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8 GUESTLIST Issue 49 / 2013 www.guestlist.net IEW RV TE IN MALA Image by Anastasia Filipovna We hooked up with one of dubstep���s most influential producers and one half of Digital Mystikz. A pioneer in the movement, it is evident that the core value of his music represents community and positive vibes that has managed to capture our hearts and transcend globally. We got to know a little bit more about Mark Lawrence. TAB | guestlist.net So let���s start off with whole DMZ, how did the seed get planted? Have you guys always been mates? Me and Coki went to school together and Pokes. My dad used to work with Poke���s dad so there���s kind of like history for us for many years and I met Loefah through a mutual friend when I was about 15 years old and we were both really into jungle. Your nights are legendary, I remember when they used to be at The Mass in Brixton and the queue would be crazy! Did you guys ever think the night would create such a following? It���s kinda strange really as people give us credit for DMZ, but really it was all about a community of people who felt a certain way at a particular time. And that wasn���t just about the dj and producers like Hatcha, Chef, Kode 9, Youngsta and the whole crew it was also the journalists around, as well as photographers and early bloggers and everyone that came down and had something positive to say about DMZ. It was built on what people had to say about it rather than what we did, and I think that���s the reason why it developed the way it did. A community, a movement strong enough to resonate globally, I try not to define it but what the music and that time has done for electronic music, I think it kind of gave everyone a kick up the arse, not in a disrespectful way but I think everything was a bit stale, everything had been around for a minute and everything was a bit conformist. What we were doing was different at the time, its wasn���t about I wouldn���t say I���m anti-hype, because if hype is genuine then fair play but I���m just not really into dressing up something that isn���t what it���s saying it is. At the time when I started out I didn���t know what I was doing, to me it was like alien frequencies that only a few people really connected with. But somehow to my surprise people were beginning to catch onto what we were doing and what some of the other producers were doing too. That thing of like I���m not trying to sell to anybody, I what that should be, we all interpret music differently, we all live our lives, we take it as we take it. So for me the whole music thing is about connecting people to music and trying to use it to create an energy, something people can take home and feel. Maybe it���s a little clich�� but with everything that is going on in the world today I think people need a break. Tell us about the whole Mala In Cuba experience, that must have been amazing to it be playing in front of a lot of people for the first time or something like that. I always try and remind myself that it���s okay to feel uncomfortable and for me it���s all about feeling comfortable with being uncomfortable and that was what the whole Cuba experience was like for me. So let���s go back...Dubstep Warz with Mary Anne Hobbs, we gotta talk on this one. Is it crazy to step back and think how mad the whole movement has gone? ���It was one of those things which really got people being creative again and I think that���s the most positive thing to come from this movement, reminding people that you don���t have to conform.��� massive build ups or anything it was just minimal beats with heavyweight sub bass and as the sound matured and developed I think it made people realise that you don���t have to conform to anything, you can be into anything and you can do what you wanna do. That���s why so many producers and dj���s from different genres originally have shown interest in our style of music. It was one of those things which really got people being creative again and I think that���s the most positive thing to come from this movement, reminding people that you don���t have to conform. You guys have an anti-hype ethos. Is there any reason why you chose that path? prefer people to just discover something for themselves, to make it theirs. You���re all about pushing the positive vibes, what���s the most important message you want people to take from your music? It���s an interesting one as when I���m in the studio and I���m making music it really is for myself I don���t think, ���I���m gonna make this because the audience will like it,��� that���s not why I���m making music. But when you finish a piece you want to share it and of course you hope that people connect with it in a way that fills them, kind of benefits them in some way. I think it���s very difficult to pinpoint go out there and work with the locals and Gilles as well? Yeah that was really out of the blue the way it came about. I���d known Gilles for a couple of years and he just phoned me up and said ���I���m working with Havana Cutura in Cuba and I want you to come and make a record.��� I was a little bit apprehensive but he was so genuine with his offer so I was like I���m just gonna do this and see what happens. So we went to Cuba and we had no idea of who we were going to work with or what was going to happen in terms of making an album but things just slowly pieced together bit by bit. Over the years I���ve felt uncomfortable in many situations, whether Yeah and no. It���s mad because it actually happened, it���s not a fabrication it did actually happen and it started off in a certain place with a handful of people. What isn���t so mad though is that I always thought the music could be played anywhere with any people after or before any set. Mary Anne Hobbs was the one who took risks and got on the sound early, I remember she called me up and I had never spoken to her before and we spoke for about an hour. She wanted to know everything about my music and where I came from and why I was doing it so she could play it and talk about it genuinely, for me I���ve never come across another dj who does that amount of research to try and help push a movement genuinely. What���s the best piece of advice you���ve been given? When I was about 14 years old, I don���t know if it���s the best advice but it���s something that I always remembered. So perhaps it is. I used MC a lot at under 18 jungle events, we used to hassle the management to get the jungle djs down, we managed to get massive dj���s like Micky Finn and Randall. Kenny Ken played one time and I was a massive Kenny Ken fan back in 94- 95. I remember going up to him and saying can I MC for you? There was me like a cocky 14 year old, and he was like you are good, I said yeah��� so I ended up playing the set with him and he said to the management this kids alright you know, you should keep him on! Then I became a resident at this under 18���s club and I ended up doing more venues after that. But I asked Kenny Ken, how did you get to this level and how do you get to do what you���re doing? And he said ���If it���s something in your heart, then it���ll be something that you���ll always do and you have to be ready to the take opportunity when it comes���. I remember it clearly. So big up Kenny Ken! Keep up to date with the DMZ crew here www. facebook.com/dmzuk or follow @dmzuk