Ex-Turntablist superstars turned house legends! ‘Midnight Spark’ smashing up the dancefloors
Interview : Dan Prince
Biru, Marc – welcome to DMCWORLD…where on planet earth are you today?
Biru: “We are in our hometown in Bern, Switzerland and working on some new music in the studio.”
A massive new tune on the Exploited label causing havoc around the world, talk us through the mighty ‘Midnight Spark’…
Marc: “’Midnight Spark’ is a track that I started in my studio in Zurich. I was messing around with some samples, cutting them up and re-arranging them until I got the main loop of the track. I then took it to Ben and Biru and we worked on it together for a bit in the studio in Bern. While working on it, we had the idea of playing an organ over it. We wanted to have kind of a live feeling, so we asked my friend Cédric Monier, who was also my former piano teacher to play on the track. It worked perfectly.”
DMC are of course the company behind the World DJ Championships, the competition that has brought us the likes of QBert, C2C, Craze and Cash Money. You began your illustrious career in the art of Turntablism, tell us about those early years…
Biru: “Yes it’s true, Round Table Knights started around 12 years ago as a Turntablism DJ Team. We were scratching all day and we have done some Turntablism shows in Switzerland. Also we went a few times to London to the DMC World Finals but only as guests, hahaha.”
Who were your heroes of the cut and scratch scene?
Marc: “There are so many. I still got tonnes of DMC Scratch Championships VHS Video tapes at home. Scratch wise it was D-Styles. But also J-Rocc with his way to mix records. Can’t forget The Allies and the Scratch Perverts of course.”
Biru: “For me it’s Mixmaster Mike and J-Rocc. Beatjunkies is still my fav crew.”
It’s a remarkable transformation from Turntablism to the 4/4 house beat, you knew though that this music genre could handle your diverse tastes, what was the thinking behind the move?
Biru: “We were always really interested in all kind of music but at end it was just a natural progress.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
Marcellis – Because
Jaakko Eino Kalevi – No End (Tom Noble’s Never-Ending Story Remix)
Axel Boman – Dance All Night
T.S.O.S. – Over And Over
Q&A – Your Body
Nils Penner – Bubbles
Oliver $ & Jimi Jules – Pushing On
Simian Mobile Disco – Snake Bile Wine
Christian S – Pitch Rider
Last week saw the 5th Anniversary of your Club Bonsoir in Bern, in your own words, just why is this club so good?
Biru: “I think Club Bonsoir has a perfect size for 300 people. A great sound and light system and a super amazing bar with the best drinks. But the one of the most important parts are our resident DJs Mercury, Deetron, Wildlife, Radiorifle and Trinidad who know how to create the perfect night. I also try to do my best with the bookings. We have had guests like Derrick May, Kenny Dope, DJ Premier, Eats Everything, Todd Terje, Andrew Weatherall, Âme, The Gaslamp Killer, Just Blaze, KiNK and many more! Next time when you are in Bern come visit us Dan.”
Who are some of the producers from around the world you are giving high fives to right now?
Marc: “Some of my current favourites are: Axel Boman, Arttu, Dukes Of Chutney, Matt Karmil, Tom Trago, Maximilion Dunbar…. the list goes on and on…”
Tell us about your studio set up…
Marc: “I have my own studio in Zurich. I work with Ableton and Logic. I got a RME interface, some Synths a Space Echo and lots of Guitar Pedals. If i had to choose my two favourite pieces of gear at the moment I guess it would be the Octatrack and the OP-1. In Bern we go to Ben’s Studio. He has a great place somewhere in the countryside.”
Biru: “I just started with Ableton Push where I can create ideas and loops and bring them to the studio and finish the track with Marc and Ben. Morning Delight on the new Exploited EP was done this way.”
Who excels where in the studio, who is good at what?
Marc: “It is always a bit different with every track. But basically myself and Biru are bringing the ideas and Ben is the sound designer. Sometimes I arrive at the studio with a sketch that is almost finished and just needs some mixing and sometimes it is just a loop and we finish it together.”
Your Coma Cat remix was voted the Essential Tune of 2010 by Pete Tong, did you know on completion you had created something pretty special?
Biru: “We were of course already super excited when we got the chance to remix this great track and as soon it was finished we had a good feeling about it. But at the end you never know. I think the best compliment for us is that Tensnake is playing our version in his live shows.”
Away from dance music, who are some of the artists you are currently into?
Biru: “Rejjie Snow, Jeans For Jesus, Rick Ross, Kendrick Lamar, Juicy J, Blood Orange…”
Marc: “War On Drugs, Real Estate, Arthur Russell, Steve Reich, Yumi Zouma, Schoolboy Q, Actress, Larry Gus, Cass McCombs…”
It may not be good for our image, but Round Table Knights really love…
Marc: Staying at home on a weekends off and watching TV shows.”
You played at a large hotel event recently where you were inundated with people asking you to play Avicii. What was your response?
Biru: “We started to make pictures of the people who request songs and just keep on playing our music. And maybe we had 1 or 2 shots more to survive the night.”
And finally, what is coming out next from you studio wise?
Marc: “A remix we did for Nervous Records of an old disco tune from John Davis & the monster Orchestra. And we are about to finish some new tracks, we’re gonna roadtest them next weekend. And there’s a new EP coming up too.”
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