Fruity Loops studio. I have played with it for a while and that's where I fell in love with it. In my 20s, I moved to Apple Logic and started some serious production but my first introduction was as a DJ in a small club scene in Belgrade downtown. Later on, I moved back to producing and started making releases :). |
| What was your musical education? I have finished a basic music school in my hometown and played accordion for 8 years. I also learned to play keyboards and bass guitar. |
| When did you realise that making music could be a way of life for you? When I first started working as a DJ :). It just felt like I wasn't meant to be anywhere else. |
| What is your creative process? An idea can come up at absolutely any time. Sometimes I even have difficulties with that (such as going out with a girlfriend and suddenly thinking about drums lol). The main point is once I start recording, I never stop until I have a first version of what I began to work. If not, there is a pretty chance the project will be lost. I tend not to continue half written idea couple of days after, as it will never be an original one so sometimes it takes a whole night to write a track. |
| When do you have your most lucid moments, in the morning or night? Actually morning, but hardly catching it to write something so it's gotta be late at night. |
| Have you ever awoken with a melody created from your dreams? No, I'm not that kind of guy. My inspiration always comes from a world around me, the reality :) |
| How do you know when a song is finished or needs no more changes? That's simple - when I listen to it and I like it as a whole, not just some part. |
| How did you discover your creative territory? How would you describe it? I've never thought about that so much. Initially, I like to write my tracks in my bedroom. It's somewhere I can get focused with no one around. I've never tried to change it but I have no problem producing in the studio though that's a place where a track enters some serious production and the idea is already set. |
| What part of your job is your least favourite? Mastering for sure. I do master my own tracks as a producer and sometimes it can take more time than I've planned. However, that too can be fun sometimes, if it's going in the right direction. I found this part of producing least creative and much more engineering so it takes me away from my creative skills as it needs me to be more rational person. |
| How often do you practice? I practice DJing from time to time but I spend a lot of time of sound engineering my instruments and picking the right sound which isn't a music production in general but it's kinda fun. Practicing with digital instruments and defining my own sounds is the most important part of my creative process as it often gives me new ideas how can I produce. |
| How do you feel right before going out on stage? Always so nervous. I'm always worried about my public as I tend to give myself in true light. If I they don't understand me what I want to present, I find that as a failure. I try to socialize with the public as much as I can, before really start to play for them. |
| Which musicians or groups have been inspiring to your career? My first inspiration was Mike Oldfield and I still find him the best person whose songs are the entrance of the world of song writing. At some point, it was David Guetta, the man who obviously knows how to link between underground new sounds and yet to remain understood by a vast number of listeners. |
| List three songs that are key to your life. Mike Oldfield - Ommadawn Part 2
David Guetta - Love Is Gone
The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby |
| What should be done to stop piracy? I think it's the problem with Internet technologies that allow the unwanted distribution of the tracks. It is time to start distributing it for free but from the artist himself. This allow the listeners to hear quality sound and understand the artist for real and avoids getting his track just another mp3, downloaded from a 3rd party file hosting website. |
| What type of music do you detest? Any music that has no point. The prime example would be modern pop music. Sometimes, you can find a track or two that are interesting but most of them are simply a result of mass producing. |
| What time did you get up this morning? 9 AM. Why? |
| How do you sell yourself? What has been your experience with record companies and representatives? The right way of selling and distributing my own work is a hard process. The indie records companies are not the right solution now days as it's hard to get your payment, especially promotion. Recently, I had a great experience with social media networks and Creative Commons licence. |
| What other things have you done to make a living? I have a great experience with software development, especially in designing information systems and social networking. I work in the software industry for four years. |
| Have you ever played on the street or in the subway? How much did you collect each day? I make clubbing music. Therefore, it was never suitable to DJ on streets as it requires much louder music then it should be appropriate without any permission. |
| Who would you play with, without a doubt? I never discriminate other people that should play with me. One person that's interesting to play with could be Arno Cost. |
| What advice would you give to someone starting out in the business? Practice and be original. |
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Mark K
Belgrade, Serbia
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