Weekend Weapons: MRK1

Weekend Weapons: MRK1

9 February, 2011 | 9.59AM

• Written by: Sean Lewis
• Filed under: Music News: bare, coki, digital mystikz, mrk1, nero (uk), weekend weapons

The avenue from grime to dubstep was paved by MRK1. As the DJ and producer for the grime collective Virus Syndicate, Mark has had a career in music long before the creation of his dubstep contributions like 2006’s “Slope” and “Grit.” With new productions like “Sizzler” emerging as hits, Mark maintains a presence as a key producer in the genre and is a short time away from launching a record label of his own, set to be named Sickly Kool.

MRK1, “Sizzler”

After coming to the States a lot, I started to realize that a new, hard form of dubstep was evolving, more commonly known as “brostep.” After hearing it in the clubs and seeing the reaction it was getting, I thought that I would give it a go myself and make something that little bit harder and solely club-orientated. That’’s when I came up with “Sizzler.” Once I finished it I gave to Reid Speed whose label Play Me is pivotal in the brostep scene. She loved it, and it was signed as a release. This always works for me in the clubs and is a guaranteed rewind track.

MRK1, “Cardiac Arrest”

This tune was more of a grinding roller. A track that has a great initial impact and then rolls through with a grinding bassline. When I play this, I always play it through to the second drop, where it has a huge buildup and drops into the grand finale—when the bass just goes stupid!

Magnetic Man, “Perfect Stranger”

I love this tune just because it’s just so different and fits great into my sets to break it up a bit and change the vibe for a short time. It’s got an anthem feel to it and everyone loves it.

Virus Syndicate, “Talk to Frank (Bare Remix)”

“Talk to Frank” was one of our (Virus Syndicate’s) biggest tracks last year and was featured on a number of compilations and also on TV. It also had a huge amount of YouTube hits, and it’s just one of those tunes that people catch onto and sing along. So with that in mind, I thought it would only be right to ask one of my favorite producers at the moment to do a remix. Bare, hailing from LA, is making some massive tunes at the moment, and with this remix he really went in and made a massive banger!

Nero, “Me & You”

Nero have been making great music for a while now, and this tune has just propelled them into the big league. The track has so much power and presence, which will stop a rave in its steps as it builds up to a massive drop. This is stadium dubstep.

Coki ‘Horrid Henry’

Coki is one third of Digital Mystikz and has been around for some time now. This tune is made up of his trademark crooked bassline and scatty beats. This tune is a huge standout
and is a definite crowd pleaser.

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