Markus Schulz ClubDistrict Interview

Markus Schulz ClubDistrict Interview

29 January, 2010 | 9.03PM

• Written by: ClubDistrictCOM
• Filed under: Music News : coldharbour, dakota, markus schulz, stark profiles pr

Over the last 10 years Markus Schulz has fused the individual musical identities of progressive house & trance into his own creative, inimitable hybrid sound. Through the unique alignment of his headline DJ sets, Coldharbour label output and highly prominent Global DJ Broadcast show, he orchestrated a sea change revolution in the US trance scene - one that has gone on to have its sound influence sweep to the farthest reaches of the globe. This success has been singularly reflected in weekly headliner sets in front of many tens of thousands, a GDJB radio show listenership up in the tens of millions & one Beatport chart-topping release after another. Following several highly ranked positions in 2008 Shultz punched his way into the Top 10 of DJ Magazine’s Top 100 chart, landing at no.8. In repeating the exact same achievement in 2009, he now stands, quite unequivocally, as America’s no.1 club DJ.

Without further delay, ClubDistrict presents
UNMIXED with Markus Schulz!

CD: Born in Germany, you came to the U.S. at age 13; what prompted the move?

Markus: I moved to the U.S. with my family who were in the Army at the time. Miami is an amazing city with an amazing vibe. I love the ocean and the warm weather (though not quite so much over the last two weeks!) – I’m always on the road, so for me to be able to come home to Miami… it’s far more welcoming.

CD: Prior to choosing your life’s work, you had a love affair with the break-dancing scene, what made you chose living a life behind the decks versus the ‘dance’ floor?

Markus: Actually that came about over the course of one night; me and the crew I was break-dancing with started throwing parties. Our first party came up, we had all been practicing and we were each supposed to spin for an hour. I kicked off and when it came time for me to get off and the next guy to come on, they all disappeared! I wound up spinning the entire night and the DJ in me was born.

CD: I don’t want to get you in trouble here, but you have played at some of the biggest events in the world including Electric Daisy Carnival, Love Parade, Global Gathering, Ultra Music Festival, and many more, which one is your favorite to perform at?

Markus: You know, anyone who gets asked this same question would be hard-pressed to pick just one! I don’t know that I can. Every festival seems like a living creature, with a pulse and vibe all its own. Playing these events is like the peak of some of my tours. You just feel the energy as you step on stage and all you want to do is get on the decks and be a part of it.

Markus SchulzCD: You produce progressive trance tracks, how do you personally feel about other genres like hard house, electro or techno?

Markus: Last year, through my “Dakota” project I indulged, to a pretty fair degree, into the techno and electro half of my brain… I’ve long loved and followed music in those two genres. While I definitely wouldn’t go as far as to say I play ‘hard house’, those that either tune into my Global DJ Broadcast or come to the gigs will probably recognize that I do like to introduce some harder sounding elements over the course of my sets. Progressive & trance though is the base for what I do.

CD: In the past you said that trance is going through a period of reinvention, you seem to have your fingers on the pulse of change, has trance hit a ceiling?

Markus: Trance is always reinventing itself to a “lesser of a greater” degree. What I meant by this is that it was starting to work its way towards the top of the curve again. At the start of a new year you do tend to look back at the previous 12 and evaluate how you felt it stacked up in terms of the gigs, the music and the general pulse of the scene. 2008 was very strong, 2009 though was an exceptional one. Those vibes naturally makes you feel very positive at the start of a new year!

CD: In 2009 you released tracks under the moniker Dakota. What’s the meaning behind the name; why is it important to differentiate a different style under a different name?

Markus: When I started on this project, I just wanted to make some darker tunes for my DJ sets last summer. As the production progressed, I realized that this was much deeper than my usual material and I did not want the fans to get confused and think I was changing my style. So, I decided that putting it out under the “Dakota” name (the name I used earlier in the millennium) was a better idea.

CD: Your latest album, ‘Thoughts Become Things’ has a very philosophical title; I think it’s appropriate considering the trance sound is very thought invoking. What was the thought behind this album?

Markus: I am inspired by so many things when I travel that when I get home my first impulse is to get in the studio and create music. I had all these tracks that I had worked on but they just weren’t quite Coldharbour (Markus’ label). I wanted to get them out there because I felt they deserved to be heard. I hadn’t done anything under the Dakota alias in a long time and I thought these tracks really fit that style. So it was time to bring Dakota back. I think it was the right project at the right time. I am looking forward to getting back to the Dakota feeling soon and creating more.

CD: Congrats on being voted #8 DJ in the 2009 Top 100 DJ Poll and the continued success of your Global DJ Broadcast (GDJB) show on DI.fm and Sirius XM Radio. Do the polls help you as a DJ?

Markus: Thanks! When you start out you don’t really think too much about these things – they just happen. It is very nice though that what I do throughout each working year is reflected in some way. The polls do help DJs, I guess in the same way as say pop charts help mainstream artists. They give you at least an indication of how the many different things you do throughout the year are being perceived by the public. That is a very useful thing for anyone, regardless of what you do in life!

CD: You recently tweeted about an ‘unexpected and insane party in Haifa’. What was that event like, how’s the scene in Israel?

Markus: I had never played in Haifa before and really wasn’t sure what to expect. The crowd was really into the night and we all had such a great time. They didn’t stop dancing until the last track was played. I’m really looking forward to going there again. It was such a fantastic night.

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