To go to a rave or a club is to bear witness to a very specific summoning practice, fine-tuned by both the environment and the artistry of a whole host of technicians and creators.
Young Marco is one such creator, working as one of the world’s most established DJs, yet his notoriety has spread far and wide to encompass multiple other scenes, genres and capabilities. From his ambient band Gaussian Curve with fellow artists Gigi Masin and Jonny Nash, to his solo work, as well as running the label Safe Trip Records, Young Marco’s range is exhaustive and diverse. Ahead of his performance at Now or Never alongside Logic1000, Big Ever, KDV Performance Group with Hamill Industries and Tayhana (with tickets on sale now and moving fast), we ask about his approach to DJing. Marco has only one imperative.
Young Marco at Now or Never
- With Logic1000, Big Ever, KDV Performance Group, Hamill Industries and Tayhana
- 30 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
Check out our gig guide here.
“Whatever the dynamic is, it at least has to be made tangible to the soul. It has to move you in more ways than one,” he says. This sense of dynamism to his set is unique, as he is equally at home within multiple genres of the wider dance scene, working from house to techno. “I play pretty broad genre wise. Musically, I relate to more of very early house music culture where the DJs were very adventurous and would play around with a lot of curveballs, and with a less linear way of mixing.”
This contemporary idea of a DJ as a conjurer is something Young Marco is very aware of. “Somebody once told me DJing is one of the last wizard professions,” he says. “I think it does have a sort of shamanistic practice to it. The more you do it, the more heightened your senses become for what is needed, and not just with the right song at the right time but the right volume, the right moment of the song. It seems so simple to cut the bass and then put it back in, but if you do it in exactly the right way, it hits a sweet spot.”
After playing some of the most recognisable and well known spaces around the world, Young Marco has developed a keen sense of his role as one of the foremost DJs in the world. “If you go through more and more sequences of perfectly timed gestures, it becomes like a cheat code in a game.”
Although, this is not all Young Marco does. His solo output includes two albums – Biology and Bahasa – which are blends of multiple sound coalescing into a finely tuned output, while also standing distinctly on their own. Biology is a blend of different electronic styles, while Bahasa is an ambient meditation, inspired by Indonesian soundscapes.
His love of all genres has fed easily into a love of artists who otherwise would not have been given specific platforms to show off their art. Safe Trip Records has given Young Marco an opportunity to give back after years of developing his art. “After doing something for a while, any level-headed artist would want to give something back at some point. It feels natural, and it feels nice to not make it all about me. It is nice to spread my attention to other things, especially the things that deserve attention.”
In this way, Young Marco has directed the attention of fans to the work of artists who would never have had the attention they have now. Marco brings up the example of discovering the work of Satoshi & Makoto through buying an old Casio synthesiser.
“I was looking through demos on YouTube which demonstrated the instruments capabilities, and the music was mind-blowingly good. It turned out to be two identical twin brothers who had been making music on that synthesiser for about 20 to 25 years. They are just salary men who now have a whole career in music, who are now very popular all over the world. It is amazing to see these artists get the recognition that they very rightly deserve.”
Reflecting on the past decade or so of dance music, Young Marco sees a bright future. “I think a very healthy thing in the past five years or so [is that] there has been more and more of a desire for community-led spaces, which push for a lot more local artists. I think it is very noticeable all over the world. The fun thing about Now Or Never is that I have played Town Hall with Gaussian Curve, which was an ambient live show, so it will be interesting to see what the atmosphere is now.”
Young Marco, Logic1000, Big Ever, KDV Performance Group, Hamill Industries and Tayhana are performing on 30 August. Get tickets here.
Beat is a proud media partner of Now or Never.
