Markus Schulz gets set for Summadayze

As one of the worlds most appraised DJ/ Producers, the name of Markus Schulz inspires awe and wonder. He traverses the territories between house, trance and progressive; remaining true to the stirrings of euphoric trance while taking the dancefloor through the customary progressive journey. His willingness to push the boundaries is not about genres, rules or regulations. For Markus Schulz, it is about the universal stamp of his signature and appeal.

Born in Eschwege, Germany, Markus came to the United States with his parents at the susceptible age of 13, landing within the volatile melting pot of 1988. It was a burgeoning electronic age: the descent of disco and funk; the rise of keyboards, midi and the turntables; the build to rap, hip hop, breaks, house, belearic and techno with trance still to arrive. Exciting times were just waiting for a young, spongelike mind to absorb and soar with ideas. But no quest is without its sacrifices, its ups and downs. It was a hard childhood where music would be a saviour, allowing Markus an alternate sphere and the dark demons an escape.

As a teen, he would take on the custom of every other young American: break dancing, and jumping behind the decks when the crew wanted music to dance to for a party. At 18, he would remix Rapper Sagat’s “Why is It? (Fuck Dat)” for the label of Maxi Records, as well as The Movement’s “Shake That” on Sunshine Entertainment, exploring the realms of house and acid house. Navigating through techno, Hi-NRG and house with more remixes for acts like 2 Unlimited and Real McCoy, the mid 90s would also see him remixing the crème de la creme of pop from Madonna to RuPual and Backstreet Boys. 1998 would see the release of his first single “You Won’t See Me Cry” on Plastik Records, featuring the characteristic strains of early trance. For the next 5 years, his dark alias, Dakota would take over, pursuing the terrains of techno and house, while the reputation of his remixes continued to escalate: he would go on to remix for Everything But The Girl, Fat Boy Slim and PQM. As the early noughties took place, Markus Schulz would confidently re-emerge and remain, though Dakota continues to hover about even to this day. In 2004, the compilation of Coldharbour Sessions under Armada Music would lead to the launch of Markus’ very own label: Coldharbour is already counting its successes, celebrating its 100th release in 2010 with remixed classics from the label itself. His debut artist album “Without You Near” in 2005 marked a momentous milestone:  and by this stage, the progressive trance matrix had firmly infiltrated his sound. In 2006, Markus would take his final steps in knocking aside all barriers, with the Global DJ Broadcast Radio Show: it was music, he touted, for the EDM astute.

To observe his journey, it is no wonder fans the world-over accepts Markus’ style unlimited to borders and frontiers. With cases stuffed from his own productions, Markus is marked as one of the most high sought after DJs for clubs, festivals and events alike. From Creamfields to Trance Energy, across Europe, The States and Australasia, his fans approve, voting him to #8 position for DJ Mag’s Top100 in 2010. Just as his radio show is so named, Markus Schulz truly is the Global DJ. In the leadup to his summer tour down under, Markus Schulz talks about the reinvention of trance, what Australia can expect from him on the dancefloor and the Markus Schulz signature sound.

When you come out to Australia for Summadayze and Summafieldayze, what have you got planned to wow us?
I haven’t been there for a while so it’s important to have classics and play tracks from my own stable as well as some new and exclusive tracks. I’m in the studio right now, and I’m working on my new artist album: I’ll be testing the tracks on the tour.

What are your thoughts on Australia and your Australian fans?
Every time I’ve been to Australia, I’ve had an amazing experience with the crowds. But they’re the same as everywhere else. Because of the internet, everyone know what’s going on so if I play a big track, it goes down like fire. One of the best moments was an afterparty in Melbourne. I recorded the show live for my world tour and had the most amazing time. This was a really cool moment because it was the first time I did a sideshow in Australia, and Australia was featured for my radio show: it was nice to highlight Australia. The tours I’ve done through Australia with Future Music have been very important and very big. I’ll never forget playing for Future Music in the big stadium in Melbourne. I had no idea what to expect.

In Australia, trance appears quite healthy and well. But to you who plays all across the world to thousands of people at a time, how do you think trance is going?
Trance around the world has gone through a reinvention. There is so much excitement in the scene right now because of this reinvented trance sound. And the funny thing is, it’s labelled as progressive house, but at the end of the day, this is definitely trance-y music. As long as everyone is open minded, it’s just an amazing reinvention of the sound. One of the things I really like about it is a younger, new generation have entered the scene. And they bring to it so much energy and so much passion; they are so enthusiastic and so open minded. It makes the trance scene around the world refreshing and exciting.

You are such a successful artist now and have worked so hard to get where you have. When you first started, you had so much to achieve. What are you aiming towards now?
I think you get to a certain point where you are content with your standing in the scene. You have to be someone who paves the way for the next generation. People come and go into the scene and I want to leave something - like a legacy for the scene - and pave the way. I don’t plan on retiring any time soon, but as the next stage of my career, I want to leave a legacy, I want to leave a history, and be looked as someone who paved the way; as someone who paved the way; who gave to the scene; as someone who didn’t just take from the scene, but also gave back. I want to be a bridge between the last generation and the new generation.

What drives you?
I had a really hard childhood growing up. I looked to music to uplift me and get me through. Without music, I don’t think if I’d be alive right now; it really helped me through the darkest days of my life. Now, I’m in a position where I can be a voice for people out there with the same kind of things I experienced growing up. It’s ironic: I had such a hard childhood and my music had that kind of tone to it. But then as my career started exploding and became amazing, it’s really hard to make depressing music when you are living the ultimate dream. So in a way, my music and what drives me has changed a lot. But at the end of the day, I’m just hoping that my music can touch people the way music touched me growing up. I get so many messages from people telling me about their hard times and how music has gotten them through: I play for them.

What equipment do you work from in your studio?
Mac; Abelton; cycling in and out of different keyboards. I have a closet full of old vintage keyboards. When I feel inspired, I will dust them off and give them a play. Some of them operate on battery so I need to find the battery, or something needs to be repaired. But the main thing is computer and running Abelton, so I can write on the road with my headphones when an idea or inspiration hits me.

And your favourite keyboard?
Roland SH-101 Vintage Virtual Analog Synth. But I’m terrible playing live. I can’t concentrate to play live; playing live is only for the studio. On this tour, you’ll definitely see me twiddle a lot of knobs - just not any keys.

You have so many productions under your belt. What process do you go through for each production?
I think the first thing is: I have an idea for a sound – whether it’s a synth or a melody. I have something in my head and then carve out or lay down that sound or melody and sketch it out quickly on the computer. Then I go back to it, develop it with some percussion or counter melodies. From there, I go into DJ mode, where I’m trying to figure out the direction of where this track eventually goes. That’s my train of thought: first as a musician; then as a DJ where I arrange it to take people on a journey.

What makes a great DJ?
A unique sound and a unique style. In this day and age, it helps if you are recognised for a certain sound that you produce. Part of being a great DJ nowdays means you have to produce music. Lastly, I think it’s that connection with the audience. It doesn’t matter if you’re jumping up and down and throwing your hands in the air or if you’re low key: you have to be totally in tune with the audience.

Can you explain the Markus Schulz signature sound?
I’ve never been a traditional trance DJ. I’ve always looked for the more sexy groove, and then looked for the melody on top of those grooves. Over the past year, I’ve also been getting into more techno grooves and putting melodies on top of that. I don’t like the harsh techno sounds; more the warm grooves with melodies on top; the sexiness and the melody. Though it is labelled as ‘trance’ and sexy isn’t something that trance is known for, that’s what I look for in the Markus Schulz sound.

CATCH MARKUS SCHULZ ON THE SUMMADAYZE TOUR